In game development (and software development in general), there is one discipline that, in my opinion, receives far too little attention. Yet it is extremely important and can significantly impact both the perception and the sales of a product. This is localization—the process of preparing a product for another market, which is often understood simply as translating it into another language.
I can talk quite a lot about the topic of localization in general and game localization in particular (and, if all goes well, I’ll share more separately), as I spent many years as the head of several service departments at Wargaming, including the Localization Department. This is precisely why any materials on this subject are always of interest to me.
One of my former colleagues recommended the book Game Localization, where the authors decided to take an in-depth look at this phenomenon from the perspective of a scientific approach to translation in general.
The scientific approach is both a strength and a weakness of the book. The strength lies in its thorough exploration of the topic, its study of the history of the issue, and its examination of many aspects of localization. The weakness lies in the same excessive scientific rigor: countless references to other academic works on translation, an overwhelming number of quotes from analytical studies by other authors… in short, all the hallmarks of a scholarly work that tend to be too tedious for the average reader. Such readers are usually more interested in understanding the essence of the topic rather than the various methods for preparing academic research.
The authors begin their narrative from afar, discussing the history of video games in general and their localization in particular—covering the period from the mid-1980s to roughly the present day (the book was published in 2013, and much has changed in the industry in the past eight years). They then delve into the essence of the game industry (GameDev), explaining key terminology, genres, the role of narrative elements, the industry structure, and so on.
After this, the authors delve in detail into how localization differs from regular translation and finally move on to the specifics of game localization itself. They thoroughly explore practical issues, analyzing various types of translatable materials (text, graphics, audio and video, promotional materials), as well as the process of translating such materials. For industry professionals, this is basic knowledge, but for those less familiar with the field, it provides valuable insights into its nuances.
Separate chapters are dedicated to questions of creativity—when the goal is not merely to translate the original but to essentially create a new entity that conveys the original ideas, emotions, and cultural aspects while taking into account the resulting language and culture—and to cultural peculiarities in localization work.
The book concludes with discussions on teaching this relatively young branch of translation and examining market realities, including the specifics of fan translations and collaborative creativity with players.
As is evident, the authors have taken a deep and thorough approach to the subject. The book can serve as excellent material for immersion into the topic (if one overlooks the excessive repetition and philosophical-scientific musings). Many of the issues covered are unfamiliar even to those who have been in the industry for a long time but rarely deal with the details of this fascinating subfield of localization. Learning about these specifics could be helpful, as it sometimes allows one to avoid significant mistakes in the early stages of development.
However, for those who are deeply and extensively familiar with the subject, certain shortcomings will become apparent.
In particular, the authors devote an excessive amount of attention to translations between a single language pair: English and Japanese. Yes, these are very polar cultures and languages, and the vast chasm in understanding between their approaches and cultural differences is still evident. However, localization is not limited to these two languages. While the authors do briefly mention other languages, it truly is just a brief mention. For example, the Russian language is entirely absent from the discussion. The unique challenges posed by other languages are also largely ignored in this book.
Moreover, it’s clear that while the authors have tried to thoroughly explore the topic, their knowledge appears to be primarily academic, based more on interviews and the works of other authors they’ve spoken to or cited. In other words, the material is detailed but written as if by someone who was told about it and then carefully recorded it. This results in a dryness in the narrative, as there is no personal experience, emotion, empathy, or passion for the subject. As I mentioned earlier, it reads like a dry academic study.
Although the book turned out to be less engaging than I had hoped, it still contains much useful information and organizes the topics well, which is beneficial for newcomers to the field. However, I would have added more emotion and trimmed the passages less interesting to the average reader, particularly the overly academic digressions.
My rating: 3/5
 | Minako O’Hagan, Carmen Mangiron “Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry” | buy |
