The Secrets of Localization Production
Localization production is just like managing any other department… right? Wrong. This is the most complex unit to direct at any major AAA developer. Successful shipment of a polished regional build entails challenges that require not only your general skillset, but also: Foresight, critical thinking, and strong knowledge of cultural customs. This is, in fact, the biggest growing concern in our industry due to the age of economic globalization and multinational corporations.
Fortunately, I’ve devised a primer for you to avoid the pitfalls me and my colleagues have experienced with this in the past. Basically, this is the key concept to remember: Good LOC QA and LOC Engineering does not simply amount to translating. It is all about understanding and applying a working knowledge of cultural anthropology. Simply throwing bi-lingual staff at the work no longer cuts it anymore, due to the increasing sensibilities of the nuanced consumer. You need an educated social scientist to implement documentable flow charts and develop a strong “Chain of Custody” process.
Unfortunately, most major devs don’t realize this and have fleshed out their LOC command staff AND general roster with employees who simply are bi-lingual. Well, you can post a Craigslist ad to find immigrants from just about any country, and even headhunt natural citizens with B.A.’s in a foreign language. That doesn’t mean you should always do that, though. Hypothetically, anyone can teach themselves French out of a book, or study French in Paris one summer- but that doesn’t mean you would possess French sensibilities and understand the importance of avoiding faux pas (Français for “false step”) in the cross-disciplinary realm of international business.
This is a danger especially if you work at a larger company, where major AND sub-regionalization is become increasingly important. Nonsensically though, the larger the company you work for, the more likely the chain of command is going to be enforced, and the Green Beret Model of self-initiative driven leadership is discouraged. What that means is that if you have a strong critical thinker on your LOC team, he or she risks the wrath of mediocre managers who feel threatened by constructive criticism or any process improvement suggestion that they didn’t conjure up themselves. That’s why it is becoming an increasing best-practice to focus on hiring or promoting regional localization supervisors or producers who have backgrounds or degrees in International Business or Anthropology.
Additionally, do not overlook the importance of having a certified Product Owner on your LOC staff! Although your localization department may not be large or complex enough to require a certified Scrum-Master, I am a serious proponent of tapping a Devil's Advocate to ensure the quality of your product. You may not need a Product Owner full time on the project, so ask the larger core dev team if you can borrow an Associate Producer on TA (Temporary Assignment) to undertake an audit. When your Product Owner does his job by pointing out defects and making recommendations, protect him from pushback.
The importance of this concept was reinforced to me the night I watching a British program "on the telly" wherein the actors naturally referred to cigarettes by using a word found highly offensive in the States. Still think a one-dialect-per-regional-build approach still works? Just how many customers can that model potentially alienate without at least one sharp eye overseeing the work? And even if your mistakes aren't offensive, they can break gameplay immersion and destroy the carefully crafted corporate image you have worked so hard to project. I go nuts whenever I read poorly backtranslated manuals from Ikea, or see laughably translated text in computer games that were developed in Japan.
Finally, don’t overlook some forethought and QA in localization engineering if you want to sell a polished product overseas. Otherwise, you are going to end up with a well-dubbed game in, say Russian, but loading screens in English!