The document outlines participation in LocJam Japan, an online game localization contest for Japanese to English translators, detailing the process and benefits of joining. It provides a step-by-step guide for localizing games, from familiarization to submission, emphasizing best practices and the importance of going beyond translation to true localization. Additionally, it introduces tools like TyranoBuilder and TyranoTranslator, offers tips for successful game translation, and encourages networking among translators.

1. LocJAM Japan – Kyoto Study Group
Learning Game Localization Through the LocJAM
by
Anthony Teixeira and Ryosuke Nagao

2. Hosts
Anthony Teixeira
Freelance Translator – IGDA Localization SIG Co-chair
Japanese/English > French
Ryosuke Nagao
English <> Japanese Game Translator
Past works: Stick It To The Man!, Clash of Clans

3. Welcome to LocJAM JP
• A free, online game localization contest, open to Professional and
Amateur Japanese to English translators. No registration required.
Group work allowed.
• Jurors are experienced translators (Clyde Mandelin, Brian Gray, etc.)
• Why participate?
- Prizes, your name on the website
- Experience (something you can learn from and show potential employers about)
- A chance to learn by comparing your translation with those of others
- Just for fun to see what goes into translation
- Networking: A great chance to meet fellow translators

4. About TyranoBuilder
• TyranoBuilder is suite of drag-and-drop tools that allows you to create visual
novels or other text-based games without knowledge of game programming
• Examples of games created with TyranoBuilder can be found here:
http://tyranobuilder.com/showcase/

5. About Tyrano Translator
• Can be used to localize any TyranoBuilder game
• Includes a preview feature to check your translation in context

6. • Second prize in the TyranoGameFes contest
• A puzzle-solving game dressed up as an old-school J-RPG
• Find the right sequence of actions to beat the game
Introducing 「いきなり魔王」

7. • Do a word count before any translation project
• 「いきなり魔王」= Approx. 4,000 characters
• Know your speed. e.g. assume:
J→E 4,000 characters per 8 hour day per translator
E→J 2,000 words per 8 hour day per translator
• You will also need time for testing the implementation
Planning Ahead

8. Stages of Localizing a Game
1. FAMILIARIZATION & PREP WORK
2. GLOSSARY & STYLE GUIDE CREATION
3. TRANSLATION
4. EDITING
5. INTEGRATION
6. QA & BUG FIXING
7. SUBMISSION + POSTMORTEM

9. 1) FAMILIARIZATION & PREP WORK
•Download the localization package from
•Try to beat the game/use all options
•Take notes about potential challenges/issues

10. TIME TO BRAINSTORM!
What is the game’s text telling us...?
• Parody of a J-RPG with caricatural protagonists
• Space limitation can be an issue for some strings
• Note the forced line breaks

11. 2) GLOSSARY & STYLE GUIDE CREATION
Glossary
You can use term extraction tools to help you here. A quick search
on Google for “free term extractors” should return good results.
Examples: http://fivefilters.org/term-extraction/ (Web)
Okapi Rainbow (Desktop)
Style guide
List anything you find relevant: general tone, language register,
sentence structures, etc.

12. 3) TRANSLATION
• Open the .csv file in any compatible software (Excel,
LibreOffice, Trados, MemoQ, etc.)
• Save backups regularly
• Avoid literal translations, keep players in mind
• Try to preview your translation occasionally
• Follow the Best Practices document from the IGDA LocSIG
http://bit.ly/gamebestpracticesJP and
http://bit.ly/gamebestpractices

13. Not just translation, but true localization
• What would the game look like if it was originally written
in your native language?
“We appreciated how the translator added extra line breaks,
which made the text easier to read and gave a Japanese text
adventure like feel to the game. It is important to pay attention to
how the translated text will look in the actual product.”

14. English
Japanese

15. 4) EDITING
• Pay special attention to consistency for glossary terms
• Copy & paste the text into Word or similar software and have
it highlight potential spelling and grammar mistakes
• Try to proofread your own text at least once on paper
• Might have another native speaker, who is a good writer, look
over your text?
• When you get feedback, you make the call, as the translator
you "own" the text

16. 5) INTEGRATION
• Import the translated strings in TyranoTranslator if
necessary, and preview the localized game
• Make sure everything is there, run the game and look for
any obvious issues
• The game is browser-based. If possible, check how things
display on different computers/OS/browsers

17. 6) QA
• Play through the game with your translation in it
• Look for integration issues (overflows, missing text, etc.) and
check how your translation works in context
• Is the text easy to read?
• If possible, have some of your friends play it too to give you
feedback and find things you may have missed
• Try everything you can think of to spot issues
• Always recheck everything that has been changed again in
game = "Regression"

18. 7) SUBMISSION AND POST-MORTEM
• Upload your file on the locjam.org website before
December 25th, 2016 at midnight (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Look back at the whole experience, see what went well and
what you could do better next time

19. By the way... How do I win the LocJAM?
•Translation quality is subjective by nature, and jurors have
their own personal preferences. Do what YOU feel is best
•Read the instructions. Carefully
•Do proofread and spellcheck your text
•Don’t just translate, localize
•Focus on parts that leave room for creativity
•In general, try to make your translation stand out
•Follow the discussions on Facebook for tips

20. Question Time
• Anthony Teixeira
contact@at-it-translator.com
IGDA Localization SIG on Facebook