Frank Dietz, Ph.D.
ATA-Accredited Translator (English-German)
1407 Charolais Drive, Austin, TX 78758
Tel. 512-491-6069 / Fax. 512-491-6086
Software Localization Glossary
(with a special emphasis on computer games)
(Last update: September 5, 2002)
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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.
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