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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperBusinessLocalization - is it worth it?
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Craig Stern
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« Reply #20 on: February 07, 2010, 10:04:13 PM »

with regards to dialogue heavy games, wouldnt that actually make it more worthwhile?

Well, it would make the game much more accessible, but it would also be way, way, way more work. So the question is, is the additional benefit worth the additional work?
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Klaim
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« Reply #21 on: February 09, 2010, 03:31:56 PM »

I'm making a strategy game and it's already worthwile, because it targets geeks. And geeks are universals, citizens of the world  Gentleman

You have to "know your audience". Knowning your audience is the second guide to make right decisions for your game. The first one being knowing the fundamental theme of your game.

Once you know your audience, you'll know if it's worthwhile.
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AndyWiltshireBPA
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« Reply #22 on: February 10, 2010, 01:46:19 PM »

I like the idea previously of putting the game out there and letting fans/volunteers translate, so it makes sense to prepare your game for localization from the start.

We will be doing this with RedRiot, simply have all the text loaded from a language file.
 (The hassle is making sure longer translated words fit, especially in menus)

And I was wondering about translating then releasing, but I think releasing the Beta, then asking for volunteers to translate makes more sense, then we launch the full version with as many translations as possible, and it remains open to more.
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Camel
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« Reply #23 on: February 10, 2010, 09:27:35 PM »

I think it's quite worth it.
This data it's from the casual games market, but i got it on one of my Linked contacts in the industry, and his numbers were something like :

German Market : 540 million dollars
British Market : 340 million dollars
French Market : 270 million dollars

This is just about casual games, but i would get the indie market would not be to much far away. Also depends on the type of game, from what i have read somewhere, Germans are quite addict to Strategy and Adventure games.
No idea about the brits or the french.


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Christian Knudsen
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« Reply #24 on: February 11, 2010, 02:22:05 AM »

I'm not sure those numbers mean anything. They don't state that these countries only buy games in their own language, do they?
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« Reply #25 on: February 11, 2010, 02:28:32 AM »

British can speak English .. that is the language most indie games are made in anyways.

The French and the German both have a good share of people who can read English, so it shouldn't be that a pressing matter ...

I'd assume Japanese/Chinese to be more important localization, also Russian. Particularly because those languages needs different fonts, and the people there not only need to learn the English language, but also Latin characters.
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« Reply #26 on: February 11, 2010, 07:18:53 AM »

Yes, they state that this countrys buy games using their own language.
I didn't mean British, i mean Spanish, sorry Smiley
If any of you already made localizations of casual games, and have acess to their sales, then you would see how important localization is (for casual games, i have no idea for indie games).
Russian/Polish markets might be also important, no clue, in Russia i think games are sold much cheaper than in the rest of the Westen world, but i assume as the market is huge, it's probably worth it.
BigFish currently has support for 5 languages (English,German,French,Spanish and Japanese), but this year they will increase this number to 10 languages.
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Klaim
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« Reply #27 on: February 12, 2010, 01:10:24 PM »

Quote
The French and the German both have a good share of people who can read English, so it shouldn't be that a pressing matter ...

I wouldn't say that...

Lot of online French people knows english but frankly it's really not much. I think only "geeks" speak also english.
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obscure
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« Reply #28 on: February 18, 2010, 02:52:29 AM »

A game with minimal text doesn't really need localization. A big RPG will benefit but the cost will be higher. I would recommend coding to make localization easier, but launching in your native tongue first and then localizing if the game is a success.

Strawdog Studios localized their iPhone game Turbo Duck into Fre, Ger, Ita, Spa... the game sold more in Japan (unlocalized) than any of the localized versions did.
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« Reply #29 on: February 19, 2010, 01:10:41 AM »

Lot of online French people knows english but frankly it's really not much. I think only "geeks" speak also english.

Canadians from Quebec understand and use english fluently, in France it is a different issue and I agree with Klaim's statement that only "geeks" or players community will play games fully in english.

By the way, I'm french and I will be glad to offer my help to translate games from english to french if needed (just PM or e-mail me).
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nihilocrat
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« Reply #30 on: February 20, 2010, 10:49:57 PM »

The French and the German both have a good share of people who can read English, so it shouldn't be that a pressing matter ...

From the opinions I gather about Germany, practically everyone who is of the age to be playing video games can read and/or understand English... some players just feel like it's their god-given right to play the game in German. As pointed out above, the French are a bit more proud of their language and thus not as likely to know English.

Russian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese localizations sound potentially very fruitful, in that order. I have a feeling the Japanese generally only ever play doujin games and don't dip into the western indie scene, but I'd love it if someone proved me wrong. The Russians are in a lucrative situation; they're quite a big market of which many do not speak English that is more likely to check out and play western titles.
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Klaim
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« Reply #31 on: February 21, 2010, 01:54:27 PM »

Quote
As pointed out above, the French are a bit more proud of their language and thus not as likely to know English.

What I feel is more that most French don't really understand the need for learning anything other than French in their school days, making them bad at learning new languages. Really, it's more that most Frenchs aren't used to learn new languages. I think Japaneses have somewhat the same problem.

In fact, as France is the most visited country in the world, I guess most of the people knowing english well are : 1. geeks & tech people 2. commercials 3. having restaurants
I know a lot of power-gamers that just don't know english very well.
They just don't understand why I suggest  them to buy th eenglish version of Mass Effect instead of the french one, but it's obvious for anyone knowing french and english and trying to see the difference.
I think it's really problematic because the french education is in crisis since few years and I fear for the coming generations. At least they can learn a lot by being connected... but you know, most of the french young people can't event spell french well.

I'm not a language laywer but it's really sad because the language is like a protocol for communication. We lost a lot by having so much young people that can't communicate fast en easy with other older generations (or maybe even with younger).
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Chromanoid
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« Reply #32 on: February 21, 2010, 04:30:37 PM »

I know a lot of power-gamers that just don't know english very well.
They just don't understand why I suggest  them to buy th english version of Mass Effect instead of the french one, but it's obvious for anyone knowing french and english and trying to see the difference.
same thing in germany. especially when your target group includes children younger than 16 or people who work in non-IT areas. in addition in germany all foreign main stream media is dubbed (music excluded Smiley)...
« Last Edit: February 21, 2010, 04:35:22 PM by Chromanoid » Logged
Craig Stern
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« Reply #33 on: February 23, 2010, 06:38:16 PM »

things

What do you think? Should I deliberately not translate my game into French, just to encourage the French to improve their educational system?
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Klaim
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« Reply #34 on: July 06, 2010, 12:27:34 PM »

No (sorry for the late answer).
Don't forget it's to help YOUR game that you add localization, not to help others (and French are often egocentric).

So in your case (and I'm in the same one in fact) I would ALLOW localization and then focus on english, and see later for other languages maybe helped for free by community members.
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Indievelopper
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« Reply #35 on: July 16, 2010, 02:28:47 AM »

I'm quite overwhelmed by such a massive lot of bullshit about Frenches.

Proud of our language? Well no, you are the ones that find it romantic or whatever, most people talk English here, if not a fluent English, and I don't think anybody would have problems understanding the 2 or 3 words that appear in a shooter game. Now for rpgs, it could indeed be bit different since the vocabulary and grammar used can be a little more complicated, and big parts of the scenario could be lost.

If it's for a rpg, i highly recommend you to translate it(French and German is the way to go i think).

I can only suggest you my help for the French part , I've already translated some games, the last one in date being a famous game on tigsource, Jumpman.
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« Reply #36 on: July 16, 2010, 11:44:10 PM »

Has anyone mentioned the input differences yet? It's quite possible that you'll have to recode your input system if it didn't take into account localised keyboard layouts. For text only translations that don't have too much dialogue, I don't really see why you wouldn't translate it assuming you have a solid game to start with.
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Klaim
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« Reply #37 on: July 17, 2010, 07:02:49 AM »

Personally, I use OIS (C++ lib) that allow to easily manage inputs whatever the keyboard settings.
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agersant
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« Reply #38 on: August 09, 2010, 06:05:26 AM »

As a French person I can say that keyboard layouts are WAY TOO OFTEN overlooked . I have long stopped counting the number of indie games (esp. Flash games) I could not play because they required WASD for movement. Just look how these keys are laid on a French keyboard : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Azerty_fr_zoom.svg/800px-Azerty_fr_zoom.svg.png >.<

No matter how fluent people are in English, they won't remap their keys just to play a game. I think this is even more crucial than actual translations.
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Vino
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« Reply #39 on: August 09, 2010, 06:47:53 AM »

Why...

Why do you have two M's?

Also what do game developers with wasd controls typically do for French people?
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