Here on StopGame everyone really loves the show (currently on S.G everything turns into a show) "Lost in Translation", where translations are cheerfully and cheerfully analyzed, the official studios are crushed, and once even earned praise from an unofficial. Partly because the guys from CGInfo, they say they work for themselves – for an idea and so on.
I’ll be honest: I have no doubt that CGInfo – wonderful, hardworking and talented studio. And Denis Karamyshev quite rightly said that the “amateurs” working there are often many times “handier” than some professionals. Localization Bioshock Infinite – truly a work of art. But there are many amateur localization studios, and not all of them are as diligent. Each of them, of course, has a core of workers “for the idea». The only problem is that the working "by inertia"Still, usually more.
The fact is that I had experience working in similar localization studios. Translations there can take several years, so there was no particular workload – so much so that, for example, it was not difficult for me to combine work, study and several translation projects. And although I doubt that the same mess reigns in the official studios (I think that there is a completely different kind of mess there), I may be able to explain at least a little where the legs of all sorts of people come from “like this”, “in such a wonderful way” and “I’ll give up everything”!
But first, a retreat. Lyrical.
Game localization is definitely an art. No matter how many people despise the translation of original remarks in writing or (even more so!) in sound. No matter how much users reproach the translation quality of the localization studio (especially official ones). And the translation is needed, the games simply need it. Good translation.
In general, there are several main reasons why games are translated:
– First:ignorance of the language. Or imperfect knowledge, which still interferes with the passage. And, of course, most of the country’s population (after all, I’m talking about Russia) cannot play fluently in the language of a foreign audience.
– Second reason: "too fast". The player does not have time to read the subtitles (oh, how familiar this problem is to me!). First of all, because he reads slowly. Secondly, because an English phrase of five words can turn into a whole treatise in Russian.
– Third reason: "aesthetic". Because I want to see and hear familiar, native speech in the game. Here everything is less clear, but some still need Henry to drink in the tavern, and not Henry in the pub.
In general, I once decided to try my hand at localizing video games. I started with an unofficial studio, a small one, dealing mainly with indie games. Consisting of people who love video games and sincerely strive to make the most accurate localization possible. Let’s call this studio "WeKnowBetter"(approx. Author – in all the studios where I was taken, I still have acquaintances, so the names have been changed. And the events are mixed up. Artistically. Here).
They worked there not for money, but for the sake of an idea – in the evenings, on weekends, in isolation from their main work. By the way, that’s why I wasn’t surprised when “WeKnowBetter“I was warned in the first message: “Well, you know, we work for an idea, and money is not in the first place for us, and in general we will not pay you". That is, my payment will be the experience gained and pride from participating in the project. Okay, I thought then, it’ll do for the first time. Let’s see what happens next, because there’s not a lot of work, it seems. But it won’t be like this forever?
Oh, how naive I was.
Accepted in "WeKnowBetter“no problem for me, since I’m a specialist, roughly speaking, “normal” and baptized in business (and they just needed a sound engineer at that time). I was somehow familiar with the processes inherent in a sound engineer: basically, it was necessary to select the most suitable replica, similar to the original, from several options, remove unnecessary noise, such as sighs, crackling, etc.n. Then check the Russian replicas with phrases in the original language, and adjust the first one to the second one in time. Then I wrote comments to the actors (now I doubt that anyone needed this at all), said which lines should be re-recorded. That is, the work is “not dusty” if you know the relevant programs. But it’s long and tedious, requiring patience, because there are, say, about a hundred Russian replicas. At the same time, there are several takes of each, and you also listen to the original again. Same thing. Then I dream about it. Maybe someday I’ll go crazy.
One day this studio decided to revive a project that had once been abandoned, but before that a decent amount of work had been done. We hastily listened to everything that had already been recorded. Verdict of those with normal hearing: bad. They will re-record untalented actors? No, because, again, I would rather release it. The quality will be in other projects. And I admit (and I’m proud!) – many translations turned out quite good and even good in some places. But in large projects with a huge number of actors they hired not only non-professionals, but in general people who seemed far from voicing something artistic. For what? I got the project. Need to release it faster.
With all this, the studio’s stubborn reluctance to somehow declare itself looked very strange. Most of the team really loved video games and wanted to provide them with high-quality translations. But at the same time, everyone was satisfied with the website made “on the knee” and the half-dead Twitter. Against this background, the sluggish and strangely expressed attempts to increase the activity of “fans” looked especially funny. For example, streams for ten people, where finished pieces of projects are demonstrated. At the same time, these streams are infinitely far from broadcasts on S.G, for example – no fixed schedule, or at least a normal announcement.
At the same time, I was invited to another studio – an experienced one, and the list of actors included, as they like to say, “not no-names”. Let it be…”Capital G”. At that time, due to the stagnation of a long, painfully massive project, the team needed sound editing skills. And in a case like this it’s always like this: everyone wants to be an actor, but to process other people’s lines… Moreover, consider it inglorious, since attention is always paid to the actors, and no one will even look for a small line in the credits with the name of a decent “technician”… Well, ugh.
Therefore, obviously, one such decent “technician” (me) was not listed in the credits when the project was finally released. As it turned out, they simply forgot. Later, of course, they remembered when my help was needed again. The rest of the time they communicated with me in significant silence. It was very sad that there were messages hanging unread by the management, saying how it was, I processed everything normally? There was no answer, sometimes for weeks.
But that’s true, a little personal insult. Another story is much more interesting here.
It is worth saying that https://www.trsports.co.uk/serie-a-betting-predictions.html the unofficial studio usually survives due to donations from interested players. A certain amount is indicated, which is supposedly required to implement the plans conceived by the studio, and ardent fans of the game, so to speak, follow the lead, and in a few months they discount the indicated cost. The money requested, of course, is not exorbitant, well, thank God.
In general, since the money is collected by the players, "Capital G". in many cases they are guided precisely by the opinion of the “producers”. It’s good, who can argue: “he who pays the money calls the tune,” or something like that. However, sometimes this reached absurd situations: controversial issues that baffled even studio executives were left to the players who had invested in the project. And all this – by voting on the site. The absurdity of the situation began where the knowledge (and sense of taste) of those who voted ended.
For example, there is such an ancient way to simplify casting: invite fans to vote for the actor who, in their opinion, is most suitable for the role. This trick was used by 1C before the release of the second part of The Witcher (I still think that Zaitsev was better!). But in the case of an unofficial studio, this vote turns into a farce. Real case: we ask you to identify the most suitable actor for the role. There is a suitable (but unknown) professional to choose from, a promising (and again unknown) newcomer, and a famous artist with a page on film search, who, well, doesn’t fit into the character at all. But this is such a trifle: he is an artist, he knows better. Some users even rewinded the videos with the first and second actors’ auditions – because Name.
Speaking of famous actors, I’ll mention another one of the most reputable unofficial translation studios in RuNet. One where Burunov and Chonishvili sound, where there is an organization and in whose translations people are not afraid to invest money. The studio is called… Mmm, well, let’s say, "Shavayut».
IN "Shavayut“It’s true that there are many people who love video games and want to provide them with a decent translation. But what will these few “ideological” people do when there are dozens of people in the team who are slowing down the process, and all of them also live hundreds of kilometers from each other??
This leads to a very funny mess. For lack of people "Shavayut"does not complain – there are enough volunteers who want to join the translation of their favorite game. It’s just that this army of volunteers varies greatly in: (we’re curling our fingers) time zone, understanding of the task, professionalism, place of residence, level of ambition… In general, in the same team of translators, several people often translated the same piece of text for several weeks. Because one did everything, but incorrectly, the second corrected all the mistakes, but slightly, and the third simply remade everything in accordance with his taste and began to prove that he was right. How, in such a leapfrog, all the references to neighboring dialogues and plots were preserved in the text – it boggles the mind.
But the song itself is the team that manages the selection and recording of actors. They had a chat to which I, as one of the sound engineers, was given access. In this chat the discussion did not stop for an hour. After all, there are so many important, urgent topics: why Nintendo Switch – the bottom is how hard it is to play a completely English game Yakuza (one of the translators was indignant, by the way), the success of pirate teams in hacking Mass Effect Andromeda and other gaming news. But how, how rarely did they remember about localization?!
And this chat also showed that “Shavayut“there is a strong tendency to call famous actors even for some minor roles in order to indicate their names in the announcement and attract the audience. Then spend the entire budget raised by donations on them, and leave the rest who worked on localization to be content with the very fact of participating in the project.
OK. I don’t know how much of this material was personal impressions and how much was facts. Perhaps I was just lucky to stumble upon talented people at the least successful moments of their creative activity. The main thing that I realized during my travels through unofficial localization studios is that for many involved in the translation process, localization is just a hobby. But many “fan” associations have a unique chance to “get out among the people” and show serious localization studios how to translate games.
But instead, “idea” translators focus on small, inconspicuous projects. Such studios, for the most part, lack ambition. Mainly because they don’t want to worry, because the larger the project, the more responsibility and work. But taking a small game aged for several years, starting to collect money and quietly translating it for several hundred interested people is much more comfortable.
However, you should not write off such studios from your account. If you know any, support them. I’m not asking you to rush headlong and throw money at the monitor, but if you have something to praise the translators for, praise them. And if there is something to criticize for, criticize, of course! It is very likely that they will read your comments, correct everything and draw conclusions. The best thing about this is that there have been cases (and I have no doubt there will be more)!), when such amateur studios grew into official studios. Such people from fan projects work not only with a budget, but also with soul and love for video games (unlike some well-known companies). And you know… I would like to believe that it is precisely studios like these that have achieved the status of professionals through trial and error that are the future of Russian localization.
And thanks to YSIO for the photos in the topic!
BioShock Infinite
Risen 3: Titan Lords
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Yakuza 0
Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Best comments
Sorry, I can’t get past it. It’s possible to track everyone’s contribution if you do something as simple as a release schedule or delivery schedule, if you like. It reflects all the elements necessary for production and all the people responsible for it. At the stage of submission or, if you prefer, compiling credits, you simply transfer all the names from the schedule. You may quite reasonably notice that displaying two hundred people in a graph is inconvenient and difficult to read, but it is not difficult to display work by command, for example. I don’t teach anyone how to work, it’s just that when I see phrases like “it’s difficult to take into account the contribution of everyone involved” I get triggered. No, it’s not difficult, if you have the desire. I’m not judging, I’m just pointing out that your argument is a so-so argument. And if you told the truth and took everything into account at the release, then in any case, on my part, this is nitpicking.
For example, streams for ten people, where finished pieces of projects are demonstrated. At the same time, these streams are infinitely far from broadcasts on SG, for example – no fixed schedule, or at least a normal announcement.
I’ve been on SG since the time when the very concept of entertainment streaming did not exist. The very first, at least in the Russian segment of the Internet, were comrades who have not been on SG for a long time. This is Yaroslav Shalashov and Kirill Oreshkin. So, at the very dawn of entertainment streaming, not only was there no schedule, but the games themselves, at the very least, broke through settings, debugging sound and image (And it happened that they simply broadcast by voice along with a video cut from the game). It happened in the year 2009-2010. So I wouldn’t scold people from the localization department (that’s how you can generally say?) parties because they did not gather an audience and had a poor idea of what they wanted to show, to whom and why.
However, sometimes this reached absurd situations: controversial issues that baffled even studio executives were left to the players who had invested in the project. And all this – by voting on the site. The absurdity of the situation began where the knowledge (and sense of taste) of those who voted ended.
I’m afraid this is a problem and a problem in almost all projects where the bosses don’t have enough gunpowder for an ordinary strong-willed decision. Because when people come to a situation where there is no right choice, but only two wrong, and often bad, ones, few are ready to say let’s do it like this, simply because I am a leader and it is necessary to make a Decision (namely a Decision). There is no need to talk about the consequences of such obviously bad decisions. Therefore, it is left to those who are not sufficiently familiar with the topic and problems. This solves two problems at once. Transfer of responsibility and choice between two evils. Of course, voting is not always bad and often people are really interested in the opinion of the audience, but alas, as we all know, the most irreconcilable haters are the most zealous fans fans.
There is a suitable (but unknown) professional to choose from, a promising (and again unknown) newcomer, and a famous artist with a page on film search, who, well, doesn’t fit into the character at all. But this is such a trifle: he is an artist, he knows better.
Denis has a lot of bombs about actors and miscasts, but it seems to me that the problem is somewhat deeper. Because there are voice acting titans like Troy Baker and Nolan North. They are a phenomenon? Undoubtedly. They are unique? No, they are not unique, they are good actors. I think few people can say: “I know the original voices of these two.“And all because they work for the image, and not for their “face”. Almost all of our actors are actors whom you quickly recognize. Of course, if the sound is not further processed. After the famous video with the voice acting of advertising from the Lich King, I can no longer calmly watch advertising with his voice. Filimonov is only the most striking problem of this disease.
If you know any, support them. I’m not asking you to rush headlong and throw money at the monitor, but if you have something to praise the translators for, praise them. And if there is something to criticize for, criticize, of course! It is very likely that they will read your comments, correct everything and draw conclusions.
I prefer the original voice acting and Russian subs, because with the hearing of ordinary English everything is more or less good, I can even easily catch where in the subs they messed up, in a word or the meaning of a word. So, I periodically root for some teams on ZoG and it’s gratifying to see that even after a long time of working on the game, they have almost no mistakes and even where they got a decent amount of them (typos, inaccuracies, ordinary spelling errors) they release a couple of updates for translation. Well, or they reassemble it, unfortunately they are not aware of the technical details. I even donated money to several teams as a thank you.
It was very interesting to read about the personal experience of the person involved, especially from such an unusual perspective of the sound man, otherwise all the actors are actors. As I understand it, the journey in these waters is over for you, but I would be glad to see new posts about the boiling point or problems with the work of the sound engineer.
Thanks for your work.
Innocent people don’t suffer. Innocent people were very interested) Spit it out further, we will read everything with pleasure. And thanks for the comment and feedback in general!
I marked it as a favorite and will read it in full this evening, but for now I can’t help but note the choice of image for the blog poster. I read “digging in cats” three times in a row and sat there dumbfounded, wondering what cats and localization have to do with it.
For example, why did I translate the IEC class “Marauder” as Marauder, and not Marauder (to which I had to answer that
I’m an artist, that’s how I see itthis is a Marauder, not a marauder, akin to the translation of Kitay-Gorod as Kitay-Gorod).
I’m ready to bet a bucket of pies with potatoes against a beer cap that any person who knows the spelling of the word “marauder” will consider the name of the ship a mistake, send a mental minus to the translator’s karma and start writing angry messages on forums about “overbrain and its translation”.
In ordinary cases, proper names are subject to translation, transcription or transliteration – and the choice between these options depends on the context, historically established rules of pronunciation and spelling of words of the language into which the word being analyzed is transferred, and, of course, the presence of this word in the dictionary. When transferred from English to Russian, the class name “Marauder” may look like:
a) translation – “Marauder”;
b) transcription – “Marader” or “Marauder”, if you like the pronunciation of Great Britain and not the USA;
c) transliteration – “Maraider”. This is pure transliteration and is usually applied to dead languages. In principle, you can use a trick by mixing it with the transcription, and thus get the word “Marauder”… but it will be perceived as the misspelled word “Marauder” (“e” instead of “e” is in the order of things here), which means that the translator will not fulfill his professional duty – he will not convey the correct information to the reader.
Such large amateur clubs of localization creators have always been put off because you don’t know what kind of people are there, what kind of attitude to work and what kind of cockroaches people are, and in the end it may happen that all your work and wasted time can go down the toilet, because someone suddenly became lazy and uninterested. Going there is a pure lottery, IMHO.
Although, on the other hand, if you take the expression about digging in cats too literally, you can really get to the bottom of the guts))
I went to my profile today and clicked on “edit”. It’s strange, but there’s a column where you can enter your first and last name.
Excellent article.
He himself was on the translation team for the popular online RPG from SEGA.
But our conditions were much worse, t.To. There were at most 5 thousand players in it from the CIS, and about 100-150 people were waiting for the transfer. As a result, we worked completely without a budget (there wasn’t even enough for beer) with a text volume of almost 2 million characters and with a constant staff turnover. All this resulted in a work process similar to the above “Skhavayut” Studio, which was saved by 3-4 people who really understood what was being translated and sent to the editor.
The translation project itself has been frozen for a year now.To. there is simply no one to translate normally, and not in the PROMT style.
It is forbidden. Simply upon reaching a certain rating level (about ten), the opportunity arises add first and last name. And not just any set of letters, there are rules for this too.
Not really. Most likely, the inability to change nickname (and, most importantly, email) is due to technical problems that have been dragging on for years. And the fact that you can add a first and last name (and so that they are not meaningless sets of letters, namely a first and last name) is just an additional feature.
By the way, no one wrote something, so I will.
Congratulations on the mower and access to the main page!
A cat appeared on the main page. ^_^