Testing Beyond Borders: The Importance of Game Localization Testing

Game creators face difficulty delivering an inclusive and engaging experience for a broad audience in the ever-expanding global gaming business, where gamers come from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Game localization testing emerges as a critical component of the production process, guaranteeing that games can easily cross linguistic and cultural boundaries. This article discusses the importance of game localization testing and its role in providing a genuinely worldwide gaming experience.

The Essence of Game Localization

Localization of video games is a lengthy and demanding process because it involves more than merely translating the files with the original text.

Ideally, the translator will have access to the entire and definitive text and graphic content. However, this is not always the case. Therefore, video game localization testing is critical.

Localization is more than just video game translation; it refers to the video game’s comprehensive adaption in each target market where it will be released. This includes language, cultural integration, and technical and legal considerations.

A video game translator adapts their knowledge as such to adapt to the target country’s language idiosyncrasy, with everything that entails: a sense of humor, prevalent preferences, religion, or societal uses and customs. And all while retaining the character’s essence, style, taglines, or fixed phrases, for which substitutes must be found.

Localization is a significant and challenging process that requires a team of experienced translators with technical understanding who must become acquainted with the video game and reference material that provides them with the necessary context.

That is why, while at work, they must use glossaries and style guides to learn the rules and nuances of spelling, grammar, tone, and pronunciation that will ensure uniformity. A video game localization must also adhere to character and space limits.

The Importance of Video Game Localization Testing

Creating a video game is an expensive endeavor that necessitates many pros. Quality control and playtesting are critical to avoid faults in the final product being released.

Game localization aims to improve the user experience, boost the brand’s reputation, and increase income. By testing your localized game, you can ensure that consumers in the target market have the same experience as gamers in the original game. Linguists do not have direct access to the game during the localization phase. Thus, they cannot see where the text should go.

Ideally, each segment would have the context to ensure error-free localization. However, this is not always the case. As a result, testing your game after localization demonstrates that you care about your users, which boosts player loyalty.

Testing includes both functional parts of the game experience and localization tests. Linguistic game testing is in charge of revising and fixing everything covered by the product’s translation and localization so that no errors impair the user’s play experience. It is critical to ensure the game meets the required quality requirements.

Linguistic testing is a broad examination of the text. First and foremost, it ensures no semantic, stylistic, factual, or other problems. The translation is evaluated at this stage for how natural or native it feels and how suited it is to the game. For example, it’s critical to ensure that “championship cup” wasn’t mistranslated as “cup” or that a harmless decorative bow wasn’t mistranslated as “bow and arrow.” Such errors are extremely typical when the translator lacks context throughout the translation process, i.e., without access to item photographs or descriptions.

The following are the most prevalent linguistic flaws detected in localized video games:

• Incorrect conjugation, missing pieces, or duplicated words are examples of grammatical, orthographic, and punctuation problems.
• Date format, currency symbol, or calendar issues (for example, discrepancies between conventional date formats in different nations).
• Incorrect use of metric systems and units of measurement (for example, the disparities in measurement systems between the United States and Europe).
• Errors in geographical data, such as indices, addresses, or names.
• Displaying language-specific symbols, notably diacritics in multiple languages, such as “á”
• Disparities in context or literal translations of sentences.
• The strange manner of speaking.
• Translations of the same words or phrases that are mutually exclusive.
• Issues with audio and subtitling — when they don’t match or are incorrectly translated.
• Cultural nuances and references that may be misinterpreted or offensive.

If you want to ensure proper video game localization testing, don’t hesitate to partner with a localization testing company that has all the required human and technological resources to cover all the stages that will ensure the finished product’s quality. 

The Benefits of Game Localization Testing

• Brand’s Reputation: A poorly translated game might damage a developer’s reputation. Thorough localization testing displays a commitment to offering a high-quality experience for all players, which contributes to a strong brand image.

• Market Reach Expansion: Successful game localization testing opens the door to new markets and demographics. Developers may reach a larger player base and enhance their worldwide reach by adapting games to certain linguistic and cultural preferences.

• Increased Player Engagement: When players can relate to the game on a linguistic and cultural level, their engagement and immersion are increased. This promotes a more favorable gaming experience, which leads to increased player retention and happiness.

• The Raise of Income: Investing in game localization testing is a smart move that can result in increased income. Catering to a worldwide audience enables developers to take advantage of varied marketplaces and monetization opportunities, thereby increasing the financial success of their games.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced gaming industry, testing beyond borders is a question of choice and necessity. Game localization testing is essential in ensuring that games resonate with players worldwide, boosting inclusivity and enhancing market potential. Skilled localization testing services with substantial industry knowledge often perform game localization testing. They should be more than simply passionate gamers; they should also grasp linguistics and be familiar with the language’s features and nuances. Developers who emphasize localization testing will find themselves at the vanguard of the global gaming scene, reaping the benefits of a diversified and active player population as the world becomes more linked.