GameScribes Localization 101

Content Updated May 7 2022

Whether you’re a loc pro or you’re bringing a game to a new market for the first time, here is a handy glossary of common terms — some unique to GameScribes — you can refer to as you start your localization journey.

Localization

Localization is the process of tailoring a product to be sold in a specific country or market. Different markets have different standards and cultural sensitivities, so localization — including translation of in-game lines, as well as marketing materials — is needed to make sure your game can reach the widest audience.

Translation

Changing words from one language to another. A good translation is the foundation of a good localization project.

Transcreation

In games with a high-level of dialogue and storytelling, transcreation — creative translation — is needed. This allows our linguists and editors to really capture the essence of your game in any language. Transcreation is perfect for games that include a lot of humor, cultural references, or wordplay.

Internationalization

This is a job for a programmer. Internationalization is done to ensure that a game will function once the localization is done. For example, they’ll have to make sure that the new language options can be selected in-game.

Globalization

Getting a product ready for a new market that is more on the logistics side. This includes how much the game will retail for, how it will be distributed, and what kind of support will be offered in this new market.

Culturalization

Culturalization can be a more extreme form of localization. Instead of translating the text or adapting the humor, a game is usually completely changed to fit into a new culture. Think of the British and American versions of The Office.

TP

TP stands for Translation & Proofing and is our most basic service. TP is the foundation for re-editing, culturalization, and transcreation of your game.

TPE

TPE is Translation, Proofing & Editing. This service is used to ensure we’re able to really capture the vibe of your game through localization.

Box and Docs

Out of game localization is important too! This includes game boxes, instruction manuals, websites, App Store descriptions, and more — what we collectively call Box and Docs.

Localization QA

This is Quality Assurance for ship-ready, localized builds of your game. Localization QA is used to catch any text implementation bugs and any contextual issues.

Linguistic QA

Our linguists can provide Linguistic QA on content that has already been translated to check for any discrepancies.

In-territory

All of our linguists are in-territory — meaning they currently live or have lived in the last two years, in the country or territory where the language they’re translating is spoken. This is to ensure that our linguists are not just fluent, but that they’re also current on cultural references and slang.

QC’ers

We refer to our Senior Linguistic Experts as QC’ers. Our QC’ers are responsible for editing and trasncreation.

Project Manager

Your Project Manager is your primary point of contact for everything production related. They’re your go between when it comes to communicating with linguists and testers and they ensure that your project is running smoothly.

PMT

PMT stands for Project Management Tool. GameScribes actually has our own proprietary PMT that we use to track every phase of localization.

CAT

CAT — Computer Aided Translation software — is used so linguists can work better and faster. We also use CAT to help develop the translation memories for your project.

Translation Memory

Also known as TM, we create a database of Translation Memory — previously translated lines — to help our linguists during translation. This is used to the linguists don’t have to spend time translating repeated phrases or words in your game more than once.