Localization for Video Games - the Work Behind the Scenes

Before a game made in the US is ready to be launched in Japan, for example, there are several steps of localization that the product must go through. Culturally and ethically speaking, all countries have different customs and values as well as different beliefs and so a product developed in one country can’t just be translated and sent off to another country. Specific and sensitive details need to be considered and changed before the product can be sent anywhere and be accepted like it was made in their home country.
 
For example, the Japanese have a different opinion on how the back ground of a fight scene in a video game should resemble compared to what Americans would assume. Video game designers are aware of this challenge and spend hours and hours trying to create solutions using localization techniques from the flooring to the ceiling of a game. Instructions from Japanese translators and designers happen continually throughout the localization process and sometimes several times a day.

Some of the small details for the visuals, video game developers will consider changing for another country include:

• How the characters look in both face and attire and hair style
• The colors and designs of the back ground- plants, trees, buildings, animals and shapes
• The sound of the game from sound effects to voice recordings
• Even small details like weapons, decorations on a wall, characters on a store front or street sign

For example, even for a background for a scene that may not be as exciting as a battle scene, but a person’s house will need to be localized. A house in America is going to have different types of furniture than in Japan, for example, so the developer teams are in continual contact with each other to make sure that when localizing the Japanese version of the house –there are Japanese style wall hangings, house plants and kitchen appliances lets say and the American version will have their own like Lazy Boy recliners, barbecues, and foosball tables for example.

Video game developers try and create the best representation of the original the designer had in mind. They try to balance what different countries and cultures would find acceptable while still maintaining the original artist’s vision of the game’s design in the first place. All this isn’t done in a week either- long hours, weeks and months are taken just for one game and sometimes even longer.

Next time you are relaxing with friends and trying to defeat each other with electronic tanks and guns- know that every rivet on each tank was placed there with purpose and each movement properly calculated. Once you know the technicalities it takes to create each video game scene, you’ll never play video games the same way again.

About the author:Melissa Peterman is a web content specialist for Innuity . For more information about localization or accessing a Japanese translator , go to MultiLing