Frank Dietz, Ph.D.

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Add-on disk

In computer games, this is a follow-up to a successful title that adds additional missions and/or new features, but cannot be played without the original CD. Also called Expansion Pack or Mission Disk. 
 

Age rating

Entertainment software (i.e. computer and vide games) receives rating similar to movies. Be aware that standards in other countries might be quite different. 
 

AI

Artifical intelligence 
 

Alpha

The early development stage of a piece of software in which it is only partially functional. 
 

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. 
 

Beta

A later stage of software development in which the program should be fully functional, but still has bugs. 
 

Bitmap

A graphic made up of individual pixels. Bitmapped text causes additional problem in localization, as it takes longer to create foreign-language versions. 
 

Bug

The story about Grace Hopper finding a moth that caused a malfunction in one of the first computers may apocryphal, but to this day a software error is referred to as a bug. 
 

Bug list

A list of all known bugs at a particular moment in the software development process. This list is usually kept in a database. 
 

Consoles

Video game machines such as Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64 or Sega Dreamcast. 
 

Cultural issues

Software developers and translators should be aware of cultural issues, ranging from the meaning of icons to presentation of numbers to topics such as the depiction of violence when localizing a program. 
 

Demo

A partial version of a piece of software that offers the user a chance to try out the program for free. 
 

DirectX

A set of audio and video drivers from Microsoft. These are also released in foreign-language versions. 
 

Dreamcast

A video game console manufactured by Sega. 
 

DVD

Digital Versatile Disc – a  disc format that offers much greater storage capacity than a CD-ROM. 

Dynamic campaign

A campaign, in the context of a military simulation, is a series of interrelated missions that have to be played in sequence. Whereas a scripted campaign uses a predetermined series of missions, a dynamic campaign allows the outcome of missions to change the starting conditions of future missions. 
 

Easter egg

A secret message or funny feature hidden in a program. 
 

ESRB

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board. According to its web site, "ESRB ratings are designed to give consumers information about the content of an interactive video or computer entertainment title and for which ages it's appropriate." 
 

Eye candy

Pretty graphics that do not add anything to the functionality of a program. 
 

FAQ

Frequently asked questions – these (and their answers) may be posted on a software company's web site.
Example:
Q: The program doesn't work with joystick X. What should I do?
A: Download the latest drivers for joystick X from the manufacturer's web site. 
 

Final

The last phase of software development before the program is duplicated and shipped to the stores. 
 

Force Feedback

A technology that enables a joystick to simulate sudden motion due to an aircraft or the player being hit, crashing etc. 

FPS

First Person Shooter - a game (like Doom etc) in which the user looks through the eyes of the player figure and usually holds some sort of weapon. Also fps = frames per second. 
 

Gamasutra

An very informative online magazine for game developers at http://www.gamasutra.com/ 
 

GeForce

A video card chipset manufactured by nVidia. 
 

God game

A game in which the player controls an entire world, or a significant part of one. The classic example is the Populous series. 
 

Going Gold

A game goes gold, when it is ready for duplication, but has not yet reached the market. 
 

Gore setting

Some games allow you to regulate the amount of blood and gore you see on the screen. 
 

Grognard

A hardcore fan of wargames 
 

Hex-based

Games that show a map composed of hexagons (war games, strategy games). 
 

HTML Help

A new help file system supported by Microsoft. 
 

Icons

Small pictures on your desktop or within a program representing programs or functions. Consider whether these are truly cross-cultural (what, for instance, would the image of a magic wand evoke in a particular culture?). 
 

Installation guide

A booklet guiding the user through the process of installing the software. The translated version, of course, has to take the foreign operating system into account. 
 

Interface

The interface of a program (menus, buttons). Issues of text length and font size are very important for a successful localization of a program's interface. 
 

Ireland

Center of the European localization industry – 2/3 of all European software is translated there. 
 

Java Internationalization Toolkit

Available at http://java.sun.com/products/jilkit/ 
 

Keyboards

Foreign keyboards have different layouts and contain special characters not found on a U.S Keyboard. Here, for instances, are images of French, German and Spanish keyboard layouts. 
 

Language testing

Testing of a foreign-language version that concentrates on languages issues, such as display of special characters, text overlengths, missing translations, etc. 

LAN Party

People getting together to play games over a network. 
 

Lip synch

Dubbing of a video in which you can see the speakers' lip movements, so translated text has to be adapted. 
 

LISA

The Localisation Industry Standards Association. Home page: http://www.lisa.unige.ch/ 
 

Localization coordinator

The person in a development team responsible for communicating with translators, transfering files, alerting programers to translation-relevant issues and much more. 
 

Microsoft glossaries

Microsoft's official translations for text strings in its programs can be downloaded at ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/developr/msdn/NewUp/Glossary/. 
 

Mission editor

A part of a simulation game that allows users to create their own missions. 
 

MMORPG

"Massively Multiplayer Oriented Role Playing Games" or "Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game" such as Everquest, Ultima Online or Asheron's Call. 

NPC

A non-player character (i.e. computer-controlled figure) in a computer game. 
 

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer – new computers may contain OEM hardware (such as video cards) or software that are different from the retail version of the same product. 
 

Online documentation

Many programs now have only slim printed manuals, but extensive on-disk documentation. 
 

Online Game

A game played over the Internet. 
 

Paper Doll

A basic figure that lets you select your character in an online game by adding clothing, armor, weapon etc. 

Parsed sentences

"Building block" sentences, e.g. "Warning! (All files/The first file/The last file) will be deleted". This type of text string often causes problems in translation. 
 

Partial localization

A program is only partially localized when parts of it stay in the original language, e.g. documentation is translated, but not the interface. 
 

Patch

A program that corrects problems in an already released piece of software. Foreign versions of the program may need their own patches. 
 

PC Data

A company that tracks software sales: http://www.pcdata.com/ 
 

PDF File

A file in portable document format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open such a file. The advantage of PDF is that it offers a cross-platform standard that preserves the formatting and layout of the original document. 
 

PK'ing

Player killing - joining a massive multiplayer game such as Ultima Online or Everquest for the "fun" of killing other online players. 
 

Plotstopper

A bug that keeps the player of a computer game from being able to complete it (e.g. a door into the next level won't open). 
 

Power-up

An object in a video game that gives the player greater speed, power or other abilities. 

QA

Quality Assurance – the testing of software before it is released. 
 

Ref card

A card containing the most important commands used in a program. 
 

RPG

Role-playing game. 
 

RTS

Real-time strategy game 

Simultaneous ship

Releasing a program simultaneously in several languages. 
 

Strategy guide

Also "game guide" - a book containing hints and strategy for a particular game. 
 

Turn-based game

A strategy or war game in which the human player and the computer take alternate turns. 
 

Twitch game

A game that requires fast reactions, but not necessarily strategic thinking. 
 

Unicode

For information on this font standard that supports many international alphabets, see the Unicode Home Page. 
 

Vaporware

Software that has been announced a long time ago but has not yet been shipped. 
 

Variable

A program element that can vary during the execution of a program. A text string, for instance, could state "Do you really want to delete [filename]?" and the variable [filename] would be replaced by the name of an actual file. 
 

Version number

Programs carry numbers below 1 before being shipped (e.g. Beta 0.71) and 1.0 and later after being released. Smaller upgrades might be numbered 1.1, 1.2 etc, whereas a major revision of a program would receive a 2.0, 3.0 etc. 
 

Video game

Unlike computer games, video games are played using a special console and your TV. 
 

Voiceover

Adding audio to a video where you cannot see the speakers' lip movements. 
 

Win Help

The Help system built into Windows 95. Often replaced by HTML Help. 
 

X-Box

A video game console announced by Microsoft: http://www.xbox.com/ 
 

Yamada Language Guides

A website at http://babel.uoregon.edu/Yamada/fonts.html that offers numerous foreign-language fonts. 

Zip file

A compressed file with the extension .zip. You need a utility such as WinZip to decompress this file.