The world of video game development is astronomical. Video game localization is just a small part of a much larger process, but it’s often a lot larger and more complicated than you might think. One way you can learn more about the industry is through game localization blogs.

Here’s a list of game localization blogs and why you should check them out!

Note: These aren’t just for Japanese to English localization! Learning about a wide variety of takes on the industry is so incredibly important.

 

Legends of Localization

legendsoflocalization.com

Legends of Localization by Clyde Mandelin (and his team) is all about the localization of Japanese games written for a general audience.

Clyde Mandelin is a Japanese to English video game translator who also loves to dig into game localization throughout history. He’s probably best know for two things, his Legends of Localization books about The Legend of Zelda and Earthbound, and his series This Be Bad Game Translation.

But this blog has so much more. They discuss the Japanese to English and English to Japanese localization of a number of games. They also talk about various takes on localization in general, interviews translators and localization teams, and modern cultural trends.

This blog is for anyone who likes games and are interested in localization.

 

Translating Worlds

http://www.localization.it/

Alain Dellepiane is an English to Italian video game translator who writes about freelancing and translation from an Italian perspective.

He has some really interesting insights into the complex cultural influences on game localization (such as in “How Cuphead was translated, and why you might never see it“). And his English articles on Italian game localization are really fascinating (such as “Translating the (Cyberpunk) Future“).

These are written for general audiences to educate on the challenges that might crop up on a project.

Infrequently updated but always great content.

 

Loc’d and Loaded

https://blog.luciledanilov.com/

Lucile Danilov (who I interviewed for Interviews With Localizers) is an English to French video game translator who writes articles on a variety of topics aimed mostly at video game translators.

She gives tips on how to improve translating and editing, working as a freelance translator, and using MemoQ. She also has a series of interviews with FIGS (French, Italian, German, Spanish) video game translators called Between the Lines.

There aren’t many articles on her blog right now but they’re all really interesting!

 

The Frenchalizer

https://thefrenchalizer.com/blog/

Sandrine Guyennet is an English to French video game translator who likes to write about the game localization industry in general, as well as advice for other translators.

Her articles discuss tips for translators (such as “Translator Tools: Toggl and RescueTime“), machine translation, and translating dialects and proper nouns.

There aren’t many articles on the blog right now, but they’re still all invaluable for translators!

 

Video Games Translator

https://videogamestranslator.com/blog/

Dmitry Kornyukhov is a Russian video game translator, who also manages a team of multi-lingual translators for games.

His blog is aimed at game translators, discussing his own experiences with localization and business/translation tips for translators.

Another blog that’s not updated very often but does have entertaining articles that are full of gifs and icons.

 

1 Up Translations

http://1uptranslations.com/en/localization-blog/

Marianna Sacra is an English to German video game translator who writes about game localization for game developers.

Her articles cover topics such as “How to Prepare Your Game for Localization” and “Accents and Dialects in Games – Yea or Nay?“.

This blog hasn’t been updated with anything new in a while, but really, really worth checking out if you’re interested in localization approaches and logistics.

 

Level Up Translations

https://www.leveluptranslation.com/blog

Level Up Translations are a video game localization company that have their own blog. This blog is aimed at game developers, discussing topics such as “How Long Does It Take to Localize An Indie Game?” or “What Languages to Localize Your Game Into“.

They also have articles about a variety of languages including Chinese, French, and the technical implications of game localization such as programming non-Latin alphabets.

This blog doesn’t update all that often but it has a wealth of really interesting articles about the logistics side of localization.

 

Nintendo Treehouse

https://nintendotreehouse.tumblr.com/

If you’re a fan of Nintendo games and translation then you will want to read this blog. Written by Nintendo Treehouse members on localization but most on their games in general.

However, Tumblr is practically be dead and the Nintendo Treehouse blog hasn’t been updated in two years. But still, a lot of fantastic insights into the back-end of Nintendo Treehouse localization! (My favourite article is Localizing “Jump Up, Super Star!”)

 

And if you didn’t already know there’s my blog, J-EN Translations, which has a few articles on game localization!

And if there are any game loc blogs you think I’ve missed, please let me know!

 

Awesome Game Localization Blogs You Should Read
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Jennifer O'Donnell

Jennifer is a Japanese to English translator and Localization Director for a video game company in Japan. With an MA in translation from the University of London, she specializes in creative, entertaining translations for media, and has a passion for improving the entertainment translation industry for translators, vendors, and clients. (No AI or machine translation in creative works!)

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