Most video games often use the standard list of programming languages. And most video game developers accept these programming languages worldwide. This is in spite of the fact that English forms the basis of most of these programming languages.
So, what this means is that the country of origin may not affect the development of a game, not at all. But, what affects the acceptability of a video game is localization. Localization can determine how a video game performs on the world stage. This is especially true in today’s global world.
Take, for example, video games such as PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox. These are some of the video games that have been accepted all over the world by millions of gamers. This is why it is imperative for video game developers to create games that many people can play. And this can only be possible if they adapt by localizing their games.
The video game localization process has a few requirements that you need to meet. This is particularly important if you want to get it right the first time. Before you start localizing your video game, you need to consider a few important things.
Below are some of the factors that you need to consider during localization.
Regions you’re targeting
This is where you look at the markets where your video game would be a hit. Once you identify your key markets you can then decide how many languages you’ll need to include. Knowing the languages that you’ll need to translate will help in researching the different cultures. That way, when the localization is complete the video game will be authentic in any language.
Identifying the regions that you’re targeting with localization can also improve your positioning. This is because there are locations in the world that have the bulk of video game players. And these are the people that you should target if you want your game to be a success.
Localizing your game for cultures that don’t appreciate video games is counterproductive. It goes without saying that investing in translations for these types of markets is a bad idea. So, choosing your target regions carefully will help you make informed localization decisions.
Parts to localize
These are the exact pieces of information that you’ll need to translate in the video game. If the game includes audio voice-overs then you know you’ll need voice-over artists. Other games have texts either as instructions on how to play or text displayed in the visuals. These could be street names or names of buildings.
Identifying what you need to localize will help you adapt the game without writing a whole new game.
It is also important to let your translators know everything about the video game. This will help them to identify any missed content that needs translation. Plus, it’s easier for translators to localize a video game when they have context. This way they’ll know, for example, how to use different words that have similar meanings depending on context.
The idea here is to make sure that the video game remains seamless even with the localization.
User feedback
This is the feedback from the same genre of video games that have already been made. User feedback is a huge resource of suggestions that you can use to make sure your game is successful. Learning from other games will help you avoid making similar localization mistakes.
Besides, getting user feedback is as simple as A-B-C. A quick search on the internet will bring up discussion boards where most gamers interact.
Where to localize your video game?
This is important especially if you’re looking for high quality. It can be disappointing for a gamer to find a great video game whose translation is wrong. And it could be worse; the translations could contain offensive content. This is why you need to invest in a good localization service provider.
Day Translations for video game localization
Failing to localize your video game in this era of globalization is akin to clipping a bird’s wings. By doing so, you’ll have crippled your investment from the start. To avoid such unfortunate scenarios, you’ll need to localize your video games.
Luckily for you, Day Translations offers high-quality video game localization services. Our team of mother-tongue linguists will help you create the best user experience. Investing in high-quality localization will put you on the right track for a successful game launch.
Get in touch with us today, we’d be happy to help your video game reach a global audience.