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Is it difficult to translate an existing visual novel?

12d 9h ago by piefed.social/u/SilentStriker in gamedev@programming.dev

I mean, it's a game where you just read text on a screen where voice acting is present on higher budget ones or titles made by an established developer (ideafactory, otomate). Most "anime" type VN's have Japanese text and voice acting only, since translating a visual novel isn't that simple (even if you have all the game files, the written script is originally intended to be conveyed in Japanese now having the task of translating that properly into English).

If a localization team were to translate a game that's already developed from its mother tongue into another, they would have to be bilingual or have high proficiency in that language (which is key for retaining the nuances and cultural references of the source material), simply pasting the text into Google Translate doesn't cut it. Those types of games are lore heavy carrying a larger emphasis on the game's progression (words need to maintain consistency).

Translations from JP > EN can suck (it irks me when they just romanize さん as -san when a real equivalent is closer to Mr. / Mrs.) Besides the text, there's voice acting (all dialog is originally recorded in Japanese, the lip sync reflects that) so most translations only focus on the text rather than adding an English dub. If wanting to rework voice acting, that's another expense plus reworking lip sync matching English phonetics (original one is in Japanese).

Not only do you have to rework lip sync starting all over regarding voice acting if wanting a "pure" ENG dub: you will need to have sufficient funds on hiring professional voice actors (ones who have experience with being on The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, South Park etc). with a accurately translated script reflected from the game's original files (JPN > ENG) matching nuances from the source material if you want the translation to be that good.

"simply pasting the text into Google Translate" oftentimes is done as cost saving with just an editing pass. From few articles I have read it comes out "good enough"

bigger problem would be if architecture provides a way to swap string to another language or is it hardcoded.

it irks me when they just romanize さん as -san when a real equivalent is closer to Mr. / Mrs.

The reason they do that is that honorifics are not that simple and don't really translate to English 1-1

For just a few examples. Let's say this guy's name is Jim Tanaka

  • 2 people from different businesses
    • jp Tanaka-san
    • en Mr. Tanaka
  • 2 people working in the same office that are the same age and started at the same time
    • jp Tanaka-san
    • en Jim
  • same office but Jim is younger
    • jp Tanaka-kun
    • en Jim

It's already pretty complex and doesn't even scratch the surface, which is why faster/cheaper translation work will just use "-san" instead of going through the effort to do full localization that is a lot more work.

There is also a difference between subtitle translation and full localization. For someone that understand some Japanese but needs subtitles to actually watch something, having the writers from a full localization dropped in with Japanese audio can be very frustrating, so for best quality you really need 2 translations if you localize audio.

Anyway, I don't think localizing a VN is difficult persay, but you have to have the right people and you get you get varying quality based on the time put in.

  • you have to have someone bilingual for a great localization. They have to spend the time to read the entire thing and understand it completely before they start translating or you end up with interpretations where forshadowing, motifs, and the like get dropped because the context to translate earlier text wasn't understood. For ongoing series, they also need to interview the writers to understand what's important to the future works.

  • if you want to translate all the stuff in backgrounds you need artists to redraw the art

  • technical staff requirements can be highly varied. There are engines just for VNs, and in some cases there are frameworks for localization that are sufficient. Sometimes you need a competent programmer to make changes to the engine/game itself