Part 1. Comprehensive Kick-Off Meeting
Assessing the developer’s project and requirements.
There are a few main points to cover before localization gets started. The goal is to get certain key information for your own planning but also to provide an insight into the localization process so that when you start, you have the best possible foundation. Here’s an overview of this step:
Requirements – getting an overview of the project and getting to know the developer.
Localization Kit – materials for you and the translators.
Script Preparation – considerations for the script prior to translation.
Common Pitfalls and Other Considerations – things developers would rather know sooner.
1. Requirements: an overview of the project.
At this stage the point is to establish a high-level overview of the project and this typically happens around alpha or sometimes sooner. It affords you the opportunity to give an insight into the localization process, highlight common pitfalls and present options to the developer they might not know they have.
This is not an exhaustive list – and depending on what information you have going into a kick-off meeting it won’t be necessary to ask all of the following questions. In some cases, the developer won’t be able to provide an answer or only give estimates.
What type of game is being localized?
What languages are required?
Will the project require localized voiceover (VO)?
What is the current and projected:
Onscreen text (OST) word count?
Script line count and word count?
Number of characters?
Recording constraint (lip-sync, sound-sync, time-constraint, wild or a mix)?
What is the target age rating and audience?
Are any aspects of the project licensed? (Well-known brands or existing IP.)
Does the project require any specialist knowledge? (Cars, military, medicine, IT etc.)
Is a content management system (CMS) being used?
What file types are being used for OST, subtitles and VO?
Are there any drop-dead dates or hard deadlines? (Platform submission etc.)
Is there a need for any localized demos prior to full release?
Are there any materials outside of the game to be localized? (Downloads, websites, tutorials etc.)
Who will be the main point of contact during localization? (Set up a weekly call.)
What is the current schedule for the source (usually English) script recordings?
What are the delivery specifications for the localized VO? (Mixing, naming and post-processing.)
2. Localization kit: things you want from the developer.
Prior to localization starting you will be responsible for preparing the localization kit. Some of these items are essential, some are nice to have, and others are just not available and you may have to create them yourself.
The design document, project brief and concept documents.
Screenshots or concept art for characters, items, weapons, vehicles and environments etc.
Gameplay footage. Granularity is good; divide videos into levels or areas instead of one long video.
Menu screenshots showing all the text used outside of gameplay.
