Short localization article on 1UP

[SargeSmash]

Read it here.

Honestly, I see a much better job out of this community than anyone could reasonably expect.  And it's why I cringe when I've tried a few of the RPGs on iOS / Android, and they're riddled with spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.  Heck, I'm not even asking for a great localization, just something that has actually at least been checked over once.

Mother 3 gets mentioned in the article, and honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between this and an official localization.  It was that good.

[Garoth Moulinoski]

That was an interesting read. I've noticed a lot of awful writing and grammar in iOS games. Zenonia is one of those games that had a few typos and practically no word wrapping. Game Dev Story also has some strange funkiness to it at times.

I don't think too many people think of portables as "serious game" devices (and I'm including 3/DS, PSP/Vita in there as well), so maybe that's part of why localization there isn't such a big deal.

[DankPanties]

Honestly, I see a much better job out of this community than anyone could reasonably expect.  And it's why I cringe when I've tried a few of the RPGs on iOS / Android, and they're riddled with spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.

That's the difference between a labor of love, and a labor of lucrativeness.

[Garoth Moulinoski]

Well, a labor of love still needs to get funded... If they can't pay a good localizer then they'll have to live with that. I don't think they should be blamed for not having the money.

I do take offense with any games (or apps in general) made by an American or English company and that's riddled with typos and grammar errors.

[SargeSmash]

Well, that being said, I've known quite a few coders that are good at it, but they're not exactly strong on grammar, spelling, or writing in general, so I suppose there's that.  Plus, I suspect stuff like Zenonia is a direct result of getting a cheap translator, and (as you say) just getting it out the door.

I do wish that more companies would pick up some of the fan translations.  There are quite a few that could easily be professional products.  Why Ninty doesn't do so with Mother 3 still blows my mind.  That'd be a perfect fit for the 3DS Virtual Console.

[DankPanties]

Garoth you failed to understand at all what I meant.

[Garoth Moulinoski]

Hmm... I reread it and I realize I missed the first part. Although I still feel like what I said is still relevant. Sarge said it better than me, though.

(Zenonia felt alright at first until I realize that they've released 4 sequels in under, what, 3 years? And its sequel at least keeps some of the jerkiness of the first one, which makes me think that they indeed are trying to cash in. Which is fine, I guess.)