This week we will look at Dear Esther, a fascinating experiment in game narrative published a couple of months ago, through the comments of its creator Dan Pinchbeck.

But before, I must issue a proper SPOILER ALERT. If you haven’t played it yet, reading further will damage your game experience.

My suggestion? Watch the trailer below and, if you find it intriguing, buy it on Steam and then come back. 77% on Metacritic, two hours for the first playthrough, can run on any computer. There are definitely worse ways to spend 8 EUR / 10 USD.

A shadow

Near the end of Dear Esther, there is a moment that could sum up the whole experience. You have walked alone for about two hours, and the path opens to shows a small cliff in the distance.  There, next to a lit candle, you see a shape against the fog. It’s all very dark, but it’s unmistakably a human figure.

As the path twists down before climbing up to the cliff, you start to picture what you might do, see, or say…

Hey, you!

Then you reach the top and… there’s nothing at all. The figure has vanished without a trace and you wonder what you really saw.

The structure

Dear Esther is an experiment in videogame narration. As explained in the interview, it tried two things:

• Removing all the gameplay elements from an FPS environment, pushing the player forward though story alone
• Harnessing the visceral immersion that characterizes FPS to tell a deliberately convoluted, non-linear story

Let’s see how these goals have been achieved and how they apply to the translation process.

Gameplay

As we can expect from above, the “game” element of Dear Esther is truly minimalist, almost disappearing into the conventions of 3D gaming.

As a player, you can walk around the 3D landscape using the WASD keys and look around with the mouse. As you cannot grab objects around you, nor jump or climb, your only aim is to find the “good” path forward, like in a labyrtinth of sorts.

The correct path shows new locales and triggers bits of narration, while the wrong ones bring you back to old locations (back tracking) or, if you fall from a cliff or into the sea, “kill” you with a black screen – after which you reappear in the last safe position before the fall.

Non textual narrative

In order to draw you in, Dear Esther uses mystery and unease.

You start your travel as a lone man in a desert island. In eerie solitude, you move towards the only sign of life you can see: a blinking aerial in the distance.

Initially, everything seems to fit the “desert island” narration, but a mysterious music and sound effects are already hint that more is to come.

As you move forward, things get increasingly incongruous. Why the hut of a shepherd has an ultrasound picture on the table? Who really made those huge paintings? Who lit the candles along the way?

These, and even more irrational elements, destabilize the narrative, taking our certainties away with it. “Where I am? Who is my avatar? What is actually real?”

If you had a NES in the 80′s, you probably remember this scene:

Where am I? Who am I?

It was the very first thing you saw in the Legend of Zelda, and you substantially had no clue about who you were and what was going on.

All you knew was that you had a scary looking entrance in front of you, and maybe monsters round the corner. The feeling of uncertainty was quite uncomfortable (especially for a six years old in 1986).

In some way, the Legend of Zelda was about solving that tension. Each fight, boomerang and bottled fairy was a step towards dominating this world until nothing could scare you anymore.

Dear Esther never allows you to do that. Through constant manipulation and self deconstruction, it constantly pushes you back to the state of curiosity and anxiety you had in that Zelda screen, and makes you yearn for explanations.

Textual narrative

All we know about the setting and its characters is conveyed by disembodied voice overs, played at specific locations along the way. The mostly contain letters to a certain Esther and commented excerpts from an old book about the Hebrides islands, on which the game is set.

They are ambiguous and non-linear in two ways.

One is purely textual: the audio cues are given without any context or explanation and are obscure and conflicting, forcing the player to pick and choose what he wants to believe in.

The other is born out of software and gaming. As the voice overs are randomized, each playthrough will tell a slightly different version. The game reality is always shifting, so there simply cannot be a single truth.

The end result is a “mood piece” you cannot fully understand, but that still sums up to an engaging experience.

As a player, I find it amazing that Dear Esther still gives me goosebumps after 5/6 full playthroughs. As a translator, I love its minimalist structure, showing each mechanism almost like an engine cutout of game narrative.

The translation

So, how would you translate this title? Well, the interview tells us more about the text itself.

Its creation was deliberately freeform, like a “stream of consciousness”. The beginning was clearly defined, with the starting theme of being stranded on a desert island. And the ending was too, with the idea of the infection/transformation to be resolved through the jump from the aerial and the parallel with the Paul conversion/Road to Damascus story. But everything in the middle grew organically, feeding back from and into the music and map creation and deliberately trying to go in several, evocative directions at once.

The American novelist Philip K. Dick, with novels like Lies Inc., is quoted as a personal source of inspiration, specifically for their style that seeks a coherence of vision more than a linearity of meaning.

Quite surprisingly, the official Italian translation for this game, donated by indies4indies, searched another track 100 years ago.

Dear Esther è stato realizzato da eccelsi attori e musicisti di teatro e discutendo con l’autore, il prof. Pinchbeck, scoprii lui essere un grande appassionato di Pirandello, pertanto, prima di iniziare a lavorare sul suo testo, gli proposi di osare qualcosa di diverso: in particolare una grafia un po’ antiquata in omaggio al nostro sommo drammaturgo siciliano (e, ovviamente, lo informai del fatto che ci sarebbero state delle minime divergenze rispetto all’italiano corrente). Ei ne fu entusiasta e approvò seduta stante il mio suggerimento.

Paolo Rostagno Giaiero, Arsludica

Therefore, the translation is deliberately archaic, both in terms of spelling and terminology.

The idea was very original, and the possibilities fascinating, but I have two major concerns about the results.

The first one is that ambiguity was a core element of this experience, constantly alternating madness and normality.

This was served by a text that, despite a penchant for rich and complex words, was never strongly characterized, not even when quoting the writings of Donnelly the cartographer.

However, the new style adds an inexplicable element from the outset: why is this story set in modern UK, complete with antacid yogurts, car accident and food chains, mysteriously written as Pirandello would have done it the Italy of 100 year before?

The second one is that the archaisms make the text less instinctive. I often found myself mentally “editing out” the additional style in order to lose myself again into the flow of speech as it was originally intended.

A bad work? Not at all: the translation is extremely careful and clearly a labour of love, it’s just a shame that it end ups feeling a bit disjointed and artificial. After all, not all experiments are meant to be successful, but with it audacity, it was surely worth of a bold creation like like Dear Esther.

And you? Did you play Dear Esther? Did you translate and played similar “indie” titles? How was your experience?

The last post dates from one month ago. Sorry for that. We obviosuly had our normal share of mad projects to deal with but, mostly, we have been planning a major shift.

As a virtual team spread across three continents, we always had to be organized in order to keep track of who must do what. After all, at any given time, one of us is usually sleeping!

This lead us naturally to online project managers. Systems that you place on a server and, like a sort of business Facebook, allow to share tasks and notes around.

As we had a web server already (and a minuscule budget) we searched for open-source, self-hosted solutions.

• The first candidate was, of course, ]project open[ (demo) an open source solution designed especially for the language industry,

Unfortunately, just like this is their idea of a clear work diagram

"Any questions?"

This is their idea of a stramlined interface for working under pressure

"We don't really have a manual yet, but I'm sure you can figure it out on your own"

I guess it’s great for for some but it wan’t really what we were looking for.

• Then there was Redmine (demo), one of the most complete and appreciated project managament applications around, but it still felt a bit too complicated for its own good

"You get used to it. I...I don't even see the code. All I see is blonde, brunette, red-head. Hey, you a... want a drink?"

• So our first online project manager was  Collabtive (demo)

That's nice!

I think we used it for about two years. On the plus side it’s very easy to run and install, and it may still be a good solution for trying project management tools without too much fuss.

Hower, not only it feels a bit slow and clunky, but it has a strong focus on updloading and sharing files online. It made sense at the time, but then we tried Dropbox and never really came back

• And the next one was qdPM (demo)

That's better!

We have been using it for two years now and it has served us very well. The interface is fast, it keeps eveyone updated with email notifications and it can export the data to Excel for preparing the invoices. Most importantly, it substantially lets you have any field you want for your tasks, so setting up a special “PO” or “revision” column only takes a couple of clicks.

The only real drawbacks are that it’s a bit difficult to set up (at least for a translator) and that it’s no longer developed (but it’s pretty solid anyway).

• So, why do we plan to change again?

Because all project management tools, created for programmers and web designers, share the same basic structure.

You create a huge project and you are expected to populate it with dozens of tasks, all independent from each other, with detailed reference documents, a wiki and so on.

We had projects like that, in the past. The client would come to you, drop a huge bunch of text for project X and arrange a delivery a couple of months later.

Maybe it’s the social network revolution, or the rise of the iPhone or those pesky mayans, but we don’t see that anymore.

The huge bunch of text has become a trickle of daily micro-updates. To give an exemple, last month we have translated 95.000 words, which is comparable to the past years.

What’s new is that those words were split across 26 different titles and 92 different tasks.

Even if you need just five minutes to record each one, that sums up to 9 hours of lost time each month. Clearly, there is room for improvement

• Introducing the GLOC Project Manager

So, after four years of hacking and reusing solutions meant for completely different needs, we took the plunge and decided to design our own.

More precisely, we found a good open source script to use as a base, and asked its author to develop the features we need. More precisely

(Warning, crude Paint mockups below!)

• A command line system to input tasks quickly

Ok, it’s 1000 words to be translated plus 1000 to reviewed for Smith Gaming, the game is “Super monster basher”, PO number T2643564 and the delivery is for the 9th at 3pm... Let’s give the translation to Mike and the revision to Joe, and ask them to send it one day before so I can check

• A minimalist project menu

Here we go! Let me check if everything is ok... Yep, we can confirm (I’m VERY glad I didn’t have to input all that stuff by hand!)

• A clean interface in order to spot tasks and invoices immediately

• And automated invoice making

Of course, we are in the very early stages of the project, but we are just thrilled about the possibilities this little tool could open!

Hear you soon!

This was one of the most appreciated posts of 2011, so we thought of doing an updated version. The core principle stays the same: free and easy to use apps that we always keep on our drives and saved us countless hours. Enjoy!

Intelliwebsearch

Client quote: “Kindly check all names, terminology and dates during translation”

Likely cause: They decided to pad the game with some encyclopedic texts, but they were too rushed to fact-check them

Solution: Configure Intelliwebsearch to scan Wikipedia directly from your translation.

Links: website, download

TinyTask

Client quote: “Please use our online system for this project. Press CTRL+F5+x to open a string, SHIFT+F9+z to…”

Likely cause: Programmers are incredibly skilled in many areas. Interface design usually isn’t one of them.

Solution: Extract the text and translate it with your usual tools, then automate the copy/paste/confirm process with TinyTask

Links: website, download

Foxit Reader Portable

Client quote: “Why can’t you highlight and comment our PDF?! Here it works perfectly!”

Likely cause: They have Adobe Acrobat, you have plain Adobe reader. They also locked the file for editing

Solution: Use Foxit Reader Portable for adding comments and highlights, keep Adobe for your daily life

Links: website, download

MWSnap

Team member quote: “I should click what?!”

Likely cause: A picture is worth one thousand words

Solution: Grab a quick screenshot with MwSnap.

Links: website, download

Screenr.com

Team member quote: “I should click what?!”

Likely cause: A video is worth 60 images (per second)

Solution: Grab a quick video with audio with screenr.com, directly from your browser.

Links: website

TeamViewer Portable

Team member quote: “I should click what?!”

Likely cause: *SIGH*

Solution: Take remote control of their system using TeamViewer.

Links: website, download

ExamDiff

Client quote: “We have made some changes to the source, please check and redeliver ASAP”

Likely cause: They proofread after sending out the text for translation.

Solution: Save the two versions as .txt files and quickly compare them with ExamDiff.

Links: website, download

Recuva

Client quote: “Hi! When do you plan to send your translation?”

Likely cause: You lost the file. Maybe you overwrote it, maybe you had a crash, maybe you’re overworked, but it’s gone.

Solution: Stop any other activity and start Recuva. It will scan your hard disk, searching for deleted files that it’s still possible to resurrect. Cross you fingers.

Links: website, download

Screen calipers

Client quote: “Please match the length of the source! Each line cannot be longer than 12 capital M letters”

Likely cause: Japanese games mostly use monospace fonts, where each character takes the same width. During localization, these are often replaced by proportional ones, where the width can change from big (M) to small (l). This allows to squeeze in more text per line and looks better on screen. Little problem: proportional fonts make it impossible to know in advance how many characters per line can fit. You need a bit of code to do that and usually there is no time / resources / memory space to add it in the game.

Solution: Use a common, non-serif font like Arial and set it big. Then measure the maximum width of the original text lines and match it on your translation (and err on the side of caution).

Links: website, download

Asap utilities

Client quote: “We found some trailing spaces at the end of your translation. There are some double spaces too. Could you please remove them all?”

Likely cause: The trailing spaces were in the source and Trados matched them. Either that or you did some odd copy and pasting stuff.

Solution: Install the Asap utilities under Excel, fix the issue then spend the rest of the afternoon playing with the other million options

Links: website, download

RDBMerge

Client quote: “Here are the 127 source files. Please remember to translate all tabs from 1 to 300.”

Likely cause: They sent you the same files designers and testers use. It makes sense for them to see the strings of each menu grouped like that,but  it’s a tad unpractical for you.

Solution: Install the RDBMerge macro under Excel. It will allow you to join any number of files and tabs into a single, spell-checkable, proof-readable, translation tool grindable file. Enjoy!

Links: website, download

For more tiny, well-made applications, visit http://tinyapps.org/

Back in October, we were awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by our colleague Curri

Although we meant to thank her as soon as possible, life happened for the entire team: Alain had a baby girl, Elisa moved to Northern California and Matteo got married. However, we didn’t forget the mention and we’re here today to make amends. We would like to wholeheartedly thank Curri for the award: it’s small things like this that keep us going and blogging about the topics that are relevant to us and hopefully to other translators as well!

These are the official rules of the award:
1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post. (Done)
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

So, here are 7 things you may not know about GLOC and its team members:

1- One of the games GLOC translated, Champion Jockey, was featured in the TV show “The Big Bang Theory”. Way to make an impression on nerds all over the planet!

2- Alain’s first diploma was as a naval engineer. He briefly worked on a ship but, as the lore says, it was an awful experience that never got repeated again.

3- Matteo refuses to use any digital dictionaries when working; like a Medieval scribe in a scriptorium, he solely relies on huge paper dictionaries.

4- Elisa met her husband at a press event for a videogame. That event was Wrestlemania 22 and the videogame was WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007.

5- Alain is actually portrayed in the videogame “Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition” as the part-time Mexican wrestler Paco. This happened when the developers needed some rights-free photos for their characters, so they used the entire R* Lincoln testing group. The studio boss was portrayed as the first challenger in the game… a hobo!

6- Matteo lives in Maranello, the Northern Italian town that is home to the Ferrari factory. Outside of playing mandolin wearing a straw hat on a gondola, that’s one of the most Italian things we can think of!

7- Elisa taught herself how to read Egyptian hieroglyphs at the age of twelve; she then studied Latin and Ancient Greek in high school and Finnish in college –the latter because of a fascination for the Elvish language Quenya, as descripted in Tolkien’s fictional work. Her parents wished she had studied French or Spanish.

15 of our favorite websites:
Most of the translation blogs we follow have been already nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award, so we are going to post a list of the 15 websites that we would recommend to anyone, whether they work in localization or not.

Recommended by Alain

- http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html: Tom Sloper’s Game Biz advice page is a fantastic introduction to the videogame industry, good for aspiring game designers as well as for any inquisitive mind.

- http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits: Although not directly related to localization, Extra Credits is a precious resource to understand how games are made and work.

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc: Adapted from one of Dan Pink’s talks, this RSA Animate about motivation is funny and inspiring.

- http://tinyapps.org/: A collection of small, useful software that also hosts a blog; in less than five minutes, you can find tools to do pretty much everything on a PC for free.

-http://www.internationalwriters.com/toolkit/: A newsletter with plenty of news, info and reviews for people who use translation tools. Their translation toolbox e-book, however, turns out to be very basic.

Recommended by Elisa

-http://www.idiomizer.com/idioms/: It may not have everything, but it’s a quick way to check on specific idiomatic expressions and their equivalent in other languages.

-http://www.wikia.com/Gaming: A comprehensive portal to research games and franchises inside and out; especially useful when consistency with previous episodes of a series is needed.

-http://linguagreca.com/blog/2011/09/pc-to-mac-migration-part-1/: An article for translators who use CAT tools and are considering a transition from PC to Mac. The comments in particular present some very good advice.

-http://www.microsoft.com/Language/en-us/default.aspx: With its style guides and official terminology collections, the Microsoft Language Portal is a useful tool to ensure consistency when translating into several languages.

-http://everytimezone.com/: If you work with clients based in several continents and can’t keep up with the different time zones, try this useful application to see the world at a glance.

Recommended by Matteo

-http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/ The Kingdom of Loathing. Besides being a fun game and the most original take on MMORPGs I’ve ever seen (“original” as in “it looks like something a platypus on heavy drugs would conceive”), it’s also a good way to keep a translator’s skill well honed: take any page or any chunk of text and think of how you would translate it (if you dare!).

-http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ Astronomy Picture of the Day. Exactly what it says on the tin, courtesy of NASA. A way like any other to remind us there’s beauty in the universe, and not just ugly translation jobs.

-http://clientsfromhell.net/ Clients from Hell. A good way (?) to squander some productivity and seek solace in the notion that we are not alone…
-http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/ That Guy with the Glasses . Besides the snarky fun and nostalgia potential, this collection of blogs, vlogs and reviews has a healthy and reliable games review subsection, aptly named “Blistered Thumbs”. Worth a check when you’re gathering info on titles to translate.

-http://www.tvtropes.org/ TV Tropes… It will ruin your life

We might say that video-game translators are the foot soldiers of game localization. Together with QA, they live it in their smallest detail, but often miss the general perspective and motives behind their effort.
To bring us that perspective, today we are joined by Christoffer Nilsson, CEO at LocalizeDirect, whose goal is precisely to capture those motives and needs and serve them through a seamless client-server solution.

Hi Christoffer, thank you very much for accepting this interview! Can you tell us a bit about you and the career path that lead you to LocalizeDirect?

In the early 1990’s I started one of the first game developers in Sweden so I’ve been heavily involved in most areas of game production. For the last decade it’s been mostly running game development studios but in my heart I still consider myself a programmer I’ve always been a “process person” and found game localization fascinating as it spans across so many different skills and professions – this is also what makes it difficult. I realized that from a development  perspective there was no reason to deal with localization as an afterthought – as was the norm. So together with two game industry veterans I founded Localize Direct and we set out to create tools that would allow localization to be an integral part of development.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, could you summarize what LocalizeDirect is and what it does?

LocDirect is a system that manages all loc-data in a project. This includes images and audio files as well as text. It allows developers to create text strings which can then go straight into the game in production as well as making them available for translation. As translations are added to the system they are automatically validated and imported into the game. The system has a version control system that tracks strings on an individual basis as well as tracking all dependencies. As everything is automated and tracked there’s little or no “overhead” associated with each translation batch – so in theory it allows a game to be translated string per string as they are created. However, in practice strings are still translated in batches albeit they can be as small or as big as you decide is suitable to the project. We also kept the system flexible by adding support for translation export and import so that translators can use whatever translation tool they prefer.

Based on your experience, what are the main needs and priorities of developers regarding localization?

When I developed games, the publisher would normally manage the translations. After passing our strings over to the publisher we totally lost insight into what was going on. So having progress visibility is very important as developers usually have milestones targets to be met where “fully localized version” will loom. Other control issues include keeping on top of string changes and data validation. Import of localized text can and often will break the code. In most cases translations are carried out fairly late in the development process, say when the game is feature complete – this is also the time the development team will start getting feedback and gameplay tweaking is going on. It’s also close to the end of the project and many teams will be in crunch mode at this time – dealing with localization issues at this point can be stressful and painful. As with all development, it’s cheaper to fix something early on rather than later. So finding out that you needed to tag thousands of dialogue strings with the genus of the listener is better done whilst the strings are created rather than in a mad rush at the end of the project.

* Have insight into the full process and be able to track progress
* At an early point make sure that all the necessary data is created and that the product is “world” ready
* Have flexibility to be able to change strings until very late stage in the dev process (like 30 min prior to submission )and get the updated translations into the game very quickly
* High quality translations that will enhance the gaming experience for their audiences

And what are those of publishers?

Publishers often have a localization department that manages the translation, audio and loc QA processes. They need to juggle all their projects so need to be on top of the individual requirement of each game – how many strings? What languages? How many dialogues? What are the time constraints? What about subtitles? Etc etc. So they need to educate the developer to provide them with the correct information. They also need to be able to send all the localized data back to the developer in a format that the developer can use. On the actual translation/QA effort they would be looking for high quality, timely and good value propositions.

Your company website strongly recommends a “parallel” model, where localization happens during development and translators collaborate directly through a shared online interface. In your experience, what are the main benefits of this scheme for developers and publishers?
It allows the developer to deal with any eventual localization issues early on when there’s more time and options available. As a game is created, all new functions are tested by the development team as they are added, localized versions can also benefit from this testing. Having the localized versions up to date during development also means you can release a fully localized trade show demo, beta release or hand out fully localized review code. But most importantly the team don’t get hit by localization at the end of the project phase when stress levels are peaking.

Your company also provides translation services. What are the main benefits for translators?
Traditionally translators are handed over all the strings in a project when the game is almost finished. In a large game this can amount to hundreds of thousands even a million words. Now the development team is sitting waiting for their strings and needed them back translated yesterday. This in combination with the highly seasonable release schedule of games will create high peaks where translators have too much to do and other slow down periods. Rather than getting a full bucket of “strings” thrown at you, the translators will get strings in smaller batches throughout the development period so there’s less stress. The translators workload will be smoothed out during a longer period. As the game is already “hooked” up with LocDirect – if translators are given game code they can see and review the translations in the game. Another benefit is that, if given access, translators can view translations of other languages as they are entered into the system so this provides yet another reference point.

Under the “parallel” translation model, translators need to be available every day, but for variable amounts of text (even none). What kind of arrangement is used to make this financially viable?
It really needn’t be every day. By working in batches you can agree that periodically they will have a batch of text that will need translation. The amount will be determined closer to the time. This would be the case for one project. If however you are working on multiple projects as we do, then there are usually a number of batches each day that need addressing. The system is also used by publishers that have their own in-house translators.

Working repeatedly on very small batches doesn’t lead to inconsistencies? Can translators request a string update if new elements make a previous translation unviable?
LocDirect allows the developer to organize their strings in folders and also to control which strings are ready for translations. Normally we’d group together strings that belong as they are part of the same folder and translate them within the same batch. So rather than sentence by sentence strings are translated in chapters. Still, it is entirely up to whoever is managing the project how to structure it. I understand that only having a piece available at a time and not be able to see the full scope can be challenging from a translators perspective. To help minimize this we’ve added communication functions so that translators quickly can ask questions and they get routed to the right person at the developer straight away. Translators also continue to have visibility into the project as it grows and can edit previous translations and have full access to all strings including the folder structure that provides additional context.

With LocalizeDirect, translation happens directly inside the program interface. In terms of functionality, how would you say it compares with a translation suite like LocStudio, Trados or memoQ in terms of translation memories and QA systems? If they prefer, translators can export string and translation memories and carry on their translation and QA in such tools?
LocDirect is still a “young” tool and there’s lots left to do. Our initial focus has been on the process flow of the strings. This is also why we have opted to support export and import of translations so that translators can work in whatever system they prefer. Learning from the translators we are working with, many use the internal LocDirect editor for smaller batches but use other translation tools for larger amounts of words. We’re currently working on adding support for terms and translation memory as it makes sense to have them centralized and available to all loc stakeholders. We’ll continue to stick with the idea that translators should be free to use whatever tool they want. We’re very excited about the XLIFF format  which will play a large part in LocDirect going forwards.

In their best practices, the IGDA Locsig states that “translators need to have read or seen the content before they begin translation” and recommends “a minimum of 3 days of playing the game and reading background documentation”
However, if localization starts early on, the game will be unplayable and the script incomplete or still in draft form. In your experience, sharing design documents and other reference materials can suffice?
I agree that it would be wonderful if all translators were given preview code and was paid to play the game for 3 days but in reality this does not often happen. Publishers and developers are reluctant to give out game code before release and in many cases translators don’t have the development hardware needed to run a development version of a console game. So instead translators have to rely on experience and other context materials like design documents and pictures. We advise developers to start using LocDirect from the start of their project to create and organize their strings. As you mention it doesn’t make sense to start translating early on in pre-production, rather most LocDirect translation efforts are kicked off during the last half of the production phase.

In one (very impressive!) promo, we see in-game text being updated and displayed in real-time using LocalizeDirect
Do you think that a similar system, coupled with streaming technologies à la OnLive or Gaikai, could be used on day to allow remote testing and in-game reference? Do you think that technology and stake holders are both ready for this (at least in the mobile/social arena)?

I think there’s a huge gain to be made during the QA phase by allowing testers to be able to fix a localization text error straight away as soon as they find it. Normally they play the game, find a faulty text, file a bug describing the problem and pass that on to the developer who then need to track down the text, change it, build a new version and upload it to the testing facilities. Once the new build is available the tester needs to install it, and play through the game to the same spot where they found the faulty string and verify that it actually has been fixed. This process normally takes 24 hours or a couple of days. Instead, if the game is activated to update its strings during runtime (via the LocDirect API) the tester would find a faulty string, look it up in the LocDirect client, change it, immediately see the text change in the game and if it looks ok that is all there is to it. Some clever publishers are already doing this.

I think similar setups to OnLive and Gaikai would be great ways of allowing loc stakeholders access to the running code and remove the stigma attached to sending out actual code. I do hope we’re ready for a change – haven’t we passed around xls sheets long enough?

Again, a great thank you to Christoffer Nilsson for his time and kindness. For more information about LocalizeDirect, please visit the official website http://www.localizedirect.com or to arrange a meeting at the GDC 2012 contact Michael Souto at ms@localizedirect.com

And you? Have you been involved in a project with LocDirect? How do you see the future of videogame localization? Leave a comment to share your views.

Many asked us tips on how to get started in this job, so here is our take on the topic: we hope it can help!

What’s it all about?

In broad terms, videogame translation is a branch of technical/software translation, and requires similar core skills.

A good half of professionals have a degree in translation or foreign languages. The other half has worked their way up, either as project managers, or translating other specialist topics like programming and engineering, that they knew through personal studies or experience.

While working without a formal background is common, understand that it will be harder to find work and then to execute it, as you will be learning the tools of the trade on your own.
Distance learning could be a good compromise. From English certifications like TOEFL or ESOL to translation diplomas through the IoLET or Open University, there are many options for acquiring a solid preparation while having a full time job.

Also, remember that languages are a life-style: if you plan to finish your work (or study) day and then ignore them, you will not become a great linguist. Merge languages into the very fabric of your life. Your neighborhood has a foreigner association? Become a member! A nearby cinema runs a foreign films festival? Join it! I can guarantee, that’s the single best career advice they ever gave me.

Also, don’t forget that creating a good translation requires a perfect understanding of the source, but also have a full mastery of your own language. After all, you must be able to bend it and shape it in all sort of odd ways for it to express ideas and concepts that may be completely foreign to it (and maybe also to you!)
Being a media sponge, absorbing from tabloids to Shakespeare, from game magazines to TV shows is part of your work.

But, if so much must be done alone, why do you need formal studies? Surely, living in the USA for a couple of years should be more than enough!

Not really. You can find many translators ranting discussing about this, so I’ll be brief. It’s like saying that eating out a lot makes you fit for being a chef. Sure, you can’t be a cook without being a foodie, like you can’t translate without being bilingual, but the gap in the level of detail, dedication and technique is so wide that the two can’t really compare.

One striking example? As a team of three, we translate together and answer to clients together. When we translate, our styles are very similar, to the point that we sometimes wonder who did what. When we write to clients, we can spot it at first sight. Writing and translating are just not the same.

Ok, but what about games?

It’s a young field, but we can say that most professional agree on some standard practices. If we sent an amateur translation to a group of professionals, most of them would probably flag the same issues.
Only thing, these practical “rules” are rarely codified. If you think about it, most game localization blogs  -including ours- are just doing that, writing down this crystallized experience, and counting the number of nods coming from other translators.
So, the only way to learn these “rules” is as an apprentice/collaborator.

Learning as a translator can be harsh. The main interest in new and inexperienced translators is making a profit out of them, and rates can fall outrageously low. It might be worth if you have enough experience to learn quickly and you can get a decent pay through your other qualifications – that’s why I stressed the importance of a good education.

To find a freelance gig, just Google “How to become a freelance translator” or “Freelance translation jobs” and browse specialist websites like Proz.com or Translators cafe.
Another interesting option for filling your CV is joining amateur projects. Just try to focus on reputable open-source titles more than grey-area ROM hacking or hardcore hentai!

Another learning route is in-house, as a tester or as a project manager.

The insight you will get is priceless: I left Rockstar Games almost 7 year ago, but I still leverage that experience today.
Also, you would be able to make at least a decent living. On the flipside, you will probably have to move to England or Ireland. Depending on where you live, you might find some “national” jobs, at least inside translation agencies, but you must accept that chances may be lower and salaries poorer.
For a testing gig, search +”localization tester” +yourlanguage on Google and browse the websites of the main publishers (Sega, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Square-Enix, Rockstar games, etc).
Tom Sloper covered the matter very well, so I recommend to check his website very thoroughly (not only for testing, but for all game related jobs)

What about passion?

Being a huge gamer must help, no? Well, it’s like being bilingual VS being a translator: enjoying something is different from making it. And, as a game translator, you are effectively a game writer, and there’s a lot to learn (And we are still learning too!)

Passion is good, but always remember to be modest.
Do you remember “Dirty Dancing”? Baby was a great dancer for a tourist but, before joining the pros, she had to earn their trust.

When you write to a game professional, keep in mind that they spent most of their waking time on that topic alone, for years.
Show your passion, but also be humble and respectful, and they will gladly show you all their dirtiest moves, no watermelon required

Best of luck!

“Dispatch. We have a 10-83. What’s your 10-20?”, “The first hatchback powered by a “big valve” engine and Zenith-Stromberg carburetors”, “The removable carry handle allows access to a Picatinny rail and a red-dot gunsight”Translating videogames, you are bound to encounter large amounts of technical jargon. On one hand, it is so common that you could see it as a straight technical/software text. On the other, you should remember that games are meant be fun. Behind the wall of technicalities there is a game to be enjoyed, don’t smother it! So, how should you deal with jargon?

Cut it out: jargon shrinks the audience

All jargon, from software parlance, to police codes, to military lingo, makes the text less understandable for a general audience. Keep in mind that the publisher green lit the localization with the precise aim of widening the audience and you can easily guess what his opinion on the matter can be.

Cut it out: jargon reduces the perceived value

We all go on the Internet, right? We can all understand terms like “untagged”, “re-equipped”, “bullet spread” and so on. Why not keeping them, if they are used daily on the forums? Because you are a professional. The moment you drop the common rules of grammar and language, you lower the perceived value of your work, and that of the game. No matter how you feel about such formalities, our culture recognizes value and authority to those who use a clear, standard language. Browse the websites of Disney, Apple or Nintendo. Do they use jargon? No, they use a terse, standard language, and remain friendly and welcoming by keeping one step behind the latest trends in jargon. Respected brands, isn’t it? And don’t we all want a bit of respect?

Cut it out: standards ease management

Let’s say that your are translating an RPG inventory and one weapon, once assigned, cannot be removed for the rest of the battle. You decide to call it a “non-unequippable weapon”, but your editor is adamant that “not de-equippable” sounds much better. Who’s right? Both of you and none. You are fighting out there, where the new borders of language are being drawn, and only time will tell. In the meantime, you can only argue on philological and esthetic grounds… Otherwise, you can call it a “non-removable weapon”. For any doubt, feel free to check the relative dictionary page  or the archives of any newspaper. Guess which way is more productive?

Keep it in: if the game simulates reality, it must match reality

You noticed it: reality is a mess. No matter how hard you try, things are wrong and irrational all over the place. Let’s say that you are working on a guitar game, and that it allows to unlock real, licensed guitar effects. Players can interact with all the little switches and dials, setting arcane values like “Gain”, “Treble” or “Delay”. Should they be all translated? Of course! How are you supposed to understand them if…

Oh, great...

Real pedal effects are the same all over the world, captions are in English all over the world, and guitar players call them in English All Over The World. If the game is selling realism, you must match it, or people will feel robbed of their experience. Maybe you can drop a translation between brackets, but that’s it… Damn reality.

Keep it in: embrace technobabble, when needed

Not all jargon is meant to be understood. When Marty McFly wonders “What the hell is a Gigowatt”, or the Doctor “reverses the polarity of the neutron flow”, you don’t get a detailed technical explanation with diagrams. It’s Hocus Pocus. The same applies to games. It’s very common to see bits of technobabble thrown here and there for color, and you should recognize it and embrace it as such. Sure, some technobabble can be cringeworthingly wrong. If you really must fix it with a slight rewording, do so, but in general, just maintain the feel of the original. If it’s deliberately obscure, follow suit! After all, jargon is the key for the equivalent semiotic balance in the flow of the paratextual reference of your paradigm!

Keep it in: go with the flow

Let’s say that you are translating a game about a James-Bondesque vilain. His favorite weapon is the “jammer”. The term exists in your langauge, but it’s a bit technical, so you go for “wave disruptor”. Then the inventory menu arrives, and you see “Radio jammer”, “TV jammer”, “Telephone jammer”, “Counter jammer”… By removing “jammer” the first time, you saved the effort to familiarize with a jargon term. But with it coming back endlessly, the benefit is much smaller than the effort of reading those long and confusing name (”Telephone wave disruptor”?) Put jammer back and remember that not all jargon is negative per se. If familiarizing with a little bit of technical terminology will make the rest of the game smoother and more enjoyable, it’s an investment your translation should absolutely bank on

In the end…

Game texts are always half-way between a technical manual and narrative, and the way you deal with jargon depends on which way you decide to go on that case. As always, your only rule is to think about the player. The page in front of you, the daily wall of text you deal with, is just an intermediary. Your work ends with the audience!

Greetings! It’s been a busy year at GLOC. Elisa moved up to the Bay Area, Matteo just got married, and Alain is now the proud father of a lovely baby girl.

All the while, we churned out 1,000,000+ words of quality translations, with positive feedback everywhere. A huge thanks to all of you –clients, vendors, friends, blog readers, cartoonists and toddlers– and enjoy a very happy holiday season!

During Gamescom 2011, we had a pleasant chat with the legendary Andrea “Giopep” Maderna from videogame.it about game localization. Finally, here is the full English translation. Enjoy

Localization, the process that transfers a videogame’s contents from its original form to a target language, constitutes a fundamental step in reaching out to the audience in the most widespread way. This is especially true in a country such as Italy, where entertainment is rarely enjoyed through subtitles and/or original voice acting. The localization field is populated by some big agencies, as well as individual freelancers and small dedicated teams who do all the hands-on work in translating content. In between announcements and events at Gamescom 2011, we managed to interview Matteo Scarabelli, a spokesperson for the very active translation team GLOC. Here are some interesting details about their work.

Videogame.it: Let’s start from the beginning: who are you, what is your specialization, and what do you exactly do at GLOC?

Matteo Scarabelli: My name is Matteo Scarabelli, I’m a translator and I’m part of the specialized translation team GLOC.it (no idea how it’s pronounced… I usually type it) [ed. note: it’s pronounced “Gee-lok”]. We… Well, we translate. We translate videogames. Which means that we get written documents for a specific videogame and we strive to transform them into something that the Italian audience would understand.

Videogame.it: Do you handle videogames exclusively?

Matteo Scarabelli: Yes, we only work with videogame content, although we may have to deal with related material in exceptional circumstances. We have translated other kinds of software in the past, but honestly we don’t think we’re willing to repeat the experiment.

Videogame.it: How may members are there in the team?

Matteo Scarabelli: The “core team” has three members, although we are considering including a fourth. We also have half a dozen occasional freelancers, who work with us on a more or less regular basis. Of course, it depends on the volume of work we get: as long as translation and proofreading can be managed by the core team alone, we don’t seek any external help.

Videogame.it: Do you work in an actual office space, like we do at Videogame.it, or are you based in different locations and communicate with each other through the Internet?

Matteo Scarabelli: This is actually one of our strengths: one of us lives in Japan, another in Italy and the third in the United States. Thanks to different time zones, we can work 24/7 and someone is always available to answer calls. As a matter of fact, we all use the same email address and the same Skype account. We are essentially one three-headed translator who never sleeps. This idea was born a few years ago, when Alain, the Japan-based team founder, started receiving more work than he could manage by himself. Rather than subcontracting tasks, he decided to create a team of “equals.” I’m using quotation marks here, because Alain is still in charge of complying with quality standards and handling all the financial matters. He’s almost always the one who does the final proofreading for all assignments before delivery to the client.

Videogame.it: So, the text goes through internal proofreading before being submitted, even if it’s translated by a freelancer?

Matteo Scarabelli: Yes, always. There are always at least two levels: translation by one person and proofreading by another. If we can fit in an extra proofreading step, that’s always welcome… especially when dealing with high-profile or challenging projects. Unfortunately, I can’t mention any titles. Our job is more secretive than Fight Club…

Videogame.it: So, you absolutely can’t mention any games you worked on?

Matteo Scarabelli: No, unfortunately. Our field of work is dominated by Non-Disclosure Agreements. I shouldn’t even mention the localization agencies we work with, so I’ll keep it generic.

Videogame.it: Right, you work with localization agencies. Do you ever deal with game publishers directly?

Matteo Scarabelli: We usually work with agencies, but we also happen to deal with publishers directly for smaller tasks, which happens with freelancers as well. On general principle, our profile is closer to a freelancer than an agency, therefore we work with agencies.

Videogame.it: You mentioned work volumes: what is the average volume for a high-profile title, considering all due exceptions?

Matteo Scarabelli: Volumes are calculated as word counts in our field. An average game with not too much dialogue –such as a fighting game– has between 70,000 and 100,000 words. That is more or less the amount of text in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is not the longest book in the series. The longest one is actually Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is almost double the length… That’s enough, I’d say I’ve well proven my nerdiness. Anyway, this kind of word count usually pertains to fighting and racing games. I can’t mention any names, but I think the idea here is clear. Or, to be more specific, let’s examine a series that doesn’t exist anymore: the flight simulator Falcon included a game manual that would have made the U.S. Air Force envious. Even nowadays, some simulation games retain this approach, so we also have to translate a huge manual. If we move on to more dialogue-heavy games, such as RPGs… it gets a lot worse! We keep getting new material to translate, so it feels like the game never ends. Back in the day, we knew we were done when a game was released, but now we also have an endless stream of downloadable content. Every project is followed by a number of smaller projects that are assigned to the same translation team, as much as possible. This is done because the team already know the game, so they can both maintain stylistic consistency with the previous material and work faster.

Videogame.it: Can you mention some of the obstacles and accidents that may happen while translating a project?

Matteo Scarabelli: There are plenty. Sometimes we may have a misunderstanding with a client regarding instructions and small details: it could take some time to understand a project and match the right style. We start with a heavily adapted translation but, depending on the project, a client may require us to keep the translation closer to the source. It’s a trial-and-error process. Then you have queries, the questions sent to a client to clarify the context of a sentence or some elements that may be unclear when isolated from the game itself. Clients are usually fast at answering, but sometimes there’s no time for it. Even with an urgent project (i.e. one that is due within a week) we still need a couple of days to identify the problems and ask queries, which means we get our answers after the delivery. And this is not the worst that could happen. Last spring Alain was unable to work due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, so we had to manage projects with one man down, which was not easy! That was my personal initiation into understanding how much work is required when getting text from a client, organizing it, splitting it between several translators… all things that Alain usually handles. It’s a number of small tasks that amount to a lot of work when all piled together.

Videogame.it: Many games are created in Japan, then translated into English and finally assigned to several international translation teams. Do you ever have to work on low quality English text as a result of a poor initial translation?

Matteo Scarabelli: Yes, it sometimes happens. So many things happen that seem to be straight out of Google Translator. But, even more so, I can’t mention any examples. [laughs]

Videogame.it: And, of course, gamers who buy a game and are faced with a poor text just blame  it on the translators, without knowing that there may have been previous issues. Shame on the illiterates who translated the game! But there’s a lot behind appearances…

Matteo Scarabelli: Definitely. First of all, there are several steps. As you mentioned, many games are developed in Japan, so we get text that has already been translated into English with a heavy cultural adaptation. But that’s not a bad thing at all for us! Japanese-to-English translators are usually very accurate, as far as I’ve seen. Because they are targeting a wider slice of the market, they have more time and resources and can follow the standard procedure as suggested by localization “gurus:” study the game for a week, play it, familiarize yourself with it… That would be wonderful –a wonderful utopia, if you will–, but that’s not how things work for smaller markets such as Italy and most of the European countries. Spain is maybe different, due to the size of Central and South American markets, but there are still some significant language differences between Spanish-speaking countries. Anyway, the Italian market is not big enough to justify that kind of procedure. English text translated from Japanese is usually excellent, but in rare occasions we have to fix some issues. In other cases, a translation may have been rushed or even done by a developer or two who think their grasp of English is better than it actually is.

Anyway, our work doesn’t end with us –what we submit is not the final text. It is then reviewed by the client and by localization testers, who polish it and adapt it to the flow of the game. For example, when we translate subtitles we only have a vague idea of their actual length limits, because we don’t know how long they’ll stay on screen. They may have to be trimmed down or simplified or, as the opposite, they may end up staying on screen long enough to allow to reintroduce previously cut segments.

Videogame.it: Sometimes gamers get the impression that the Italian adaptation of particularly violent or vulgar games –such as Saints Row: The Third– has been toned down. Is that wrong?

Matteo Scarabelli: To answer your question I need to make a brief introduction: before we start translating a text, we always perform a statistical analysis to isolate the most common words and expressions. This allows us to create an extremely useful glossary, especially when dealing with projects containing over 100,000 words. Now, I remember working on a small 5,000 word project whose most common word was “f*ck,” recurring over 70 times. The second most common word was “f*cking.” In that specific case, we strived to preserve the crudeness of the source. The problem, however, is that crudeness is perceived and expressed very differently across cultures: English is a sort of Lego language, where you can build anything starting with short modules. In that case, you can throw a “f*ck” here and there and the results will always be satisfying. The Italian language, however, uses longer phrases that often clash with length limits: in order to achieve the same impact given by a simple “f*ck,” you may have to use several more words. In addition to this, we also have limits and instructions coming from above.

Videogame.it: It’s also worth mentioning that age ratings change depending on the country. What is considered 7+ somewhere could be regarded as 14+ somewhere else…

Matteo Scarabelli: Yes, there are some differences between PEGI and the ESRB. There are also weird contradictions: violence is not acceptable for a specific age tier, but racial slurs are allowed, even if common sense would suggest that they shouldn’t be… But yes, translations are generally milder than the source, just because all that cursing would sound almost like a parody in Italian. It would be so over the top that it would completely lose its impact. You mentioned Saints Row, but I think that series has a different set of problems. I’m not familiar with the third installment because it hasn’t been released yet, but I played the second one and I noticed that it was chock full of untranslatable slang expressions. When facing something like that, the best bet for a translator is to rewrite the text.

Videogame.it: Let’s talk about technical details: what kind of files do you use, Word or Excel?

Matteo Scarabelli: The basic format is Excel. We usually get huge Excel spreadsheets, but sometimes we get other formats, too. For example, game manuals are usually translated in multi-column Word files. Of course it depends on a client’s personal preferences, but yes, I’d say that the standard format is Excel.

Videogame.it: Is assisted translation software common in your line of work?

Matteo Scarabelli: Sometimes it’s mandatory: some clients require certain tools for certain projects. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen very often. It’s certainly useful, but it requires a certain degree of text cleanup before starting to translate.

Videogame.it: Is text cleanup done by the client?

Matteo Scarabelli: If they ask that a certain translation tool be used, they clean and convert files before sending them to translators. If using these tools is a translator’s choice, it’s up to them to clean the files and convert them back to the original format before delivery. In general, it’s always useful to check and clean up files to avoid font overlapping, hidden text wrapping, and other such inconveniences. You only have to learn this stuff once and then it will be second nature. Assisted translation tools can be extremely useful, especially in a highly specialized field such as game localization: they allow you to expand the glossary for recurring and official terminology, they even check your translation and highlight the occurrences when the same term has been translated differently. In short, they are a precious tool to ensure consistency and they can also speed up the translation of tedious recurring sentences such as “Your character is wounded/mildly wounded/severely wounded.” Another useful aspect of assisted translation software is that it allows you to import platform-specific glossaries as issued by console makers and ensure total consistency of the translated text.

Videogame.it: Right, there’s a number of official terms that have to be written in a specific way.

Matteo Scarabelli: Yes, they have to be written exactly as specified, with the trademark symbol in the right position, with or without blank spaces, with upper or lower case… There are registered names for consoles, controllers, peripherals, buttons, online options and much more, and everything needs to match, otherwise the game could be rejected! Even though there are three or four more checks before the game is released, translators have to be extremely careful when dealing with platform terminology, because it’s such an important aspect of our job. We even have to fix these terms in those cases when the developer has neglected to do it. It may sound trivial, but the right spelling for PlayStation 3 has no spaces and the ® symbol right before the number: PlayStation®3. When dealing with a sensitive matter such as registered trademarks, it’s extremely important to comply with the manufacturer’s regulations.

Videogame.it: How did you get your job and what would you recommend to anyone who wants to work in game localization?

Matteo Scarabelli: My career is particularly atypical, since I have a degree in physics. But I’ve always had an interest in languages. I used to work at a bookstore where a translation agency bought new dictionaries, so I took advantage of the contact and introduced myself. If anyone is interested in pursuing the same career, I salute their decision: it’s definitely an interesting choice. Since specialization in a particular field comes later on, they would have to start off translating anything and everything: MP3 player manuals, contracts for the Czech Republic railways… I’ve personally done all this! As for the basic skillset, I recommend reading, reading, and then more reading. And then some more. Reading in Italian, which is the target language, is especially important. The main objective when translating text is not understanding the source –billions of terabytes on the Internet can help decode even the most obscure slang terms. The real challenge is finding the right way to express the same idea in your language. And, as long as you’re translating an MP3 player manual, that’s not a big issue. Things change, however, when you have to deal with a more literary text –and modern games are closer to literature than to the old “press X to jump.”

Videogame.it: It’s also important to have a broad mind, since games can literally explore any topic…

Matteo Scarabelli: One of the requisites in our job description reads “Must know everything.” Or, at least, you should be ready to learn anything. It requires dedication, but the most important thing is to be knowledgeable in your native language, to be well spoken and well written. Which brings us back to listening and reading. As for everything else, the Internet is full of translators’ portals where you can find contacts, showcase your talents and try your hand with a translation agency. It’s still a meritocracy: if translators are good at what they do, they will get assignments. It takes a little luck to get noticed at the beginning, but from then on it’s all about word-of-mouth. If you’re good, clients will seek you –if you’re sloppy, clients won’t use you. Besides, it’s a job that will never go out of fashion: it would be like not translating novels anymore. Without a proper translation, it’s impossible to enjoy entertainment. Even at my level of English knowledge, I may still miss some of the nuances when I read novels in their original language. This is even more true when it comes to the general audience, which is not necessarily composed of translators. Thankfully so, otherwise we would be out of work!

When a team works together, jargon is bound to emerge sooner or later. Here are the expressions “made in GLOC”.

Cash-On-Floor ‘COF’ (Soldi trovati in terra ‘STIT’)

An unusually easy translation. Simple wording, many repetitions, minor updates to very known stuff…  Generally used as a feedback comment. “Hey, how was the translation?” “Np, cof” “Cool”

Ladyhawke effect (l’effetto Ladyhawke)

Like in the 80s fantasy classic, our US-resident hawk Elisa and the Italian wolf Matteo have few overlapping work-hours. Great for translation work, less for doing a phone conference. During winter, with time saving hours kicking in, it gets so short that Alain-”The Mouse” has often hoped that a bloody eclipse could really solve the madness.

Offal (i fegatelli)

First you translate the game, then the manual, then the website, then the DLC… When you get the Scratch and Sniff card of the cross-promotion with Frosties, you know you are dealing with Offal. Mostly used in feedback: “How was the translation?” “Np, just some offal”

Potter scale (il pottometro)

You are working on a huge project, but people around you don’t seem to understand? How can you give them an idea of the challenge? Use the Potter scale! These are the published books of the (notoriously verbose) Harry Potter series:

• Level 1: HP & the Philosopher’s Stone (1st) – 76,944 words
• Level 2: HP & the Chamber of Secrets (2nd) – 85,141 words
• Level 3: HP & the Prisoner of Azkaban (3rd) -107,253 words
• Level 4: HP & the Half-Blood Prince (6th) – 168,923 words
• Level 5: HP & the Goblet of Fire (4th) – 190,637 words
• Level 6: HP & the Deathly Hallows (7th) – 204,796 words
• Level 7: HP & the Order of the Phoenix (5th) – 257,045 words

Quite useful for internal comparisons too! “How big is the new project?” “Level 4″ “Gasp!”

Revisaurus (Revisauro)

Most reviewers are careful, dedicated professionals, giving a priceless contribution to the project. Some others, well, not. When changes are not only unjustified, but directly damaging, the reviewer is lovingly nicknamed “the Revisaurus”. A select few of these then enter into the Revisaurus Rex Hall Of Fame.

Rich reference (Ricca reference)

Yep, the file format is dreadful. I know, the deadline is horrendous. Sure, the source is agonizing. “But we have Rich Reference!” Repeat constantly, until the team feels reassured and confident. Like a mantra: “Rich reference!”, “Rich reference!”, “Rich reference!”

Tallinn Callin’ (lo squillo di Tallinn, Tallinn)

Like most people, we use Skype for staying in touch with each other. And, like most people, we see the messages lagging a lot. The quickest solution is to ring the other person for a voice call, then hang before he/she has the time to answer. Bam! All messages are now in synch. Named after Skype’s HQ city in Estonia.

And you? Do you work in team? Do you have any funny lingo to share? Leave a comment to share your views.