Imagine rolling out the perfect game—stunning graphics, immaculate sound, and the whole paraphernalia that has taken your local market by storm. Now you decide to take it global, which makes sense, given its resounding success. But how to ensure it becomes the same success story as is in the domestic market? Enter high-quality game localization! You can garner a wide international user base only if it has impeccable localization quality. Localization can be a make-or-break factor for your video game. Hence, it is wise to attain help from professionals, as the stakes are too high to leave it experimentation.

But what does high-quality game localization entail?

Before seeking high-quality services from a localization agency or expert, you should have an idea of what quality refers to in the game localization industry. According to experts like Kseniya Shorokhova, localization manager of Playrix, game localization is of good quality when the game appears as it was actually developed in the target language. If the language is hard to adapt to, the least that can be done is to ensure a pitch-perfect translation for a seamless gaming experience. However, quality is not all about the end product but the process as well. The workflows, teams, and collaboration have to be top-quality as well to create high-quality localizations.

How to get ahead of the game by hiring a game localization service?

While you are acquiring the localization service, you still need to do your homework. That way, you would be able to identify your needs and communicate them to a game localization service effectively. Moreover, you would be able to find the agency that suits your specific requirements.

1. Determine Your Localizing Needs

Before delving deeper into your research for a high-quality game localization service, you should specify the elements that need localizing or translating.

This can include sounds, subtitles, user interface e.g., commands, menu, dialogue boxes, item descriptions, visuals like graphics, images, animations, scripts, text boxes, instructions, and so on. Notably, content on the app stores has to be translated into the local language to pique the potential users’ interest in your product.

2. Make your files ready

Prepare your file for translation. It makes the job easier for the localization company and renders the process more effective. Once you have identified which elements need to be localized, prepare the resources that are readable and editable. Files the game localization agency would need mostly include:

• Xlsx file

• DOC files

• SRT file

• XLIFF

• PSD file

When you provide the right files to the localization service provider, time spent on frequent flip-flops while communication with LSP is saved.

3. Prepare a style guide or reference material

A style guide or reference material will help your LSP understand your game and your needs in terms of context. Your guide should include details on the games:

• Tone

• Overall story and world

• Terminology and writing style for game description, character bios, plot, etc.

• Walkthroughs

• Character, object information, weapon

• Tone of voice and vocabulary of characters

• Target audience

• Rules

• Elements that do not need translation

• Curse words—a go or no-go

Remember that not every element of your game would need translating. Moreover, experts recommend beginning the localization process alongside development for better results.

4. Ensure linguists are part of the process

Ask your LSP if they have linguists in their team. They should be a part of the game development process and be actively engaged. Yes, language comes first, but everyone in the localization process should have a common understanding of the aspects that make the gamers tick and of the overall gaming community.

Moreover, try to get the source content in English first (as it is the most common language) to prevent inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Also, proofread the source content to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes. However, any LSP worth its while would do a quality check before getting on the project to ensure the content is ready for translation.

5. Know the preferred languages

The preferred languages for game localization include German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin, Korean, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi and Polish. Pick your language carefully, as you have to be mindful of the screen space. Some languages/letters take up more space than others. You need to adjust this factor while creating localized content.

Furthermore, you need to consider whether your game needs localization and how much it needs to expand to other markets. Not all games need extensive localization. For instance, Grand Theft Auto V, one of the most popular titles across the globe, was localized in only 12 languages, and yet it brought a revenue worth $6 billion with 130 million units in sales.

The bottom line is even if you are hiring the help of professionals, you need to do preliminary research to ensure high-quality game localization.