Professional Game Localization & Audio:

I handle various gaming projects (both translation and review) and I really enjoy them. I particularly like FRP with rich dialogues. It is always a pleasure to make thorough search in order to make sense of the text and convey the meaning in a fluent and natural way. As another point, Turkish is quite different from European languages in terms of grammar. When we see phrases which consist of a combination of various elements such as item name+rarity+level+tier+descriptive feature etc., we need to reorganize their order, add various suffixes etc. in order to create a Turkish phrase which sounds natural and makes perfect sense for the reader. It is a pleasure to work on the grammar like a puzzle. These may be challenges in game localization but they are also elements of joy in my job.

I really like gaming translations as I have been playing computer games since Amiga 500 days and also mobile games for a few years. My favourite genres are Real Time Strategy like Starcraft I-II and Warcraft III; FPS shooting games like Quake, CS-GO, Half-Life; and RPG games like Diablo II-III. But I also play card games like Hearthstone, Magic the Gathering; mobile games like Brawl Stars, Clash Royale and have played different types of games, for example DoTA, Heroes of Newerth, FIFA, Need for Speed, Colin McRae etc. The most demanding thing I come across during gaming translations/revisions is localizing some kind of key gaming terms for which only their English form is generally accepted in gaming community. I sometimes prefer to leave these kind of terms in English and notify the client to overcome the complication.

As a project manager, I really enjoy the gaming management but I also have some difficulties to struggle. First of all, it is so exciting to be a part of the localization of a creative context and to be one of the first experiencers of a new game. However, this also brings some challenges such as too many back-and-forth e-mailing between translation team and the client so that we can make sure the best localization, the necessity of transcreation, limited timeframe, etc. To make the management easier, we’re working with a highly qualified team and doing our best to make use of the time well (for example, sending the queries to the client during the translation step). In conclusion, we’re happy to be involved in the gaming field and willing to meet any challenges!

The main reasons why I love translating game context is I'm a gamer myself. I've translated several games of different genres and my favorite of all was Blood Lines 2. It had so many characters and dialogues mostly spoken in a slang manner; I love it because I've always had a thing for the supernatural; it simply bewitches me and makes me stray into another world, a quite gothic one. Due to the lack of visual references, I've had some difficulties translating certain sentences; the main problem was that I'd almost no idea of the characters' gestures as they spoke. Therefore, I wasn't quite sure whether they meant what they said or were just joking around. After reading each character's attributes, each sentence carefully and picturing the relevant ambience, I succeeded in getting the right meanings and that major problem was solved.

One of the reasons I love game localization projects is that I can be more creative in the process compared to the other projects I do. I especially love working on games that have role-playing elements, as they often have interesting stories I enjoy discovering as I work on the project. It can be a little challenging when the game text has variables that are unclear during the translation process, but with appropriate feedback from the client it can be easily managed.

I’ve been gaming for around 14 years now and it is my biggest hobby. I’m not just playing games, I also check gaming related news and new technologies. My favorite game series is definitely Half-Life. I love story driven games, FPS games, racing and simulation games. As I’m interested in gaming, doing gaming related translations are fun and easy for me. I already know about the terms or context most of the time. If it is a game I’ve played, it becomes even easier. Translating League of Legends for example would be really easy for me. Only hard part is, sometimes I can’t decide what won’t be translated and what will be. But the guidelines and client instructions help me find the ideal equivalent.