The gaming industry is a key industry contributing to the world’s GDP now. It has managed to generate $365.6 billion in the previous year. The industry stands at a whopping number of around $214.2 billion. Moreover, it is also important to mention that China stands at number one in generating maximum revenue from the gaming avenue which is about $45.8 billion. Translation services become imperative to deal with such a massive industry. Working on the language barrier helps gaming companies and developers to project a global customer. The ongoing successes in the gaming industry with the help of translation services have now motivated indie game developers to explore foreign lands. Though the high-budget AAA games that the world’s well-known publishers produce and distribute are ahead in the game, indie (independent) games are also taking the stage, and the gaming environment is quite nurturing their work and efforts.
The rise of indie games and their localization is not possible without seeking assistance from a professional gaming translation company. Indie game localization is a process that deals with adapting a game that has been developed independently for a foreign market other than the one in which it was created. It is as good as localizing for larger studios with the help of translation. However, certain key differences address the requirements of indie developers.
Which gaming content needs localization?
The following are the components that require translation before localization.
Text
Text is naturally the most important part of the gaming content. The in-game dialogues, menus, pop-ups, and UI elements, along with the text displayed on the screen are all part of the content that requires careful translation followed by effective localization.
Audio
The audio is often considered optional and translated only when necessary. Many indie games require the re-recording of the original audio content into the target language. However, the individuals working on these games' expansion often have to face budget issues and due to the budget constraints, they rather opt for subtitles and caption translation.
Art
Art and graphics are an integral part of gaming and multilingual software translation services. However, many times it gets complicated and the developers have to go for the adaptation. Many visuals, such as signs and clothing, need alteration from scratch to best suit the target culture.
The challenges of the game translation and localization
Where AAA companies sail through the process of gaming translation and localization smoothly, the indie game developers often have to navigate through different challenges.
Budget limitations
The indie developers come with a limited budget. The translation of the gaming content often gets expensive and localization gets ever more costly. However, there are professional translation agencies that offer cost-effective solutions too. You as an individual must seek the right translation vendor who works according to your budget with creative and budget-friendly solutions.
Limited resources
The indie teams are also often short on resources. Most of them are performing multiple roles. They often need dedicated localization specialists. They prefer seeking freelance translators and smaller studios. This makes the situation challenging for them while dealing with the localization of complex game content.
Tight deadlines
There are usually tight deadlines when it comes to gaming and multilingual software translation services. The same goes for app translation. The team has to coordinate back and forth for transparent communication. However, the indie game distributors have minimum team mates and they have to deal with the tight deadlines on their own. They find it tough to navigate the challenges of meeting deadlines. They should start the translation and localization process in advance to ensure a streamlined process, and avoid unnecessary delays to deliver the product timely.
Conclusion
Indie game developers are slowly taking charge of the gaming industry. However, being limited on budget and resources they have to face more challenges as compared to other high profile games. Moreover, it is important to mention that seeking translation services timely and sorting the strategies for effective gaming localization can help them make the process more swift.
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