TashaKim, Public Relations Manager, GAMEVIL, is our guest blogger for this post.

GAMEVIL is a leading mobile games publisher and developer headquartered in Seoul, Korea,with branches in Los Angeles, California, and Tokyo, Japan. GAMEVIL has expanded their global presence over the years through an ambitious lineup of internal and third party titles localized in eight different languages. GAMEVIL specializes in mid-hardcore mobile games and prides itself on their strong following of players who enjoy their RPG-based titles.

At GAMEVIL,we believe that localization is one of the most important steps during post-game development. Correctly localizing a product not only promotes accessibility toa wide range of players across the world but also establishes global brand awareness. Our games are localized in over eight languages through in-house translators as well as third-party companies. Due to the geographical closeness and cultural similarities, our games are heavily popularized in Asia. Japan, in particular, holds a high percentage of downloads and monetization. We believe this is in part due to the localization of our content into the Japanese language and culture. 

Below are a few guidelines we learned in our experiences localizing to Japanese as well as other Asian countries that may help other developers:

Translation is Not Localization

There are countless outsourcing companies overseas that will offer a literal translation of the language, but because so many RPG titles hold a rich and deep storyline,a literal translation would render the story awkward, bland, and lose the interest of the player. At GAMEVIL Japan, we translate the game internally and often outsource to third-party translators as well. Then, we initiate a second round of in-house translations. This portion focuses more on the cultural nuances and idioms that might not have translated seamlessly.

Understanding the Culture: The Importance of Physical Presence

We believe that it’s not enough to simply localize into a language through text, but that a full immersion is the best way to understand a culture and what is relevant in the region. The staff members at our Tokyo office are Korean/Japanese who have a sound comprehension of the social and cultural nuances. As similar as East Asian cultures may seem, there are still dynamic differences linguistically between countries that require sensitivity and attention. Once a literal translation is done, GAMEVIL Tokyo will go through a proofread, cross checking the text of the original document and implement any necessary changes. This process usually consists of omitting phrases that are irrelevant and adding text that will vibe well with the Japanese gaming culture.

The Importance of Proofreading

One key aspect that remains an extreme priority in our localizing is in the final steps of proofreading. We check each line to make sure that the meanings and expressions held behind each word and phrase flows seamlessly. The last thing that you would want is to make your game seem foreign to native gamers. We will usually have at least three rounds of thorough review before the translation is released to the public.

Localize the Entire Experience

One common misconception is that localization simply ends with the text, but localization often applies to the whole game. We cater each game according to regions. For many of our titles, we will implement Global, Asian, and Korean servers to create an experience that is relevant and user friendly. In addition, we take a user’s environment into consideration. For many Japanese users, gameplay will take place during a commute on the subway or bus in addition to heavy gameplay at home. We try to focus on quick loading times to encourage gameplay during short sessions. For our strong RPG and sports titles, we create short side quests such as the Abyss system in ZENONIA® and Exhibition Mode in Baseball Superstars® that can be enjoyed in short sessions. Japanese users are also big gamers and enjoy the anime RPG-style of many of our titles. With an immersive storyline and high-quality visuals combined with a well-polished text, our titles have seen success in terms of downloads and purchases in Japan.

We want to put out a product that seems indigenous to the users as they play the game. Our end goal is to create a game that transcends language and cultural boundaries that can be enjoyed by people regardless of age,gender, and ethnicity.