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Mobile Game Localization

Mobile game localization is the process of adapting mobile games to a specific country or locale. This process requires translation, integration, and testing of localized assets (also called “closing kit”, “asset pack” “or localization kit”). Assets contain all the indispensable assets, documentation, and source code to rebuild a game from the very beginning without assistance from the original developer (Chandler, 2005).

Mobile games can be developed in multiple mobile operating systems (also called mobile OS). Mobile OSs operate on smartphone, tablet, PDA, or other mobile devices. Current platforms are Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Firefox OS, Sailfish OS, Tizen, and Ubuntu Touch OS.

Mobile games have put in attractive offers and enhanced their audio and video quality. They are now winning greater acceptance among users. In fact, the mobile game industry will be constantly evolving and growing significantly (Vela Valido, 2005).

In order to gain more clients, mobile phone engineers have shown that mobile phones can also be a convenient gaming device. The ROI of mobile game localization looks very promising. According to Amsterdam-based Newzoo, mobile games will come alongside console revenues in 2015. This international full service market research and consulting firm, focused on the games industry, said that mobile games will hit $30.3 billion in 2015, up from $25 billion in 2014 (Gamasutra, 2014).

The contrast between mobile games and games for most different platforms is an essential one and one that has a huge effect on game localization. For example, computer-designed games and consoles depend intensely on high quality graphics and expansive maps. Being much smaller, mobile games don't have the advantage of shocking visual components, implying that the nature of the gameplay itself must be high so as to keep up player interest (Chandler, 2005).

The strategies for localizing videogames include:

Crowdsourcing, gamers translate your game; Professional translation, professional translators translate your game; Professional translation revision, gamers translate your game and professional translators reviewed gamers’ translation; Gamers’ translation ranking, professional translators translate your game and gamers vote the best translation; Others (Gamasutra, 2014).

In order to evade probable GUI issues relating to subsequent cost fixation and after being implemented, the same console and computer game localization practices should be applied: don’t hardcode the text, account for different string sizes in the user interface (UI), and organize the assets so they are easy to localize (Chandler, 2005).

One of most common mobile localization issues is the size of the screen (Hoogerbeets, 2012). Truncation occurs when the stored string location is too short to hold its entire length. On the other hand, in terms of translation, the main issue is the adaptation of information formats used in the application software like measure, currency, data, menu sequence, etc (Chandler, 2005).

References

Bernal Merino, Miguel. "On the Translation of Video Games." The Journal of Specialised Translation 6 (2006). JosTrans. 5 Dec. 2014. <http://www.jostrans.org/issue06/art_bernal.pdf>.

Bernal-Merino, Miguel. "Challenges in the Translation of Video Game." Revista Tradumàtica 5 (2007). Revista Tradumàtica. 5 Dec. 2014.

<http://www.fti.uab.es/tradumatica/revista/num5/articles/02/02art.htm>.

Bernal-Merino, Miguel. Translation and Localisation in Video Games: Making Entertainment Software Global. Vol. Routledge Advances in Translation Studies. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.

Chandler, Heather. The Game Localization Handbook. 2nd ed. Hingham, Mass.: Charles River Media, 2005. Print.

Dunne, Keiran. Perspectives on Localization. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2006. 121-151. Print.

Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon; Heide, Jonas; Pajares, Susana. Understanding Videogames: The Essential Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Esselink, Bert. A Practical Guide to Localization. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2001. Print.

"Gamasutra: Loki Ng's Blog - Getting Started with Mobile Game Localization." Gamasutra Article. UBM Tech, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LokiNg/20141103/229300/Getting_Started_with_Mobile_Game_Localization.php>

Hoogerbeets, Edwin. "Challenges to Internationalizing Mobile Devices & Tablets." YouTube. YouTube, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 3 Jan. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VlALTMp1Yo>.

Mangiron, Carmen, Pilar Orero, and Minako O'Hagan, eds. Fun for All: Translation and Accessibility Practices in Video Games. Bern: Peter Lang, 2014. Print.

Mangiron Hevia, Carmen. "La Localización de videojuegos: El arte de traducir para entretener." Reflexiones sobre la traducción audiovisual: Tres espectros, tres momentos. Ed. Juan José Martínez Sierra. Valencia: Universitat De València, 2012. 125-130. Print.

"Mobile Games Localization." Mobile Games Localization. MO Group International, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 3 Jan. 2015. <http://mogi-translations.com/mobile-game-localization/>.

O'Hagan, Minako, and Carmen Mangiron. Game Localization Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2013. Print.

Rodríguez García, Mercedes. “VII. Localización de aplicaciones Android”. Traducción multimedia: diversas pantallas, enfoques diversos. Ed. María Teresa Veiga Díaz and Marta García González. Vigo: Servizo De Publicacións Da Universidade De Vigo, 2013. 124-155. Print.

Scholand, Michael. “Localización de videojuegos”. Revista Tradumàtica 1 (2002). 5 Dec. 2014. <http://www.fti.uab.es/tradumatica/revista/articles/mscholand/art.htm>.

Torres Molina, Yolanda. "Localización de juegos para móvil". Revista Tradumática 5 (2007). 5 Dec. 2014. <www.fti.uab.es/tradumatica/revista/num5/articles/05/05.pdf>

Vela Valido, Jennifer. "La localización de videojuegos." Traducción y localización: Mercado, gestión y tecnologías. Ed. Detlef Reineke. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Anroart Ediciones, 2005. 253-283. Print.