SDL's Guide to Localisation in Gaming
- 1. Localization for the Interactive Games Industry SDL understands the challenges associated with simultaneously launching products across multiple geographies and the importance of delivering high- quality localized game play in securing global market share. SDL can help you to prepare your game for international deployment by managing the complete content portfolio throughout a game’s lifecycle. Industry leading companies partner with SDL to: • Improve market penetration – Provide new localized game features and supporting documentation • Enhance player experience – Integrate high-quality, contextually and culturally accurate localized audio content • Increase game adoption – Create local language promotional content that speaks directly to your target audience • Enter new global markets – Streamline translation processes to support new languages and cultural nuances • Meet full and partial release dates – Align local language content creation with development lifecycles • Increase player retention rates – Deliver support and service information in a language your customers can understand and use • Reduce go-to-market costs – Intelligently store, repurpose and re-use content In the fast paced gaming industry, reputations are won and lost on the success of the latest release. The bottom line can hang in the balance if deadlines and launch dates are not met. Language
- 2. Solution Brief | Localization for the Interactive Games Industry 2 SDL provides solutions for: • Software • Audio • Promotional material • Marketing videos • Documentation • Manuals • Packaging • Websites • eCommerce • Online communities • Testing Cross cultural game design Optimizing your game for multiple cultures can help ensure your game reaches a larger, global audience. SDL provides pre- production consulting, including assistance in running cross- cultural research and advice on local preferences and legal requirements or restrictions. Maintaining creativity Target audience, culture and message are all considered during the localization process to provide a natural and creative translation that communicates the spirit of your game. • Experienced gamers combine their linguistic skills with their subject matter experience and passion • Small, focused teams include an“acquaintancy”step in their workflow – devoting a proportion of their time to playing and immersing themselves in the game’s culture • Graphics and artwork experts are able to work within all industry accepted graphics packages • In-house, in-country translation teams provide control and consistency Audio and multimedia localization In-house recording studios and worldwide media partners provide the opportunity to take localized game play to the highest level with local language audio integration. • Full casting, review and selection for multilingual voice-over artists • In-country studio production management • Professional state of the art post-processing and audio file integration including lip-synching and subtitling Testing and quality assurance SDL provides both functional and linguistic testing as well as help in preparing test plans and reporting protocols for localization bug-fixing. The complete spectrum of usability and behavioural functions is tested within dedicated professional testing labs in order to correct translation errors before release. Analyze TestExtract Translate Record Integrate
- 3. Solution Brief | Localization for the Interactive Games Industry 3 Industry leading technology The full range of localization services from SDL are supported by its industry leading technology. • Workflow efficiency, tracking, reporting • Industry standard terminology and client specific glossaries • Translation memory & re-use optimization • Automated translation • Content management & publishing solutions Global launch SDL enables Valve to simultaneously launch new games across the globe. Valve relies on SDL for a comprehensive range of services including localization, voiceover recording, website translation and workflow management. This strategic partnership allows Valve to: • Manage the localization of gaming content in 16 languages worldwide • Enable the simultaneous shipment of new games to eager audiences worldwide • Coordinate the localization of product information, including the game’s instructions, packaging and audio visual content • Meet rigorous standards of quality expected from Valve “With SDL Valve is able to tackle the challenges of global market participation head-on. By introducing a strategy to manage the escalating requirements for local language delivery, Valve is uniquely positioned to achieve superior international gaming market performance, brand recognition, gaming adoption rates, and lifetime customer value.” Steve McClure Valve SDL (LSE: SDL) is the leader in global customer experience. With a completely integrated cloud solution for content management, analytics, language and documentation, SDL solves the complexity of managing your brand’s digital footprint as it grows across multiple languages, cultures, websites, devices and channels. Seventy-nine of the top 100 global companies trust SDL to help them create authentic, in-context customer experiences that drive demand and loyalty. SDL brings your brand to the world, and the world to your brand. Copyright © 2015 SDL plc. All Rights Reserved. All company product or service names referenced herein are properties of their respective owners. SDL_sb_Localization_InteractiveGaming_EN_A4_130215 Learn more at SDL.com. Follow SDL on Facebook and Twitter.