What is a game translation service? Professional services at Tomato Media

In recent years, the game industry has grown more and more. Any game that wants to survive and develop in the market must meet the tastes of gamers. To help the game grow strongly in the global market, game translation is particularly crucial. Find out about professional game translation services at Tomato Media.

What is a game translation service?

The game translation is the process of reformulating the game’s content, skills, functions, tasks, situations, etc. from the source language to the target language in the most accurate way possible. If a game translator is only good at the language but does not know how to play the game, he cannot guarantee a good translation of the content and techniques contained in the game. Therefore, a game translator must be experienced, know how to play games, and, of course, be good at languages. Over 50% of a game’s success can be attributed to correctly translated content.

Game translation brings many benefits to businesses and gamers, such as:

• Help players easily grasp the plot and gameplay
• Help technology companies bring their games to the worldwide market and increase game revenue

Content to be translated in PC games, mobile app games

1. Character language in the game

Characters in the game play an important role in making a good game. The game needs a variety of characters with different personalities and styles. When translating games, make sure to translate character-related content such as:

• Description of the character: describe the character, character level, and skills in the game.
• Dialogue of the character in the game: Correctly translating the dialogue is very important. This helps players understand the communication context in the game.
• Weapons, equipment for characters
• Weapon manuals
• Location description

2. Terminology for games

A game is an entertainment software program. Therefore, in addition to the stories in the game, the game language also contains many terms, especially in the backend tool (game management tool).

• Server
• Sync, API
• Alpha test
• Open beta testing, etc.

When translating games, it is impossible to ignore these terms.

Translate games based on the genre of the game to be translated

The game translation service currently bases itself on the type of game that needs to be translated across various platforms, from computers to mobile devices, from online games to offline games:

Action games

Action games are a broad genre of game in which the player controls the main character and overcomes the missions in the game. Action games can be divided into the following subgenres:

• Platform game: Mario Bros
• Shooting games: Counter Strike, Call of Duty, etc.
• Martial arts, fighting games: Mortal Kombat (Black Dragon), Street Fighter or Samurai Shodown, etc.
• Hack and slash games: God of War, Devil May Cry
• Survival games: Stranded Deep, Ark Survival Evolved, etc.

Adventure games

Adventure games are a combination of action and adventure elements that allow players to discover the secrets of the game. At the same time, players can collect items to survive or increase the main character’s skills. The subgenres of this genre include:

• Horror, survival games: Resident Evil, Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• Metroidvania (a game with 2D graphics, a large map, and a plentiful number of characters): Ori and the Blind Forest, Iconoclasts, etc.

Adventure games

Adventure games are games that bring players into the story and the world created by the developer. The game makes players immerse themselves in the exciting adventures of the game world. Some of the games in this genre are:

• Interactive Games: Planetfall, Spider and Web
• Graphic Adventure Games: Snatcher (Konami), Spycraft: The Great Game (Activision), Shadow of Memories (Konami)
• Visual Novel: Phoenix Wright, Danganronpa
• Interactive Games: Planetfall, Spider and Web.

Role-playing games

Role-playing games are one of the most popular game genres among players. To own astonishing indices in the game, the player must spend a lot of time increasing the level when fighting monsters, and bosses, or looking for rare items by overcoming missions and bosses in the game. Some subgenres of the role-playing game genre are:

• Action RPG: Diablo, Torchlight.
• Online RPG: Dragon Oath, MU Online, SWORDSMAN Online
• Strategic role-playing: Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Warhamer 40,000
• Open World Role Playing: Minecraft
• Turn-Based Team Role Playing: Might and Magic

 Simulation games

Simulation games are considered good and addictive because of their realistic and lovely nature. The introduction of simulation games helps players try to do something interesting that is not like their daily life, such as being an adult, flying a plane, driving a car, or managing an entire city. In particular, this game genre is divided into the following subgenres:

• Construction and management simulation games: SimCity, Roller Coaster Tycoon
• Life simulation game: The Sims
• Vehicle simulation games: Truck Simulation, Flight Simulation

 Strategy games

Strategy games are one of the most popular genres that young people are interested in today. Playing a strategy game requires players to have the ability to judge, observe, and calculate most reasonably. Strategy games help players increase their ability to think sharply and quickly. Some subgenres of this game genre are:

• Strategy 4X: Sid Meier’s Civilization
• Artillery tactics: Battle City on the NES system or the famous computer game entitled Worm.
• Real-time Strategy: Age of Empires, Red Alert
• Etc.

 Sports games

Sports games often exploit sports topics such as football, racing, martial arts, etc. This is one of the healthy game genres that we should play instead of addictive or haunting ones such as horror games, shooting games, and open-world games. Sports games are generally classified into the following subgenres:

• Racing: F1, Forza
• Team Games: FIFA, PES, Madden NFL, NBA2K
• eSports: Overwatch, Team Fortress
• Fighting: Fight Night Round, WWE 2K

 Puzzle games

Puzzle games are one of the most popular game genres. Thanks to the simple rules, it kills time and is quite addictive as it stimulates players’ eagerness to learn interesting puzzles to find the answer. Additionally, this kind of game provides excellent brain training, improving players’ comprehension skills. This genre can be divided into subgenres such as:

• Thinking games: Tetris, Bejeweled
• Riddle games

Difficulties in the profession of game translation

Unlike normal documents, to translate games, translators not only need to be fluent in the language but also have a certain understanding of the game. Therefore, the translation profession also encounters many difficulties, such as:

• The language used in the game is frequently very complex and contains a wide variety of specialized terms. If you are not knowledgeable about the game, it is difficult to translate literally, and it is easy to make mistakes with unpredictable consequences.
• In the game translation, it only requires adequacy, not superfluity. The content in the game must be translated carefully and in detail, and it must be properly adjusted to keep the original interface. Avoiding unnecessarily large or awkwardly sized letters is necessary to prevent a poor user interface and diminished player experience.
• Not only do translators have to translate words, but they also have to be creative. Switching the language of sentences needs to match the context of the game while keeping the original meaning and message. Sometimes it is necessary to keep the original word to ensure the meaning such as skill name, land name, etc.
• To determine whether the translation is compatible with the final product, the translator must experience it.

Game translation and localization are not the same things

Many people still think that game localization and translation are the same thing. Although they are somewhat similar, these are two different concepts. Basically, we can distinguish game translation from game localization as follows:

• Game translation: translating all game content from the source language to the target language, retaining all the culture of the original language.
• Localization: It is also a form of translation, but localization involves not only translating from one language to another but also adjusting the dialogue, script, place names, etc., making sure the cultural relevance is in the game language. This makes users feel like this is the native language of the game.

Therefore, several factors must be taken into account to determine whether a game only needs to be translated or localized, including:

• The cultural compatibility of the two languages?
• What is the purpose of the game developer? The game’s content only needs to be translated so that players can understand it? Or should localization be done for all the cultural elements in the source language of the game?
• It depends on the game type. Many games are only translated to be understood, but many require localization for players to understand the game.

Need a quality translator for your game translation project? Let Tomato help you!

Tomato Media is the most prestigious translation company providing game translation services today. We have a large and professional team of translators in the gaming industry. Because of this, they are always aware of the newest, most distinctive, and most unique words that are being used in games and game forums. We have always been trusted and chosen by our customers because of the following advantages:

• An ability to translate games of all genres into more than 50 language pairs
• The working process meets international standard ISO 9001: 2015 for quality
• Professional and accurate game translation
• Guaranteed translation turnaround time
• Translation warranty commitment
• A commitment to project and client information confidentiality

If you need quality game translation, please contact Tomato Media immediately:

• Hanoi office: Room 504, Kinh Do building, 292 Tay Son, Trung Liet, Dong Da, Hanoi
• Branch in Thailand: 362 Krungthep, Nonthaburi 2, Bangkok, Thailand
• Indonesia Branch: 12th Floor, Wisma 46 Tower, Karet Tengsin, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Hotline: 0938 596 333
• Email: info@tomatomediavn.com

Frequently asked questions about game translation services

The following are the frequently asked questions that we have compiled regarding game translation services:

How long does it take to translate a game?

This is a very general question. In fact, the translation company has not been able to accurately notify the customer of the translation turnaround time if the customer does not provide specific game information, including:

• The number of languages to be translated;
• Number of words in the game;
• Content and form of presentation in the game, etc.

The translation agency can use these factors as a basis, combined with the qualifications of the translator, the speed of translation, and the process of proofreading and evaluation, to give an accurate time estimate for the completion of the game translation project.

Usually, a professional translator will have a translation rate of 2,500–3,000 words per day. You can consider referring to this data and the number of words in the game if you want to estimate the game translation time. However, the best way to know how long a game translation takes is to receive consultations from the translation company.

What kind of game is the most difficult to translate into Vietnamese?

According to information from some translators, the types of games with the context and themes of the Three Kingdoms are usually the easiest to translate. Because this is a topic quite familiar to the vast majority of gamers and Vietnamese people, its content is not too abstract.

In contrast, games with sci-fi themes or set in Europe or ancient Western culture are often quite difficult to translate. Because there is cultural unfamiliarity and some Chinese games are set in this context, almost all place names and characters are changed to Chinese, so it is difficult to find the correct word.

What are the biggest challenges when translating games?

When it comes to the hardest things about translating games, the translators will mention a few things:

• Games have too much slang, dialect, skill name, and land name that does not mean anything in the target language;
• Games have too many specialized words and new words created by their game script writers.
• Must ensure that the words, commands, character names, place names, skill names, etc., when translated, are “friendly” to gamers using the target language. Not all skills should be translated; some skills will be kept in the original language or created by creative translators to make them easier for players to understand.

How many steps do game compilations usually take?

After receiving the full information from the customer, giving the cost, agreeing to the quotation, and signing the contract, the next translation process will take place in seven basic steps:

• Analyze the content of the game;
• Plan and assign game translation tasks;
• Conduct the game translation;
• Proofreading of the game translation;
• Examination of the game translation;
• Hand-over of the game translation;
• Make edits as required (if any) and end the translation process.

How much does a game’s translation cost?

Similar to the game translation time question above, game translation costs usually don’t have a specific figure. In order to provide the game translation price list, the translation unit will usually have to have the following information:

• What is the language or number of languages that need to be translated?
• Number of words and content of the game
• Text format
• The time the client wants the game translation to be completed. If the customer requests a short handover period, it is likely that the number of translators involved will be increased, making the quotation also higher

If you need to get a quick and accurate quote, please contact Tomato via Hotline or Zalo at 0938 596 333; we guarantee to bring the best price list for you.

Do translators need to play games when translating?

Translators don’t really play games during translation, but they need to meet the following basic requirements:

• Love playing games;
• Knowledge of one or more different types of games;
• Good reading-writing skills in original language and target language;
• Proficiency in office technology skills, etc.

Does the game translation service at Tomato have a contract?

Yes, all game translation projects carried out by Tomato Company have a transparent contract and comply with the provisions of the law.

Hopefully, the above article has brought you a lot of useful information about game translation services. This work needs to ensure complete and accurate content in the game. If you have a need for quality game translation services, please contact Tomato Media immediately. We are committed to bringing you fast, quality products at the most suitable cost.

Promise of quality

Tomato Media ensures to provide high-quality, consistent services in all its commitments to customers. Our employees follow well-established business processes to expressly communicate, promptly deliver services, and exceed customer expectations.