Interview the Localization Team!

Post by **Wooster** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:08 am

Credit: Chiko <3

Okay guys, there had been a few interviews with the Localisation Team here and there recently. Some of them were getting slightly repetitive and some might even find them a little “boring”. Lost offered the opportunity to have us ask the questions and the team will answer them for us. So starting today, and for one week, we’re going to collect questions from everyone in the forum. However, not every question is going to get asked, so here are a few rules and things to keep in mind – and this is how we’re going to run this project.

-Post the questions you want to ask the Localisation Team.
-The last submission is accepted by midnight EST on the 27th February, 2007.
-We probably will pick 10-15 questions from the ones that were submitted in the next few days.
-Then we’ll submit them to Lost – kick back and pray for good news.

A few dos and don’ts:

Dos:

-Ask intelligent questions.
-Remain polite.
Eg: WHERE DID YOU GET THESE *INSERT EXAMPLES* POP CULTURE REFERENCE FOR THE GAME?
Eg: HOW DO YOU APPROACH NAMING EACH (or certain) CHARACTER? IS THERE A PARTICULAR GUIDELINE THAT YOU FOLLOW?

Don’t:

-Be rude.
-Ask stupid questions.
-Avoid stupid fanboy/fangirl-ism.
Eg: WHY DIDN’T YOU GET ALEX SMITH BACK FOR PW2?
Eg: WHY IS _____’S LOCALISED NAME SO STUPID? IT’S SO MUCH COOLER IN JAPANESE.

Some of those “don’t” questions could easily be reworded, such as “I want to know where ____ came from, how closely does it resemble its Japanese counterpart?” Or “PW1 was originally outsourced, why did Capcom decide to localise the game on its own this time?”

Remember, they always reserve the rights to not answer some of the questions that we bring up to them. I don’t really have anything else to say, keep the questions coming, and most importantly... Have fun!

PS: We would have a short humour section, throw in questions like: "In a matter of life and death situation, you have to choose one of the following things to do, which would you pick and why: 1.) Fight an alligator bare handed. 2.) Eat 5 Fat Cats sandwich in a row. 3.) Climb Mt. Fuji and back."

Edit: I'll ask the first question... WHO DID THE VOICES IN THE ENGLISH VERSION - AND WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Harry Miste · Post by **Harry Miste** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:59 am

GS3 Questions:

-Will you be naming Chinami like an animal/plant/fruit that's sweet on the outside, but bitter on the inside, or something like that?

-I'm actually interested in Zenitora's name, considering his Japanese translation. How will you translate it?

Localization:

-Do you do a direct translation of the words, or do you rewrite them in your own way?

-Why did it take four years to localize Phoenix Wright 1?

Kryptik · Post by **Kryptik** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:10 pm

On the topic of GS3:

There seem to be quite a few names in the game that reflect notable literary names. Will those names be preserved where possible, or will they likely be localized?

On the general topic of localization:

How hard is it often to think of appropriate names that get across the punnery seen in the original names?

For a game that focuses on the rather grim and mature subject of murder investigation, how often do you find the need to tone down material from the original game?

Does it ever become a problem keeping the character's personality intact when translating their dialogue and fitting it into a localized inflection?

Post by **Tinker** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:29 pm

Kryptik wrote:On the topic of GS3:

There seem to be quite a few names in the game that reflect notable literary names. Will those names be preserved where possible, or will they likely be localized?

Except for Godot, what else? Detective Gumshoe

Kryptik · Post by **Kryptik** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:38 pm

Tinker wrote:
Kryptik wrote:On the topic of GS3:

There seem to be quite a few names in the game that reflect notable literary names. Will those names be preserved where possible, or will they likely be localized?

Except for Godot, what else?

Spoiler:

Edit: Added the source of the name after a little googling.

Post by **Tinker** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:44 pm

Tinker wrote:Except for Godot, what else?

Spoiler:

[/quote]

Well, Elise is such a international name that I'd think they keep it.

Post by **chikori** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:56 am

The thread probably will close and conclude which questions we shall be asking the localisation team shortly. I do have a few more questions to add - but I don't have the time right now to post them... I should be able to do it tomorrow morning...

WarioFan63 · Post by **WarioFan63** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:30 am

Am I allowed to ask a question still?

It might be a little dumb but Ill give it a shot anyway:

Although it is one of the series' most well kept secrets, have you ever thought of what a fitting true name for The Judge would be?

I also dont know if they can answer this question but I suppose its worth a shot as well:

How is the Japanese reacting to the change of characters for the fourth game?

They're probably both unanswerable or not good enough but I figured I would try anyway

jamar · Post by **jamar** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 1:47 pm

Why was the decision made to keep Kurain's name as it was?

Will the same thing happen to Hazakurain in GS3?

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:38 pm

3rd interview is now up.

Now we can start collection new interview questions for possible "re"interviews. No guarantees, as, they're quite possibly too busy for another, though I will certainly try.

Post by **chikori** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:41 pm

Thanks Lost. Wooster and I will get the set of questions together sometime soon - when I unbum myself... Though we really did appreciate the offer and I think we have generated quite a few questions.

Now... Time to dig for the link to the interview...

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:55 pm

chikori wrote:Now... Time to dig for the link to the interview...

http://blogs.capcomusa.com/blogs/scarle ... japan_loca

Sorry, I get lazy sometimes... =p

Post by **chikori** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:04 am

Thanks for posting that. I did find the link in the old CR forum, but I appreciated that.

Post by **Tinker** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:57 am

That's a very nice interview, quite interesting Adrian

Also, she's fan of Adrain Andrews, so let's not direct her here, now, lest she get a heartattack Wellington

TheGreenAvenger · Post by **TheGreenAvenger** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:29 pm

And I think the biggest change that was made to a character is Dr. Hotti. I’ll leave it up to you dedicated fans to figure out what he said in the original about Pearl…

Wh- Oh my GAWD. That's awful. Ack

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 11:25 pm

Is this all the questions you want to ask?

Wizard Anon · Post by **Wizard Anon** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:33 am

Can I ask a few!?

When are you going to announce the fact that you will/won't release GS3 in the United States of
America?

Will Chinami have the fan name of Dolores Willow?

Will you guys use the fan translation of the first case as a base of the translation?

Will the Judge's Brother notify the court that he is the Judge's Brother or will the court have to infer?

In GS4, will we see a return appearance of any characters from the earlier games besides Phoenix Wright and Ema Skye?

Mikker · Post by **Mikker** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:41 am

Wizard Anon wrote:Can I ask a few!?

When are you going to announce the fact that you will/won't release GS3 in the United States of
America?

Will Chinami have the fan name of Dolores Willow?

Will the Judge's Brother notify the court that he is the Judge's Brother or will the court have to infer?

In GS4, will we see a return appearance of any characters from the earlier games besides Phoenix Wright and Ema Skye?

I don't think these question should or will be answered.

'Will you guys use the fan translation of the first case as a base of the translation?' on the other hand is very interesting. Somebody else already made quite a bit of it, why not just take it from there? Ben

the gamefaqs guide to the game also has the main actions translated, along with most of Godots coffee philosophy. This might be usable as well?

Post by **Croik** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 3:02 pm

Except that would be a violation of the fantranslators / gamefaqs user's rights. The FAQ on gamefaqs is, I believe, copywritten (and would be useless to a translator anyway).

I'm not exactly sure how that area of the law works, but it's the same reason why published authors don't read fanfiction of their own work--if they were inspired by a fanfic and put those ideas in a new book and had it published, the fanfic author would have grounds for a complaint.

Wizard Anon · Post by **Wizard Anon** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:42 pm

Okay so all my questions suck...

I've got more!

Where did you get the idea to make that chef wear pink all of the time?

What exactly does the Fey's last name (Ayasoto literally meaning twill village) reference to?

Why does the victim of the first case in the third game have a first name that sounds like or is the Japanese word for "what?"

If GS3 is released in the United States, will the preorder prize be the usual strap?

Post by **Tinker** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:45 am

Except for the translation, which things need to be changed in a localized game?

Who is your favourite character? (just keep this one in, it's great Will Powers

)

What's your favourite case?

How much contact do you have with the Japanese team?

Are there things that couldn't be localized because it is not really on Western standards?

Will you please pretty please localise AA3 and AA4?

jamar · Post by **jamar** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:12 am

Croik wrote:Except that would be a violation of the fantranslators / gamefaqs user's rights. The FAQ on gamefaqs is, I believe, copywritten (and would be useless to a translator anyway).

I'm not exactly sure how that area of the law works, but it's the same reason why published authors don't read fanfiction of their own work--if they were inspired by a fanfic and put those ideas in a new book and had it published, the fanfic author would have grounds for a complaint.

So the main problem is getting permission? Or is there anything else in the way (most likely objections to the style of writing used by the fan-translation team)?

EricaP · Post by **EricaP** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:08 pm

Here are some!

(Is it okay to ask..."What happened to so and so?")

1.Who will provide the English voice for Mia Fey?

2.Will their ever be an Ace Attorney where you control a female the entire time?

Post by **Blademaster_Orca** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:25 pm

Guys, this is "Interview the LOCALIZATION Team", not "Interview the original developers." They can't answer questions like "why does the chef in GS3 wear pink?" and "will we ever get an AA game where the protagonist is female?" because they wouldn't know the answers to stuff like that.

Mikker · Post by **Mikker** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:47 pm

"How much influense do you guys have on the french/german/italian/spanish translations?"

Wizard Anon · Post by **Wizard Anon** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 8:34 pm

On a scale from 1-10, how hard was making up Redd White's words?

I think it was impossachievable!

Kikuchi · Post by **Kikuchi** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 8:54 pm

I think I can answer that, being very interested by what's happening behind the scenes of game localizations.

And the answer is, I believe, quite simple : they have a lot of control over these, yet they're not aware of that.

Explanations :

Most european versions are actually translated from the US version, and not the original. 2 reasons:
1 - time and work needed : though the result may be worse, it is way easier to adapt a game from its english counterpart. Hiring 10-15 translators (more languages) for 6-8 months for a game that will probably sell less than in the US is... difficult.
2 - technical issues : we almost always have to bear with english voiceovers. Translating from the japanese while having english voices doesn't quite fit together (ie. FFX german version)(keeping JP voiceover is a no-no, as people prefer to hear something they can "understand", though they don't actually understand it :/)

In a nutshell, you can say that the quality of europeans version largely depends on the english work, though it doesn't guarantee a good FR/GER/IT/SP/whatever version (I'm looking at YOU, JFA Fr)

Kayube · Post by **Kayube** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:50 pm

How did they decide on "Hold it!" and "Take that!" as translations for "Matta!" and "Kurae"? Are those exactly what they mean?

And what will "Soko da!" become?

Kikuchi · Post by **Kikuchi** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:41 pm

They're direct translations.
'Matta!' litteraly means "Just wait!" and 'Kurae!' "Take that!". 'Soko da!' will probably become "Here!"

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:38 pm

As Blademaster_Orca pointed out, this is an interview for the Translation Team. They do not have any decision making powers as far as design is concerned. They are essentially handed what has already been decided upon (the script) and translate that, and the freedoms they have are within those bounds.

If you want to put together a separate set of interview questions for the Dev team, start another thread, ask the questions, and I'll talk to the Ace Attorney product manager and see if we can arrange for an interview with the Dev team as well.

Post by **chikori** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:53 pm

Lost, by Dev Team... Does that include Takumi-san... ... ...? <3 I won't push it - really, the thought itself is much appreciated. I know he's a busy guy and it probably would be extremely difficult and almost impossible to do so... But once you get an okay on interviewing the Dev Team, I'll start a new thread. I noticed that there are more questions coming around the past couple of days, so Wooster and I are holding off on finalising the questions - we started it, but we hadn't gotten around finishing it up.

onamida · Post by **onamida** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:16 pm

Are you guys still taking questions for this? If so, I have a few.

As someone who next year will be shooting for a job in the game industry as a translator/localizer... I'd be very interested in hearing the answers to these:

(1) What is your background in terms of Japanese language study (how many years studying in school, how much time living in Japan)? Had you done any prior translation work in other fields -- or other non-localization work in the game industry -- before starting your current position at Capcom?

(2) How much input did Mr. Takumi (or anyone else on the Japanese dev staff) have on the English script, localized names, etc.? That is, were there people checking closely to make sure that you guys stayed true to the game's original vision, or did you pretty much have free rein?

(3) I'm sure it varies a bit depending on how challenging a particular section of text is, but generally speaking, at what sort of pace do you translate? About how many pages/lines of text will you get through in a given day? Do you have enough time to look over, rewrite and refine parts of the script that you've already translated, or is your schedule so hectic that you have only a limited time to spend on any one particular block of text before moving on?

(4) I believe that there were three of you working on GS2. Did you have the opportunity to discuss, get feedback on, or brainstorm about challenging localization decisions with the other members of the team? Or did you pretty much each get individually assigned a certain case or a certain block of the script for which you were expected to take full responsibility?

(5) Do you do any work other than the translation itself? For example, accompanying Capcom Japan staff to game shows and interpreting for them during interviews, acting as a liason between Capcom's USA division and Japan, or things like that... or is that sort of work handled by completely separate staff members?

(6) Finally, er -- what are the chances that Capcom will be hiring new localization translators at about this time next year? Will Powers

Or, if you can't answer that... what advice would you give to someone who has confidence in their Japanese language and translation skills but is unsure how to break into the game industry?

Thank you!

EDIT: Oops, just dug back in the archives and noticed that a bunch of those questions had already been answered. My mistake! Please ignore those.

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:30 pm

Hey guys, how is this coming along? Can you send/give me a final list later today or tomorrow? Japan's been asking, which is good, because it means they're eager to hear from ya. =D

Please separate the questions into questions for the Dev team, and questions for the Localization team, as they need to go to different places, so keep in mind what kind of questions a Localizer can answer, and what kind of questions a Dev can answer.

Example:
Q: Why did so and so character make the game but so and so didn't?

A: This is a question only a Dev can answer, and localizors have no call this sort of thing.

Example 2:
Q: Why did you name this character this name? I hate this name!

A: This is a question for the localization team, and not the Devs.

The examples are a bit extreme, but you get what I mean. If there's questions that sort of hugs the line, send them in anyways and I'll categorize it for you before I send it off.

Post by **chikori** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:50 pm

Lost, Wooster and I will get to it tonight and probably email it over to you tomorrow or tomorrow afternoon/night, would that be alright?

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:06 pm

chikori wrote:Lost, Wooster and I will get to it tonight and probably email it over to you tomorrow or tomorrow afternoon/night, would that be alright?

That'll work just fine. ^_^

Post by **Croik** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:50 pm

I'VE GOT ONE.

Where did the name "Godot" really come from!?

And that's it~

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:27 pm

Croik wrote:I'VE GOT ONE.

Where did the name "Godot" really come from!?

And that's it~

And that's the only question we won't ask. HA~!

Post by **Croik** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:41 pm

You make me sad Keiko Sad

Carter · Post by **Carter** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:34 pm

Wizard Anon wrote:What exactly does the Fey's last name (Ayasoto literally meaning twill village) reference to?

Hell, I could answer this. It's a reference to "Morgan le Fey," a sorceress from the King Arthur/Camelot mythology. "Fey" is also french for "fairy," and have a magical connotation (which is why Morgan's surname/title is "le Fey.")

Lost · Post by **Lost** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:54 pm

Croik wrote:You make me sad

I was just kidding =D