L
ocalisationisa wordfora numberof
processesalltodowithensuringa gameis
readyfora specificlocalmarket.This
includeseverythingfromcreatinga
translationthatstaysfaithfultothe
originallyintendedmeaning,tocuttingandamending
contentinlinewithdifferentcountries’laws.The
Yakuzaseries’greatlocalisationisanimportantfactor
initssuccess,andsoI askedlocalisationproducerScott
Strichartaboutthepitfallsofhisjob.
Inordertolocalisea gamecorrectlyyouneedtohave
twothings:textandcontext.Aswithanybigcreative
projectona schedule,youunfortunatelydon’tnecessarily
getbothatthesametime.
“Untilrecently,we’dneverstartedlocalisationpriorto
thegamebeingdoneinJapan,whichwasamazing,
becausewecouldjustbootupeveryscene,everysubstory,
everymovierightingame,”Strichartsays.I imaginehim
wistfullystaringoffintothedistance.
Tofinisheverythingontime,localisationnowoften
beginsbeforetheoriginaltextis evenfinalised.Insome
casesStrichartandhisteammakeeducatedguessesat
whois talkingtowhom,howfarawayspeakersarefrom
eachotherandsometimeseventheirgender,thelatterof
whichtheformofaddressinJapanesecanhelpwith.
Captiongoesin
herex xxxxxxx xx
x
“Oncea particularscenecomesonline,we’reableto
check it out and adjust accordingly ... It’ll be an ongoing
process to smooth this out with [developer Ryu ga Gotoku
Studios], but I’m committed to doing that.” Strichart, who
took up his current position prior to the release of Yakuza
0 , is an enthusiastic spokesperson for localisation with an
apparent love for language.
Having started in QA himself, he acknowledges that
building a translator’s skills takes time and teamwork.
There’s no small amount of project management behind
building an experienced team.
“Usually our more experienced translators and editors
handle the main story, while the supporting translators
and editors get assigned swaths of text where it makes
sense to group up. For instance, all the substories, all the
minigames, all the tutorials, with some natural crossovers
when it makes sense to do so.
“To date, I’ve also stacked a ton of this work on my
own plate, because I enjoy the creativity of it. I love having
translators and editors on my team who grow with the
games, because they’re already familiar with things like
the game’s worldview and the styling we use.”MAGIC WORDS
Arguably the most important skills to develop are listening
and research. ‘Intent’ and ‘atmosphere’ are two words thatYou don’t need many
words to tell what’ll
happen next.Making
meaning
Good localisation
is more than just
translating
something from
one language to
another.
Language is full
of cultural
references,
emotions and
modes of
expression that
differ in each
country. Even if
you understand
the literal
meaning of
something, you
need context to
react correctly,
for example to
tell if someone is
being sarcastic.FA N SU BBI NG
How localisation makes games enjoyable for everyone, everywhere
PCG INVESTIGATES
Special
Report