We have been working very hard to put together an optimized system to simplify video game localization into spoken Arabic. We also have been very lucky to work with European clients who helped us learn from their own processes. Let’s face it, European standards are very high and we are very fortunate to be able to cater to their request. A few things we learned along the way:
1- Project Management: It is undeniably the most important building bloc of the job. When working on video game localization projects, the studio is usually working with multiple stakeholders such as translators, actors, quality reviewers, sound engineers and most importantly the game developers. It is important to submit all the material to the game developers exactly in the format they ask for, and they might ask for up to 10 different audio recording format to fit exactly within their game structure. With games that need over than 100 hours of audio recording and 10 different file formats, it is very crucial to have solid project management skills.
2- Comply with the instructions: Since we are working with international clients, it is very important to comply to the instructions that they have send us. We learned that the proper delivery of our files and following instructions to the letter, does not only help us ensure deliveries, but is also very important to the other stakeholders’ deliveries since they are directly related to our own.
3- Transparency and trust: Localization of video games into different languages such as Arabic usually means dealing with clients that have no clue about the language. They do not speak the language and they rely on us to provide them with proper guidance. Hence it is very important to explain to them every detail no matter how frustrating it might be. Sometimes we feel like we are giving Arabic 101 courses but we learned that it is very important to build trust with our clients.
4- Support: It is no secret that all clients like to have outstanding support when asking for our services. As a general rule at the studio, we always go out of our way to provide our clients with whatever support they need. For example, we recently installed Skype conferencing in our studio so that the client and his engineers can assist the recording sessions from overseas. They asked for it, we made it happen.
5- Committing to deliveries: We take our delivery commitments very seriously, for that we understand that our clients are usually very eager to get their products out. They have sales milestones to reach and these are absolutely dependent on our deliveries. Consequently, we feel it is our duty to do whatever it takes to meet the deadlines. Easier said than done, since we are usually running after moody talents and juggling schedules to be able to make sure not one single hour is wasted. It has been truly a blast working on all our video game localization into Arabic projects and we are happy that we acquired that skill. Feel free to drop us a line to discuss a potential collaboration with our studio.
You have a fantastic new game you want to release and want to reach those 300+ million Arabs? Well, we can help you localize your game into modern standard Arabic or the popular Lebanese dialect. Contact us today to learn more.