you have you ever wondered how living development project managers to do it?
Today I show a little way we work
(text written by the team leader: Jimmytrius)
(text written by the team leader: Jimmytrius)
The first thing to know is that in a game we find two kinds of text: the non-script text and text script. The first covers all the text on object names, menus, characters, etc ... the script text, however, consists of all the dialogues that develop the game's story. This latter type of text (the most voluminous) is that we still have to check to give the nod to the translation.
The script is stored in a text file like this:
As several people and we are interested to work all at once, what is done is to divide the script into predefined blocks (there are about 1000) and each one is in charge of their own.
translate When we try to follow some guidelines:
- Do not exceed the amount of original text and respect the partitions and positioning of labels in order to spare unnecessary bugs. This sometimes limits us a lot and makes the translation of certain texts, but in general we gracefully:
@ Alright, That Should Do It! [WAIT]
@ [FLINT 23 January 2000]! [WAIT]
@ Be Careful coming up! [END]
@ Well, this should enough! [WAIT]
@ [FLINT 23 January 2000]! [WAIT]
@ Be careful climbing! [END]
Of course, our priority is to respect the essence of English texts, so that when something can not occupy the same as in the original there's nothing to do, it becomes as short as possible and so that does not sound forced.
- Keep all the gags as possible, adapted to our language or replaced by others when there are no equivalents in English. Team members show much imagination in this:
@ * hop * [WAIT]
@ Wave your game? [PAUSE 20 00] [BREAK]
... Wait, that's not right. [WAIT]
@ I mean, save your game? [WAIT]
[MENU February 2000] [MENUSPACEYES] Yes [MENUSPACENO] No [BREAK]
[ENDCHOICES] [END]
@ * hop * [ WAIT]
@ "restrict the game? [PAUSE 20 00] [BREAK]
... Wait, was not. [WAIT]
@ Ahem, Save the game? [WAIT]
[MENU February 2000] [MENUSPACEYES] Yes [MENUSPACENO] No [BREAK]
[ENDCHOICES] [END]
Mother 3 is full of phrases with double meanings, puns and allusions. Although this has been a source of many headaches, we must recognize that it has also led to a very funny discussion between us.
- Ensure no spelling errors and inappropriate forms of expression. We reviewed the texts over and over again to ensure that nothing escapes us, and if we see that something can be corrected or improved, we do.
As they finished and revised texts passed to a second phase in which the spokesman of the computer (server) texts appropriate to introduce a new script created specifically for the game, in which review the text and are placed in the appropriate place. All these tasks are performed with a nozzle useful text created by the people of Starmen.net:
This program can modify the text more easily, preview will look at the game, look for repetitive text and apply the changes all at once instead of going one by one, etc ... definitely speeds up the process, but Nor does it all, much less. Some errors by locating them within the program itself, but many others are to be found by eye.
The most problematic issue is that only one person can work with this program, which means that that person has to do a few things:
- Check again all the texts to see that follow the guidelines listed above, and modify them if they fail any pattern. The duration of this process depends largely on the emphasis placed by each translator when revising their texts.
- Unify styles so that no strange situations in which reference is made to the same term with different names (for example, if something is called "Vital Water" may not appear as "Water of Life" in another text ) or dialogues for the same character are radically different ... each character speaks in a very concrete, and it is necessary to maintain consistency in all his texts. If a character used to talk about how contrived and batteries can not do that in a moment gets to speak as an ordinary person the street, and so on.
Where do all these things are necessary to enter the script in the ROM and test the game to check it out properly. The truth is that if taken care of all the previous sections, the number of bugs that can occur is laughable, but always beating around the eye, because we have had cases of the game even start because of a small error of all in the less desirable place ... It is quite annoying, and that is why we are so scrupulous review of the text, and save us long-term problems, which probably would be much more complex to solve.
As this is more or less in we are busy right now. We still can not give an exact date, but I think we're making good progress. The project is progressing a little each day, so do not be afraid.
