Localization SIG

International Game Developers Association

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FAQs What is a Special Interest Group (SIG)? How do I join a SIG? How do I establish a SIG?

Welcome to the Game Localization SIG of the IGDA!

This SIG was started in June 2007 in order to serve the need of the game localization community, i.e., those involved in the process of proactively planning for content adaptability in target international markets, performing the requisite translation and adaptation, and the act of reactively managing expectations when problematic content elements are identified by local customers. The announcement about the formation of this SIG was delivered in the September 2007 email bulletin of the IGDA.

Table of contents 1 Announcements 2 Events 3 SIG Overview 4 SIG Objectives 5 SIG Guidelines 6 How to Join and Get Involved

[edit] Announcements

SIG Logo Contest! We need a great logo for the Localization SIG, something cool, clean and representative of the SIG's global focus. The SIG is conducting a contest to design the logo, and any and all SIG members are invited to submit their ideas. The deadline is July 1, 2008. The final artwork needs to look good in a 200x200 pixel window, but context submissions can be of any size (more finalized artwork in Illustrator or similar is more helpful, but not required!). The SIG steering committee will select the top 3-5 designs and submit them to the membership for a final vote. The prize is bragging rights that YOUR logo serves as the SIG's emblem! Please email logo contest entries to: tomedw@englobe.com.

SIG Steering Committee is Established: In consultation amongst themselves, the SIG chair and co-vice-chairs agreed to establish a small steering committee in order to better direct the SIG's activities and include experienced voices from both the localization and game industries. The current SIG steering committee consists of the following individuals:

• Tom Edwards: SIG Chair & Independent Consultant
• Heather Chandler: SIG Vice-Chair & Independent Consultant
• Miguel Bernal: SIG Vice-Chair & Lecturer/Researcher
• Fabio Minazzi: localization industry representative from Binari Sonori
• Richard Honeywood: games industry representative from Blizzard Entertainment

SIG Guidelines and a Call for Working Group Proposals: The SIG leadership has created a set of guidelines that will help govern the SIG as well as provide guidance on establishing Working Groups. We'd like to encourage all SIG members to read the guidelines and please think of how you'd like to contribute to the SIG efforts. A Working Group is an excellent way for members to accomplish tasks that might otherwise not be possible from within their own domain of control and a great way to spread the responsibilities of the SIG among interested and passionate members (not just the Steering Committee). The SIG guideline document is available here: http://igda.org/wiki/Localization_SIG_Guidelines.

Localization World Working Group is Established: In order to organize the SIG's efforts for contributing to the Localization World event in Berlin (see Past Events, a working group headed by Miguel Bernal has been established. Now that Loc World Berlin has passed, this Working Group will continue to strategize on the SIG's presence in future Loc World events.

[edit] Events

Note: all information about Past Events can be found here: http://igda.org/wiki/Localization_SIG_Past_Events
Do you know of an event or something of interest to game localization? Are you speaking at an event? Please let us know and we'll post the news here!

[edit] SIG Overview

Reason/need for a Localization SIG: The number of game industry and localization industry professionals who are engaged specifically and exclusively in games has been increasing in proportion to the industry’s growth. This group of specialized professionals is currently split between either being more “game industry-oriented” or more “localization services-oriented”, without an appropriate “home” in which the hybrid field of game localization can exist. The game localization practice contains its own unique challenges and solutions that would benefit from a community space in which its professionals can interact and grow in association with the games industry. At the same time, the utility software localization industry has been developing tools and workflows that the game industry could utilize to save time and money which would benefit everybody involved in the localization process, as well as the game industry and the gaming community.

[edit] SIG Objectives

Goals/Mission: To provide a focal point and nexus for the growing number of game localization professionals in order to build community, draw together best practices and processes, and emphasize the requisite international dimension of game content development towards the goal of improving global game development processes and local end user experiences.

Potential projects/Initiatives: Beyond the goal of drawing together and building community among those involved in game localization, the SIG would also seek to fulfill collaborative projects. Some possible examples include:

• Activities at Industry Events: Ensure that the SIG has a clear presence at events like GDC, Localization World, etc.
• Critical Localization Issues Guide: Compile the contributions of members from various locales to produce a guide for top localization issues in each major games market. This wouldn’t be a comprehensive encyclopedia, but would at least include the top 5 overlooked issues in each market.
• Game Localization Seminar: Organize at least one annual, one-day game localization tutorial/seminar, preferably in conjunction and in association with one of the GDC events.
• Best Practices White Paper: Generate a game localization best practices white paper that contains the more generic practices and procedures that have proven useful across the industry, while remaining company-agnostic and obviously not proprietary.

[edit] SIG Guidelines

The SIG guideline document is available here: http://igda.org/wiki/Localization_SIG_Guidelines.

[edit] How to Join and Get Involved

First and foremost, we encourage everyone who's interested in the SIG to first join the IGDA as a paying member - more information is available here: http://www.igda.org/join/. Your paid membership and affiliation with the Localization SIG will help support the SIG's activities.

At the moment, there is no formal process for joining the Localization SIG but there will be once the IGDA website revisions are complete. In lieu of that, you can join the SIG and start getting involved by doing any (or all) of the following:

• Email the Loc SIG Chair [Tom Edwards, tomedw@englobe.com] with a request to be added to the SIG member list.
• For Yahoo users, join the "IGDA-LocSIG" group, found at this link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/igda-locsig.
• For Facebook users, join the "IGDA - Localization SIG" group, with more information found here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5617301247.

Feel free to introduce yourself, send ideas, and/or express your thoughts on game localization! Also, we have a Loc SIG Survey in place to gather your opinions on the SIG's goals, etc.: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6ibhvNIKtilcOdyPwzwWnA_3d_3d.