I want to translate a game into German

[Retro Doomer]

The lack of fan translated games into German can be frustrating at times it’s like a barren wasteland out there. I blame our high proficiency in English for this, as most German gamers can get by just fine in English, and those who don’t often aren’t as interested in games in the first place.

Anyway, it’s always nice to enjoy a game in your native language. Even though I can play in English without any issues, it just feels different when it’s in your own language

There’s just one problem: I’m not tech heavy at all. My coding skills? are basically nonexistent. And I don’t even know if I’ll manage to pull it off let alone stay motivated. But someone’s got to do it, and it looks like it has to be me

The games I want to primarily focus on are Mega Drive and Snes games maybe even GBA Games as there are many gems out there especially in the RPG and JRPG Genre that never got a German translation and it would be nice to make them available for Germans who can't speak English or only speak a very poor English and believe there are enough of them out there.

So any tips for this any programs I need for this and what are you experiences with translating games did you get a job by NASA after this or is it not that complicated.

 

[DunkeyKong]

You can try learning a thing or two here https://www.romhacking.net/start/#hex

 

[Retro Doomer]

You can try learning a thing or two here https://www.romhacking.net/start/#hex

I check it out

lets se how much I understand an be able to remember before my brain says brain exe stopped working.

 

[RageBurner]

The first place to look into this would be romhacking dot net and similar resources, as there's plenty of documentation to get you started. That said, as someone that understands how difficult this process can be, it is good to keep in mind that it is going to take some serious effort to get results, so be patient with yourself, and try working on well known, well documented games at first.

 

[Retro Doomer]

The first place to look into this would be romhacking dot net and similar resources, as there's plenty of documentation to get you started. That said, as someone that understands how difficult this process can be, it is good to keep in mind that it is going to take some serious effort to get results, so be patient with yourself, and try working on well known, well documented games at first.

Thanks I do try but I don't make any promises with my technical skills

 

[JustLooking123]

Some games have ready-made translation tools... Final Fantasy, Pokemon, FireEmblem are just a few examples.
You can check Utilities section of romhacking.net where such tools are available.

Using those tools usually doesn't need much technical knowledge... it might be a good starting point.

 

[Retro Doomer]

I tried using this program but this gives me headache and I don't understand anything.
I tried reading some Info regarding this and it was not very helpful and besides the info always tried to get me to download a payed program which I can't afford and so I downloaded a free program instead.

 

[JustLooking123]

Are you interested in the hacking part of it?
If so, creating cheat codes for games might be a good start to get you familiarized about this whole hex thing.
Most emulators have built-in cheat creation tools, and playing with them is useful.
That's how i started myself.

Look at it like a game... try to create all sort of crazy cheats for different games...
Change their sprites, change their stats, change their items, change their location, etc...
Do this with a lot of games, and you'll notice some patterns...

Things that you learn by doing so is usually both directly and indirectly useful in understanding what this hex thing is about.

 

[Retro Doomer]

Are you interested in the hacking part of it?
If so, creating cheat codes for games might be a good start to get you familiarized about this whole hex thing.
Most emulators have built-in cheat creation tools, and playing with them is useful.
That's how i started myself.

Look at it like a game... try to create all sort of crazy cheats for different games...
Change their sprites, change their stats, change their items, change their location, etc...
Do this with a lot of games, and you'll notice some patterns...

Things that you learn by doing so is usually both directly and indirectly useful in understanding what this hex thing is about.

No I am not really interest in the cheat part of it nor in creating Rom hacks per say at least for now.
I am more interested in Translating the games but for that I have to somehow figure out how to find and edit the Text and that without breaking the game to.

Well given its probably just now like NASA Science for me its with everything you don't know its like that I am sure when I learned it and got used to it its like a walk in the park afterwards but for now
it feels like walking over a volcano blindfolded.

 

[Diadu]

Another thing you will have to be aware of is that most games have a hardcoded character limit when it comes to displayed text. When I was doing freelance localization for xseed years ago, this was my biggest bane. I often had to revise or skin my translations due to the limit which often left me kind of unhappy with the results because there's only so much you can cut or leave out.

 

[Retro Doomer]

Another thing you will have to be aware of is that most games have a hardcoded character limit when it comes to displayed text. When I was doing freelance localization for xseed years ago, this was my biggest bane. I often had to revise or skin my translations due to the limit which often left me kind of unhappy with the results because there's only so much you can cut or leave out.

Well good then that German words are not long at all
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
is one of them its shocking but this is a real word.
otherwise German luckily is not that long....most of the time I worry more if it will recognize the Ä Ö Ü letters.

 

[Diadu]

One example that I will never forget was:
Mayor > Bürgermeister
After a few discussions we decided to settle with "Meister" since it's shorter, felt more fitting and still got the point across that the guy is a figure of authority. But yeah, just one word can mess everything up.

From my experience you will often find yourself having to compromise and revising your script to remain consistent in tone.