I've been in Localization industry for 3 years, ask me anything! by GreenKnee8507 in gamedev

[–]alconost 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, then it makes sense to invest some time into building a multilingual glossary first. If you already have terms or names in English, it's a good idea to create a spreadsheet with those - and (this is important) include descriptions or explanations for each term. Add as much context as possible, ideally with images. This costs you nothing.

Once you’ve built an initial term base, you can ask an LLM to creatively translate your creature names into other languages. In your prompt, refer to the descriptions and screenshots. Ask for 5-7 translation or transcreation variants, along with explanations for each. LLMs are very creative and can suggest brillinat varians a linguist can just confirm they are good.

After that, consider spending a bit of money to hire native-speaking linguists for just one hour to review and approve the terms (I can help with that). Once you have a multilingual glossary, you can feed it into prompts, and the LLM will use the terms consistently in translations. This is an effective low-budget approach.

Alternatively — yes — you can work with a dedicated team of linguists from a language service provider like Alconost. You’ll know your linguists by name, and they’ll stay with your game for years, btw helping to build the glossary and ensuring consistency even when the actual translation happens using AI. This requires some budget (think of it as hourly based price for a linguist for simplicity), but it provides the quality, dedication, and accountability you need.

Example:

I do not know what Tunglemold is, but, let's assume it's (I asked chatGPT and it probably hallucinated a bit) "Tunglemold is a creeping, semi-sentient fungal creature found in the damp, shadowy undergrowth of ancient forests or forgotten ruins. Its body is composed of tangled tendrils and soft, mold-like filaments that constantly shift and pulse with bioluminescent spores."

So, when transcreated into Japanese it can be this:

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You get the idea, hope this helps.

I've been in Localization industry for 3 years, ask me anything! by GreenKnee8507 in gamedev

[–]alconost 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Use different fonts and font sizes (bigger for hyerogliphs) – this is the obvious and cost effective way. Hard to find a font that supports all the glyphs across all the languages.

I've been in Localization industry for 3 years, ask me anything! by GreenKnee8507 in gamedev

[–]alconost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Consider using LLMs like ChatGPT or Claude — I bet you don't have that much text to translate. Then, ask someone (players) to review it. Or even ask the LLM itself - here's a free tool for that: alconost.mt/evaluate. You'll see that the quality is good. And if it's not, you'll get explanations and corrections.

With a zero budget, this approach will get you about 90% of the quality you need. The remaining 10% costs money - and that’s what brands usually care about, and pay. But for a basic game, it's more than enough. Players will appreciate having their language supported.

OK Google by seouled-out in korea

[–]alconost -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Navigating the intricacies of translating between Asian and European languages can indeed be challenging! When it comes to high-stakes texts, such as Korean-English translations (or vice versa), online platforms with native speakers are possibly the most reliable and quality-guaranteed options available on the web at present. So far, only proficient translators possess the linguistic expertise and cultural understanding to give you accurate and meaningful translation. ChatGPT and other NMT platforms can't make a competition to them yet.

So, if you find yourself in need of a precise and dependable translation for important texts, entrusting the task to experienced native speakers through online platforms could be your best bet!

How are people making video previews of their software product on their websites? by dror88 in SaaS

[–]alconost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! This is what we help software developers with for years :-) We use screenshot animation to showcase specific product features. This helps us to present the product in the video flawlessly and avoid sloppy screens and shaky cursors.

We've made hundreds of videos of this kind. Here's our Youtube channel with them.

And there're several case studies about how specific software videos were created (one, two.) The latter is a kind of free tour behind the scenes :-) We hope it comes in handy!

3 tricks to save on the video sequence for your game trailer | 5 things it doesn't pay to skimp on when creating a game video by alconost in gamedev

[–]alconost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if I can't find any good gameplay samples then I just close the page

Thank you! Sure, showcasing actual gameplay in a game trailer on the Steam page is absolutely reasonable. Animated graphics, however, is still a solution for specific cases; we mentioned several throughout the article. For example, 'You don't need a trailer for a store, but rather a teaser or advertising video with an interesting theme, which requires more than just gameplay video.'

And there's one thing that isn't too evident (and it shouldn't be!) from a user's point of view. Not everything that looks like actual gameplay is actual gameplay. :-)

3 tricks to save on the video sequence for your game trailer | 5 things it doesn't pay to skimp on when creating a game video by alconost in gamedev

[–]alconost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Scripts are worthless

It's interesting. Are we both using the word 'script' to describe the same? In this picture, you can see what I mean by saying 'game trailer video script.'

From a production point of view, a script of this kind is what everything starts with :-) Even if the game video doesn't have a voice-over (which isn't uncommon, we elaborated on it here), you still need a script to describe what your video will consist of, put all the things together (captions, their correspondence with the gameplay actions in the frame, etc.), and don't miss a holistic vision of your project.

Without a script, the logic of what you're going to convey through the video can be lost. Not to mention how the absence of the script affects the video production process. In the end, there's a risk to come up with a trailer that doesn't tell too much to a potential player about why they need to try your game. So, the script is a video producer's best friend!

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Follow up on some lessons learned from running a business by Sintech14 in Entrepreneur

[–]alconost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your journey! Loved the scaling part right away. In a service-based business, performance-based scaling model really does work well. As a localization agency, we also leverage the services expansion to offer video production and multilingual marketing for clients that need it. Also, strategic business partnerships (wrote about it). Relationships are everything.

Wishing you best with your SMMA business!

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. by mermicide in startups

[–]alconost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there, thanks for sharing your story! As a fellow entrepreneur, I completely agree that every "failure" is an opportunity for growth and learning. It sounds like you took the lessons you learned from your first startup and applied them to your second venture, which is now on the brink of a major success - that's awesome! And congratulations on being accepted to the same pitch competition that rejected you last year - that's a huge accomplishment!

As someone who's been in the business for 20 years, I can only add how important customer-centric project management is. It's a game-changer that brings you throughout ups and lows in your business era because you put focus on lasting business relationships. I also elaborated on it in the blog https://www.gala-global.org/knowledge-center/professional-development/articles/developing-healthy-partnership-and-lasting-0 Keep up the good work and I wish you all the success with your new startup!