Sticky Topic request
Can we have a Translation sticky?
Just a topic that stays up so we can request a translation or provide one.
We all want to help ourselves and help others to make our work global!
MH
Just a topic that stays up so we can request a translation or provide one.
We all want to help ourselves and help others to make our work global!
MH
Comments
There's a jobs forum for this. There are already too many stickies.
translation would just involve instructions and button labels! Not translating programming code!
GS members from all parts of the globe already comprehend English and do fine in the programming in English.
Some just need help with a line of syntax in a language or the tense of their verbs.
That isn't a job...that is a way to help...
and maybe you would need some help someday...
MH
Here's the German listing for Commove...
http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/commove-for-ipad/id374171141?mt=8
Something like that can increase sales. While there's plenty of free artwork and audio files available online, game developers still hire artists and musicians. Developers still license content. That's because quality is important.
What if there was a website where you could just upload the English version, click a few checkboxes, and in about 24 hours get translations for every version of your game's description? Is that not a useful service?
Free Online Translations -- 57 languages
Problem is simply: translations use formal language and often don't include idioms or the vernacular.
Ex: direct translation might yield "following" where the vernacular would be "Next."
GS members would simply look at the translations and modernize the language.
MH
PS @MarcinMakaj that is nice of you...I admire your verbal dexterity!
ran the Commove Description through Google translate...didn't take a second...few errors.
MH
But we are not dealing with book translations or peace treaties...we are dealing in games...simple sentences...and words.
MH
Google didn't even get the color "red" right.
(Google) Red Orbs Änderung Hearts
vs
(Human Translator) Rote Kugeln ändern sich in Herz
It's certainly not a few errors. It's more like the decision of looking like an idiot in front of your paying customers. Poor translations send the message of, "Hey... this app is not worth buying."
Google Translate might be a good starting point, but I certainly do not consider it a quality translation.
I still think it is, but I started remembering some of the biggest blunders in video game translation...
Like Metal Gear - "The truck have started to move." or "I feel asleep."
Without bad translation, we wouldn't have the "all your base" meme. That's the only reason why I remember Zero Wing.
A show like "Burn Notice" or "CSI" would be a more serious game like "Super Mario 64" or "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." They are more focused on how intriguing their content is then it's fame. They also know what their product is composed of will speak loud enough to gain fame. In other terms, they are focused on the quality.
If you want to have a game that gets passed around because of it's translational follies, then go ahead and use a web translator and instruct an international player to "Left no green on go." But if you want decent exposure for a game that you earnestly worked on, get a professional translator. If your game is good, then you won't have to rely on internet-wide mocking to sell your game. Your game will be sold as a game, not as a joke.
I'm just putting the question out there for conversation.
If a game sells as a joke, who cares? Do the graphics of Doodle Jump compare to New Super Mario Bros. Wii? If the entire country of China laughs at Commove, but I make 1.2 million dollars, should I really care?