Presented by: Madeleine Lenker, PhD Béatrice Compagnon, CEO
Games localization used to be structured around the needs of console and PC games but the shift in the market, tending towards Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs) points out other issues that have to be addressed differently (see also Althen). The volume of the content to be localized went from approximately 30 000 words for an average console game to anything from 100 000 to a million words. Since Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games are resilient game worlds, new content is being added on a monthly basis, which was not the case with console games. All printed content as manuals, boxes etc. are not required anymore but the new challenge arising is the PvP (Player versus Player) component, which allows gamers to play against each other in real time, each individual playing in his own localized version. The methods used for console and PC games are not answering the localization needs of this new type of content and new approaches must be found to cope with this volume while maintaining and improving quality. Having a defined workflow process in place would potentially enable automation, and thus increase the efficiency of the localization process. We look at the localization approaches of MMOs, e.g. in regards of collaborative translation with server-based CAT tool such as memoQ.
