Localization in Public Beta!

[p]After a lot of work by a lot of people, we've got v2.0.5 -- the localization update -- in public beta! This adds nine languages to the game: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish. [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]If your computer is already set to use one of these languages by default, that language should be selected by default when you launch the beta. But you can also manually select a language manually in Gameplay Settings -- which can be fun if you want to practice another language. [/p][p]As with so many things, localization turned into a much bigger job than expected -- partly because I somehow mistakenly estimated that we had about 30,000 words in the game text. Turns out we have more than 60,000 words! We contracted with Kurono Studios, a small localization company in Japan that does only human translation, no machine translation. And several of the translators are actually longtime WolfQuest players, which has been a big benefit! We've also gotten help from many players, who have spent a great deal of time reviewing the translations and discussing the finer points of localization. Thank you all![/p][p]This process is called "localization" rather than "translation" because it's not just a straight translation. The goal is to make the text meaningful in the local culture as well as the language. For example, in a typical game, if an animal such as a raccoon makes an appearance, if the audience for that language isn't familiar with raccoons, the translator would find a local equivalent. But that doesn't work for WolfQuest, where the particular animal species are very important in the ecology of the game and of the realworld area of Yellowstone. Further complicating this task is that the words "moose" and "elk" refer to different species in Europe vs. North America. Furthermore, some languages only have a single word that describe multiple types of vocalizations such as "bark" and "woof" (not to mention lacking a word for "squeak"). So localizing WolfQuest was quite a challenge![/p][p]But we're just about done with the process, though we know there are more tweaks and refinements to do. We expect the v2.0.5 update to be in public beta for at least a week while we work through those issues -- and we appreciate all the help that our players will provide![/p][p]One more thing: We had hoped to release the Tower Fall DLC map this month, but it's just not quite there, so you can expect it in the new year. [/p][p][/p][p]See the v2.0.5 Public Beta build notes here.[/p]