The global market contributes greatly to the revenue of computer game publishers, so most games are provided with localization options at the development stage.
Games can be localized at several levels:
- “Paper” localization (box, user manual, promotional materials etc.)
- Cost-effective localization (all the text contained in the game is translated, including the interface, tips, subtitles, descriptions etc.)
- Enhanced localization (the game is voiced over)
- Excessive localization (graphics are localized) and
- Deep localization (the scenario is adjusted for the specific country).
The extent of localization is determined by the specifics of the project, budget and other factors.
Although the texts seem very simple, the translation should still be performed by professionals who specialize in computer games. Otherwise, errors are inevitable and will lead to a large amount of additional editing or even re-translation. For example:
- If the translated text is much longer than original, it may not fit into a button, window, or its field
- The text translated for voice over should match the length of the original phrase and, in the case of lipsync, the articulation of the character
- If a translator has no idea of the context, it may lead to errors in the meaning.
Logrus has ten years of experience in computer games localization. Our finished projects include:
- Halo Wars (XBOX-360)
- Fable 2 (XBOX-360)
- Dungeon Siege 2
- Age Of Empires 3
- Serious Sam
- Turner Broadcasting System (over 20 games translated into all West European languages)
- and over 160 other games.
We offer a complete computer game localization solution which includes:
- Interface, strings and graphics localization
- Dialogues translation and voice over
- Development and localization of game setup programs
- Building of localized versions
- Testing
- Translation of printed materials and DTP services
- Localization of game-related websites.