{"id":2414,"date":"2022-11-28T16:29:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/blog\/how-become-game-translator\/"},"modified":"2024-03-05T16:40:09","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T15:40:09","slug":"how-become-game-translator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/magazine\/how-become-game-translator\/","title":{"rendered":"How to become a professional video game translator"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A <strong>video game translator<\/strong> is a professional translator with specific skills and a passion for gaming. But how does the job of a traditional translator differ from that of a video game translator?<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h2>What does a video game translator do?<\/h2>\n<p>Video game translators have the (tricky) task of <strong>making video games accessible <\/strong>to players who don&#8217;t speak the language used in the original game.<\/p>\n<p>You might think that all there is to do is<strong> translate the video game interface <\/strong>(buttons, instructions, equipment inventory, and menus) and <strong>character dialogue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>However, video games are cross-media products. They exploit the potential of text-based communication, and audio and video, to fully immerse players in the story they are \u201cexperiencing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, translating a video game requires translators to understand how to best adapt content to meet the needs of different media formats. For example, video game translators must<strong> translate character dialogue<\/strong> so it can be dubbed for video sections. They also need to <strong>create subtitles<\/strong> so that players can enjoy content with the audio on mute.<\/p>\n<p>Video games are cultural products deeply rooted in <strong>contemporary pop and \u201cgeek\u2019 culture<\/strong>. As a result, they contain references to cultural products specific to their niches, such as books, comics, and previous video games.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, good video game translators need to be able to place the product they are translating within a complex system of <strong>cultural references<\/strong>. Failing to do so can result in translators becoming the enemy of a community of video gamers, causing the product to flop, which does not reflect well on the creator.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, video games are usually launched on the market with a major <strong>advertising campaign<\/strong>. Translators must translate this campaign per the guidelines on <strong>translating commercial texts<\/strong>. The task is often entrusted to the team that translated the actual video game itself.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Tips for becoming a video game translator<\/h3>\n<p>Instead of talking about translation, it would be more accurate to talk about video game<strong> localisation<\/strong>. To render these products available to gamers around the globe, you should be familiar with previous video game translations and be able to correctly transpose aspects of the <strong>source culture<\/strong> into the<strong> target language<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Doing so guarantees players an experience that aligns with the original version.<\/p>\n<h2>What do you need to study to become a video game translator?<\/h2>\n<p>Having a <strong>degree in languages <\/strong>or a <strong>certificate <\/strong>demonstrating high proficiency in foreign languages is the first step to working in this field.<\/p>\n<p>However, to understand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/magazine\/how-to-translate-localise-videogames\/\">how to translate video games<\/a>, you need to be an experienced and passionate <strong>video gamer<\/strong>. The reason is simple: only people who have bought, played and compared these products over time <strong>clearly understand what works and what doesn&#8217;t.<\/strong> This knowledge is required to ensure video players have a satisfying, engaging, and smooth experience on all levels.<\/p>\n<p>Eurotrad entrusts its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/video-game-localization-services\/\">video game translation service<\/a> to experienced translators who are true fans of contemporary geek culture. As a result, our translations are always accurate, fluent, and engaging.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A video game translator is a professional translator with specific skills and a passion for gaming. But how does the job of a traditional translator differ from that of a video game translator? What does a video game translator do? Video game translators have the (tricky) task of making video games accessible to players who don&#8217;t speak the language used in the original game. You might think that all there is to do is translate the video game interface (buttons, instructions, equipment inventory, and menus)&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to become a game translator | Eurotrad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tips on how to become a video game translator and what studies are necessary to carry out this type of work. Discover more on Eurotrad.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/magazine\/how-become-game-translator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to become a game translator | Eurotrad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tips on how to become a video game translator and what studies are necessary to carry out this type of work. 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