A Beastly Devog: Fortunes Calling

[p]Welcome to our 2nd Beastly DevLog! Where we give all our wishlisters and patient fans a little sneak peak into our process of localizing this game into English, as we speed closer and closer to launch day. [/p][p](psst... looks like our devious little virtuous fortune teller got into graced the game's store page and updated our "coming soon" with her own release prediction...)

Ahem, well today we have the lead translator of Two Beasts or not To Beast, and long-time fan of the game, CafeDX, here to chat about the challenges surrounding the sort of hints system within the game…[/p][p][/p][h2]The Un-Lucky Fortune Teller[/h2][p]Two Beasts features a "Fortune" system where you can spend currency earned throughout the game--typically by completing in-game achievements--to reveal walkthrough hints. Although the term "Fortune" is a bit of a misnomer, because they're written more like premonitions. Their purpose is twofold: to steer you both to and away from encountering erotic scenes. Preparing a perfect date for Kasumi is actually surprisingly challenging, and you'll need all the help you can get to succeed.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]Two Beasts has fairly complex, branching gameplay, and the developer provided us with a spreadsheet to assist with localization that outlines every possible character interaction at every possible time and location throughout the game (more on that in the future when we talk about beta testing). Fortunes are an invaluable resource when considering this, as they help narrow down possibilities without simply relying on trial and error.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]As the lead translator on the project, I was tasked with localizing said Fortunes, and they were the toughest part of the project for me. There are dozens and dozens of them, and they're written in a literary, antiquated manner in Japanese that resembles poetry. I tried my best to convey the same feeling in English while retaining all the critical information for the hints themselves. While the vast majority of them contain hints pertaining to the game, some are joke hints that are best described as simple life hacks. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So to sum it all up, if you feel stumped about how to encounter a particular scene or character, try having your fortune told!
[/p][h2]Guest Character Spotlight[/h2][p]Of course we gotta start off with the old-fashioned, friendly neighborhood ghostly fortune teller, Horobi! Your local guide with clues on where to avoid (or “accidentally” run into) all the nearby irresistible beauties, in return for some mystical Soul Coins. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Horobi’s not the only mystical ass-et however… Kanae is here to ass-ist in purging all your sinful desires.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks for reading, see you next week![/p]