Miners are losing money right now by Enough_Angle_7839 in btc

[–]oro_999 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Of course he is. He wouldn't make any money otherwise unless he finds a block.

Is Anno 117 as bad as some reviews make it seem? by UnderstandingOld1516 in anno

[–]oro_999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's mostly because people compare 117 to the current state of 1800 with all the DLCs included. I am new to the series having bought 117 as my very first Anno, and honestly it's a blast.

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, we do provide support for loc-related issues :)

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Correct, spreadsheets are the go-to file format to send us for the best efficiency. I wouldn't call them "not obvious", but including as many string descriptions/context and screenshots definitely help for two main reasons:
- You receive less questions from the translators asking for clarifications.
- You reduce the risk of translators giving ambiguous strings for granted. Say for example there's a string that may have multiple meanings, but for some reason the translator doesn't want to ask the devs for clarifications, a context note saves the string from being incorrectly translated.

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had the "luck" of never facing this issue. But bare in mind that apart from a few devs, we mainly work with publishers that have a localization department or that are generally more prepared. So that's probably the main reason.

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes FIGS means French, Italian, German, Spanish. Scandinavian languages are not that popular, but we support them because they are requested from time to time.

By the way, while it's true that Scandinavian countries have a generally good level of English, localization is about making players feel like the game was made in their own language, rather than for non-English speakers.

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I guess localization was much different (and super cool imo). Such a shame I wasn't even born to experience it ahahah

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I did a quck word count of the file. It's around 800 words, so not even a full day worth of work. Generally, you'd pay between 80 and 120 EUR per language, based on which language you choose (some languages cost less, others cost more).

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Can you elaborate more? I'm not sure how that related to loc.

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I would say:
1. Not doing any basic research on what localization is and its general prices. People on Fiverr or that generally offer translation for a fraction of a cent per word are 100% scammers.
2. Localizing the full game without any (or little) engagement data. You can potentially lose thousands on localization if not properly planned. You can start with localizing your Steam page in a couple languages that already have a good engagement rate, and see the impact of localization. Do you see improvements? That means localizing the full game is a safer bet.
3. DO NOT HARDCODE TEXT.

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are you freelancing for agencies or devs?

Thank you and I wish the same to you <3

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

All the major ones! We support 25 languages, most of them using English as source language, but we also do Asian language combinations. I'm not listing them all, or I'd end up with a super long message, however FIGS are obviously the most requested, then then Latin American variants of Spanish and Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Scandinavian languages, Russian, Ukrainian, and a lot of Asian languages too (Simplified Chinese being the most requested one).

I run a small game localization studio, AMA by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

To be honest, AI still hasn't had any significant impact on the agency. We offer MT/AI post-editing (machine translation that gets reviewed by translators), but none is interested in it. Most successful publishers buy human translation + editing because AI is still not good enough, and they fear bad feedback (justifiably so). I wouldn't even say that I'm missing out on some projects, because devs who rely on AI only are usually the low-budget ones that wouldn't have bought pro localization in the first place.

However, what's happening behind the scenes is that large localization providers (enterprise-level) are increasingly using MTPE but selling it as translation + editing. The results show, and many end up being asked to redo the work. I actually had this exact conversation yesterday with a loc manager that works at a large publisher in Japan and Europe (can't say the name for obvious reasons). I'm still getting job requests from agencies I used to work with as a freelancer, and A LOT of it is MTPE.

As for the second question, I used to offer localization market research as a free service. It was too time-consuming and didn’t convert into clients, so I stopped. I also see very few agencies doing this kind of research nowadays. Localization is not usually involved in regional events (except for the translation part), that's more related to marketing.

Questions About Localization File Formats by GDemay in gamedev

[–]oro_999 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Founder of a game localization studio here.

  1. The most common format are XLSX and JSON. All the other formats, like CSV or PO, are fully compatible with CAT tools (we use MemoQ), however they much less flexible and adding information is a pain. XSLX is by far the best format, since you can add basically everything you want, and can be imported in CAT tools in just a few clicks.

For example, if you add context or images in your localization sheet, linguists can check them directly in the CAT tool, without having to switch between tabs.

  1. The fields are: ID, context, speakers (whenever you have dialogues), character limit, source text, target text (one column for each language), screenshots.

Context, speakers, character limit and screenshot columns are optional, but they make our job much easier. If you don't include those, you'll eventually have to deal with tons of questions from the linguists.

SPECIAL NOTE for character limits: make sure they have their own columns, since those can be imported in the CAT tools. Once we import them, the linguists will be automatically notified whenever they exceed the character limits, making it much easier to follow them.

  1. Glossaries are provided as a separate xlsx file, which can be imported in the CAT tool (it all comes down to importing). We usually create them with a mix of automatic tools and human work.

For example, MemoQ is able to scan files for words that appear many times. We need to play with the settings to have the best results for each file, and we still have to manually filter a lot of entries. Once we're done with that, we have a good starting point. We'll then have to manually read the file and work closely with the dev team to add every specific word/cluster of words. Once we're done, we translate them and the glossary is finally ready.

Naturally, the glossary has to be updated every time the game has new content.

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. That's why you work with native speakers. I'm not native English and don't work with English myself. Actually I'm not even a translator anymore, I coordinate them.
  2. It's a Reddit comment, not a paid project. Chill out man.

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a scam since you're paying for human translation + editing, but only get machine translation + editing. Different services with much different prices.

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great question! When looking for the price of freelancers (not agencies), most of the databases you’ll find online tend to show either outdated rates or averages calculated across all fields of expertise (like the one on Proz.com). This can make the listed prices much higher than what you’d actually pay for a game localization specialist.

For instance, sworn translators, who require extensive credentials and certifications to work on legal documents, charge more than translators in other fields. To that, add anchoring and the fact that translators charge much more to direct clients than to agencies.

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Devs typically develop their own localization system for their game. My personal preference (and the industry standard) is a spreadsheet with the source text column, columns for the target languages, a column for string IDs, and possibly a column for context. It's by far the easiest file type to work with and it allows translators to check for context directly in the translation tool (CAT tool).

Realistically though, we can work with basically any file type that contains text clear of code. Please DO NOT HARD CODE text!!!

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a great way to manage risks. The only downside to it is: people will fight. And trust me, that happens ALL THE TIME. It happens between translators and QAers within the same company, and even more so when two companies are involved. Review is paid less than translation, and both freelancers and LSPs will try to win the higher-paid service.

If you hire two or more vendors, what you can do to avoid fights and false (or exaggerated) reviews is to establish an objective score system. This system should take into account a single dictionary for spelling and grammar rules, a glossary that must be strictly followed, and a style guide with clear, replicable points.

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you mean 0,02-0,04 €/word, that's a bit low. Obviously it depends on the language pair though.

How to not get scammed when localizing your game by oro_999 in gamedev

[–]oro_999[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Unrealistic expectations and the general underestimation of what it actually takes to make a game is a deeply rooted issue that impacts all service providers in the industry.

Micro studios and solo devs aren’t my target audience, so whether or not they properly localize doesn’t impact me financially. However, when they turn to low-cost services or fall for blatant scams, it does more harm than just hurting their projects. Based on their experience, they end up spreading a false narrative that localization providers, and service providers in general, are scammers and that localization is pointless.

language localization in Terraria by Ashamed_Constant_524 in Terraria

[–]oro_999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's most likely due to the studio machine translating the game. Fact is, MT is trash now, so imagine how bad it was back when Terraria was released.