Possible Polish localization & CD Projekt / GOG.com

[True_Spike]

Given the huge backing the project has already received (and I hope the money stream will only grow bigger with each passing day) it's natural to expect the game to be localized, because even though many people do prefer the original language rather than their native one, a skillfully done localization greatly increases the game's reach - and the costs of such, in a game similar to the old infinity-based legends of the cRPG world, are quite low when compared to those of localizing a fully voiced "modern" RPG.

 

Most localizations are known to be inferior to the original - which is to be expected - but there is an exception to every rule. I can't see anyone living outside of Poland or unfamiliar with our gaming culture would know that, but the Polish localization of Baldur's Gate (of all titles, but BG2 in particular) is widely accepted to be quite a bit *better* than the original. The feel has been maintained, the voice actors were superb and to this day the game is regarded as the best (Polish) localization in the long history of gaming. Bar none.

 

It would only be natural to expect the people behind Project Eternity to want to repeat that massive success and it just so happens that the company behind BG's localization was CD Projekt - that of CD Projekt RED, the studio behind the Witcher and the Witcher 2, known as one of the few remaining studios to actually treat the players with respect and cater to their every need, promote DRM-free content (for the sake of buyers), listen to the community and adhere to the same business principles I have come to associate with the people behind this glorious project. It also happens to own GOG.com - a steadily growing digital distribution platform known for being DRM-free and dishing out loads of additional content to the buyers.

People want the game to be available on GOG, because it offers a very reasonable alternative to steam, whilst retaining the digital distribution aspect, which is so imporant to this project.

 

Infinity-based games (and Obsidian titles like Kotor 2) are one of the most successful ones in terms of sales in Polish history. Do not miss out on the opportunity to penetrate this promising market, I beg of you. Striking a deal with CD Projekt RED concerning the Polish localization and digital distribution of the most promising RPG game we've seen in years can only bode well for both the game and the people wanting to enjoy it as much as they possible can.

 

Thank you for reading this, I hope it will get to the people responsible for the fate of this project. I keep my fingers crossed and my wallet open and can't wait to hear more about it

[Hoverdog]

Problem is, since the end of the Infinity era, there hasn't been a single good potato localisation. I've no idea why, but it declined in the same way games have declined. I'm not sure if it'll work, and I'm sure as hell I'll be getting meself the original one.

[dlux]

there hasn't been a single good potato localisation

Wut?

 

lol ^^

[Infinitron]

It's an inside joke.

Edited September 15, 2012 by Infinitron

[Reddie]

That the company produced some good localisation 14 years ago doesn't mean it's capable of it now. Frankly, seeing their newest releases, I'm inclined to think it's quite the contrary.

 

What I would regarding localisation is to make it possible. To allow for fan translations, if not endorsing them. Using accessible format for storing in-game text is a minimum.

[True_Spike]

Fan-made translations are *always* terrible, something English-only speakers might not be aware of. Look at all the user-made content our there. CD Projekt has been doing localizations for the past 15 years and has been doing a decent job, but they showed the most strength in localizing Infinity engine games. Plus, there's this GOG aspect that needs to be considered.

[Pop]

I do wonder about localization expenses. This is going to be a text-heavy game. Hopefully something can be worked out!

[True_Spike]

I do wonder about localization expenses. This is going to be a text-heavy game. Hopefully something can be worked out!

 

I work as a translator and text-based translations shouldn't be that much of a problem. It's the voice-over that is the biggest issue budget-wise.

[True_Spike]

For example, Planescape: Tormet is said to have had 800,000 words. With an average of 5 characters per word, it gives us about 4kk characters. This equals, roughly, 1111 standardized pages. The average rate, per page, E -> P, in Poland, is 25 pln. This means that the entire Planescape: Torment could, in theory, be translated for 27775 PLN, which is a tad shy of 9k USD. Of course, real costs would have been higher, since additional staff is required: coordinator(s), proof reader(s) for the quality assessment, and then there's software costs etc. Still, without the voice-over it wouldn't take more than 20-25k for a top quality localization and I'm sure a deal could be made where CD Projekt would cover a portion / all of the costs of localizing the game (to Polish) for the rights to distribute the title through their digital distribution network, which is GOG.com (since with each copy sold they get a cut and they wouldn't need to sell a ton to get a positive ROI - and the game is destined to sell a lot of copies anyway). People want the game to be available there anyway. Everyone's happy.

Edited September 16, 2012 by True_Spike

[Reddie]

Fan-made translations are *always* terrible, something English-only speakers might not be aware of.

 

Not true. Recently, fans have translated DLCs for Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age. While I agree the quality is lower than CD Projekt's localization of Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torment, it's on par with their more recent localizations (i.e. Mass Effect, which received a medicore effort - not terribly bad, but not great either and certainly worse than english version).

 

CD Projekt has been doing localizations for the past 15 years and has been doing a decent job, but they showed the most strength in localizing Infinity engine games.

 

I understand your argument here is: their best translations were 2D cRPGs, so if they will receive opportunity to localize another one it'll be just as good? Regardless of the fact that Infinity games just happen to all be from before a decade.

 

Plus, there's this GOG aspect that needs to be considered.

 

And which has absolutely nothing to do of whether CD Projekt will localize this game or not.

[True_Spike]

I'm saying that the text-based localizations they do are of top quality (most of the time) and player's often cringe at the voice-overs in modern games. In the case of Project Eternity, dubbing is hardly an issue. Fan-made translations are almost *always* inferior to their official counterparts (I am yet to see a proper fan-made translation), because most of the time they are done by amateurs, for free. This means less time invested in the product, no proper quality assessment process, lack of coordination between multitple translators and, quite often, it's just a straight-up translation rather than localization. Also, the game *will* feature little snippets of voice, akin to Infinity Engine games - and these will remain untranslated by fans. A partial translation just doesn't look good. Polish localizations are done for most of modern titles and the costs of doing these far outweigh the costs of localizing a game like Project: Eternity. Doing so professionally assures the game will become available to a wider audience. Yes, most people are capable of playing a game in English, but at the same time most of them are incapable of understanding everything. Immersion is a huge factor in RPGs and it suffers greatly when a player simply doesn't have the means to fully grasp the narrative with all of its little quirks and nuances.

 

As for the GOG deal and the localization - it all depends on the angle at which negotiations will be approached.

Edited September 16, 2012 by True_Spike

[Reddie]

I'm saying that the text-based localizations they do are of top quality

 

Used to be

 

 

Fan-made translations are almost *always* inferior to their official counterparts (I am yet to see a proper fan-made translation), because most of the time they are done by amateurs, for free. This means less time invested in the product, no proper quality assessment process, lack of coordination between multitple translators and, quite often, it's just a straight-up translation rather than localization.

 

In theory. The same theory applied to software used to "prove" the superiority of proprietary development model, unless open source proved it wrong.

 

But I digress. As a counter argument: fans may have way more time to offer in product precisely because they are not constrained by paid working hours and they are, well fans - which means they like what they translate and have great knowledge of in-game world and story.

 

The claim that fan translations are always inferior rests only on the fact that there are not enough modern translation efforts to verify it because most of the games are now localized. There is a plethora of quality fan translations in other media - TV, movies, manga. Regarding games, fans have helped translating KOTOR and I believe the localization would be of lower quality if not for their help.

 

Also, the game *will* feature little snippets of voice, akin to Infinity Engine games - and these will remain untranslated by fans. A partial translation just doesn't look good.

 

Wasn't it your argument that translating text only would be cheap enough for CD Projekt to do? Also, it's not at all impossible to hire voice actors and a studio funded by fan effort! Recently, Musopen project hired Czech National Philharmonic Orchestra to do a full-length album filled with classical pieces. The cost was about $10,000 and it was raised by Kickstarter. I'm sure that voice localization, given there are only little snippets voiced, would cost even less