What are the best strategies for maintaining a game's tone during localization?

1 Choose the right translators

The first and most important step is to hire professional translators who are familiar with the game's genre, tone, and target audience. They should also have a good understanding of the source and target languages, cultures, and contexts, as well as the technical aspects of game localization. Translators should be able to capture the nuances, subtleties, and emotions of the original text, while also adapting it to the linguistic and cultural conventions of the target market. They should also be able to communicate effectively with the developers and the localization team, and provide feedback and suggestions for improving the quality and consistency of the translation.

3 Test and review the translation

The third step is to test and review the translation before releasing it to the public. Testing and reviewing the translation can help to identify and fix any issues that might affect the tone of the game, such as spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, formatting, or cultural sensitivity. Testing and reviewing the translation can also help to evaluate how the tone is perceived and received by the target audience, and whether it achieves the desired effect and impact. Testing and reviewing the translation can be done by using different methods, such as internal or external quality assurance, user feedback, focus groups, or playtesting.

4 Use localization tools and resources

The fourth step is to use localization tools and resources that can facilitate and improve the localization process. Localization tools and resources can include software, platforms, databases, glossaries, style guides, or best practices that can help to manage, automate, or optimize the localization workflow. For example, localization tools and resources can help to extract, translate, edit, or integrate the text and audio files of the game, or to check for consistency, accuracy, or completeness of the translation. Localization tools and resources can also help to maintain the tone of the game by providing reference, context, or guidance for the translators and the localization team.

5 Collaborate and communicate

The fifth step is to collaborate and communicate with the translators and the localization team throughout the localization process. Collaboration and communication can help to ensure that the tone of the game is understood, respected, and conveyed by everyone involved in the localization project. Collaboration and communication can also help to resolve any doubts, questions, or issues that might arise during the localization process, and to exchange feedback, suggestions, or ideas for improving the localization quality and outcome. Collaboration and communication can be done by using different channels, such as emails, chats, calls, meetings, or forums.

6 Be flexible and creative

The sixth and final step is to be flexible and creative when localizing a game. Flexibility and creativity can help to overcome the challenges and limitations that localization might pose to the tone of the game, such as linguistic, cultural, or technical differences, or time and budget constraints. Flexibility and creativity can also help to enhance the tone of the game by finding innovative and effective solutions, or by adding value and diversity to the game. Flexibility and creativity can be applied by using different strategies, such as localization-friendly design, transcreation, adaptation, or localization testing.