Paid Translations?

[Onfire]

I was wondering if anyone is familiar with how the translation scene works?
Do the people/groups who do these things take "donations" or even requests for ummmm "goods" ?

Lets say someone had cash to burn... how would they go about requesting a trans of a game?

I ask this because my first eroge was Rance 7 and ever since then i really worked up a taste for that series, but seeing as how the translations are going now i was wondering if some "incentive" might speed things up?

 

[Dimly Lit Hamster]

Re: Paid Translations?

I've had this discussion before with people, I personally wouldn't accept money, UNLESS I was running a site with my own hosting for translating the games, then I would accept donations to keep the SITE running but not to pay for actual translations.

Translating is enough of a legal grey area as it is, I know most people would prefer to err on the side of caution and not accept money for them, but then again I might be wrong.

 

[karmapowered]

Re: Paid Translations?

Why do people translate games ?

- They like the game (first and foremost).
- They enjoy translating (to improve their skills at whatever language they're translating to, or from). Alternatively, they enjoy hacking (getting the original text out and back in the game once translated).
- They have some affinity towards the people they're translating the game for (a forum/board community, maybe out of gratitude for another translated game).
- They benefit from a good chance to be recruited by professionals later in their career if they can prove that they're skilled at it. Alternatively, they enjoy making themselves a name ("fame").

Why people do not translate games outright demanding for money ?

Like Monkeyman767 said, it's a legally grey area. Donations are (probably) fine in most cases. Selling stuff that you do not own might get you in troubles faster than you think, and for the money you'll collect, it's *never* worth it.

Personally, I am more inclined to donate if I feel there was really an effort behind the translation, and it's a game I really wanted to play, rather than being forced to pay for something that I have no idea if it'll be worth it in the end. Some translations are pretty shoddy, borderline horrendous.

Finally, how much are you willing to "pay" someone to translate a whole game : 50, 100 €/$ ? Do you think that someone that doesn't want to do it in the first place will really accept to spend a huge amount of their time on that project without any other incentive but that amount of money ? Would you ?

This is my personal interpretation by the way. Feel free to correct it, or add yours.

 

[Stiltzkinator]

Re: Paid Translations?

Why do people translate games ?

- They like the game (first and foremost).
- They enjoy translating (to improve their skills at whatever language they're translating to, or from). Alternatively, they enjoy hacking (getting the original text out and back in the game once translated).
- They have some affinity towards the people they're translating the game for (a forum/board community, maybe out of gratitude for another translated game).
- They benefit from a good chance to be recruited by professionals later in their career if they can prove that they're skilled at it. Alternatively, they enjoy making themselves a name ("fame").

All of this is spot on from my experience. I would never accept donations or payment in my current situation because I don't actually have a lot of free time to translate (ironically because I'm working a lot of 'real' jobs to pay the bills). I translate because I enjoy the games, and playing through them in my own native language really adds something special. And this community has been a great place to discover some really good games, so I like the idea of allowing others to rediscover games we've known for a little bit.

But again, because I don't have a lot of time to spare, I stick to much shorter projects. Even people who do have more time I think are more likely to stick with projects that can keep their attention. For larger game translations, they are often more of an official effort, have a group working on them, are approved by the game's original creator, and the patched game is put up for sale. Circumventing all of that is risky, and as developers become aware of it happening, they also become very wary of translators and their projects. Some of them even see translation on the same level as piracy itself, because they think that the former encourages the latter (I've personally had some unpleasant conversations because of this, and it seems the Japanese word for translation itself has some negative connotation).

As far as actually getting a particular translation done, though, I'm afraid I'm not sure what to tell you. I think a lot of the people who translate on this site are more doing it as a hobby, but that doesn't mean it's a waste of time to ask. Still, keep in mind the amount of text a particular translation would require, and remember that as that grows, so does the amount of money you may need to convince someone to do it. Nevertheless, I wish you luck in finding someone, as we can never have enough localization of good games.

 

[thyladras]

Re: Paid Translations?

You must be registered to see the links

TRAD IT !!!!!! PlEAAAAASE

 

[krisslanza]

Re: Paid Translations?

I have always thought about this myself, but I suppose it makes sense there isn't really a "service" or "group" you can just pay to get a translation out of, even if there's a lot of good indie J-games I feel really need translations, all you can hope is someone willing to do them, enjoys it enough and feels like putting forth all the required effort to find a way to actually translate it.

 

[Ayu Break]

Re: Paid Translations?

Link snipped

TRAD IT !!!!!! PlEAAAAASE

Umm dude, even if someone does TL this, it can't be shared here due to loli content.

 

[imercenary]

Re: Paid Translations?

Taking money for semi-illegal activity is always a touchy subject.

 

[RyuuseiDate]

Re: Paid Translations?

For what it's worth, I've translated on commission before (closest thing I have to a job actually), but generally only A: For individual consumption of something the person already owned or B: My client was the author.

Translating is a hard fucking job (translating WELL especially so) and I have trouble maintaining my motivation when my finances aren't on the line... but yes, selling something you don't own is generally to be avoided.

 

[Stiltzkinator]

Re: Paid Translations?

Translating is a hard fucking job (translating WELL especially so) and I have trouble maintaining my motivation when my finances aren't on the line...

The first day, maybe the second, sometimes even the third day, are usually pretty easy. But it doesn't take long for the frustration of how tedious it is to catch up with you.

What really gets me, though, are game over CG events. I tend to stick to more action/rpg type games, so menus, items, skills, and that kind of stuff is easy to translate. Dialogue between characters is somewhere in the middle as far as difficulty, but it's usually interesting enough that it's fine. Game over events though, I swear they end up worded in the strangest possible ways, and trying to get them to make sense after translation is rough.

 

[karmapowered]

Re: Paid Translations?

Thanks for your feedback, Stiltzkinator.

Allow me here to express my on-going gratitude towards all the translators of this board, and elsewhere (hongfire, romhacking, tlwiki, etc.).

A game with a story that one can understand is 200% better than one that one wastes time in fumbling around because the language is not known to us.

Thanks to these games, or rather knowing that great games may continue to hide among the huge pile of untranslated stuff, I've actually undertaken to learn some Japanese by myself, to the point that I am able to understand some of it. Maybe (BIG maybe here) I'll be able to contribute one day too.

Anyway, I hope you'll never let unreasonable requests or people get under your skin, and you'll keep doing what you're doing, if that's what you're enjoying. More reasonable people (I think at least) will keep praising you for it, and wait patiently till whatever needs to be done is done.

---

Completely unrelated, you wouldn't have kept this patch under hand, would you ?

 

[krisslanza]

Re: Paid Translations?

The first day, maybe the second, sometimes even the third day, are usually pretty easy. But it doesn't take long for the frustration of how tedious it is to catch up with you.

What really gets me, though, are game over CG events. I tend to stick to more action/rpg type games, so menus, items, skills, and that kind of stuff is easy to translate. Dialogue between characters is somewhere in the middle as far as difficulty, but it's usually interesting enough that it's fine. Game over events though, I swear they end up worded in the strangest possible ways, and trying to get them to make sense after translation is rough.

Probably has to do with game over scenes are going for a very different "feel" then anything you'd typically find anywhere else. For H-games they have to be erotic or arousing, or appeal to some fetish, but at the same time they ARE game overs - they aren't supposed to happy or rewarding.

But yet in a way they are. So it's a weird kind of "Here's a reward that you should feel bad for getting" I suppose.

 

[sigmazx]

Re: Paid Translations?

Just dropping here to say HUGE THANKS to Monkeyman who translated the first RPGMaker game I played and loved: Parallel Fantasy.

Thanks again bro.

 

[Dimly Lit Hamster]

Re: Paid Translations?

The first day, maybe the second, sometimes even the third day, are usually pretty easy. But it doesn't take long for the frustration of how tedious it is to catch up with you.

Totally agree with that sentence, when I start a new translation progress , doing all the stuff like menus is easy but still makes me feel like I've done a lot.

Just dropping here to say HUGE THANKS to Monkeyman who translated the first RPGMaker game I played and loved: Parallel Fantasy.

Thanks again bro.

No problem! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Stiltzkinator]

Re: Paid Translations?

Probably has to do with game over scenes are going for a very different "feel" then anything you'd typically find anywhere else. For H-games they have to be erotic or arousing, or appeal to some fetish, but at the same time they ARE game overs - they aren't supposed to happy or rewarding.

But yet in a way they are. So it's a weird kind of "Here's a reward that you should feel bad for getting" I suppose.

I've gotten over the 'dark and edgy' part of it, actually. It really does come down to a sense of wording. Or maybe just simply the way things are described. It's like, the narrative for a lot of games is pretty straightforward, which is great. You get the gist of it, and you move on to something new and interesting without dwelling on it.

But in game over scenes, the descriptions are turned up to the max. It works in Japanese, because there are nuances with certain ways of describing things, so you can say the same thing multiple times and yet add new meaning. What I find in translating though, is that a lot of implied details come out easier in English (translating one part of a description may make the next two sentences no longer necessary). Other times, likely due to my not-being-anywhere-near-perfect at translating Japanese, those particular nuances are lost, so the descriptions are both pointlessly repetitive AND fail to fully describe the situation.

It's not just my translations, though, and it's not just Game Over scenes. H-scenes in general also tend to go overboard with description, but something about the translation to english leads to an incredible sense of seeing the same words over and over. I think it has something to do with our very languages; I feel like it's fine to repeat a lot of words in Japanese, but if you start using the same words a lot in English, it looks lazy and uncreative. Not to say that means people are being uncreative, it's just a difficult situation to work with.

Thanks for your feedback, Stiltzkinator.
---
Completely unrelated, you wouldn't have kept this patch under hand, would you ?

I should have it somewhere, (not readily available, sadly, but I don't think it was deleted) but it needs some touching up. I should have some time to spare, so I think I might try to polish that patch up and get it posted again. If you're really set on having the rough version of it, PM me and I'll get it to you when I can.

 

[habisain]

Re: Paid Translations?

Well, a bit late, but my two pennies...

Firstly, whilst I'd accept donations, they'd just be donations (not an incentive to speed me up), and I'd encourage anyone donating to me to make sure they legitimately own any translated game as well before donating.

Secondly, it's a grey area. I try to get permission where possible, but if that's not possible then it really is a grey area. Personally, I don't think I'd be comfortable with anyone paying for a translation other than the games creator.

Thirdly, anyone who says they want to commision a translation of a game is likely underestimating exactly how much work they'd be commisionioning. Regardless of the legality of such a thing, a full game translation is likely going to be substantially more than a hundred hours work. So to cover a game translation at US minimum wage would be more than $1k, I'd imagine. Probably more. I somehow don't think anyone would be willing to commision translations at that level.

So, basically, even if you could find someone willing to do it, I'm not sure it's realistic to see such a project financed.

 

[Dargoth]

Re: Paid Translations?

It works in Japanese, because there are nuances with certain ways of describing things, so you can say the same thing multiple times and yet add new meaning. What I find in translating though, is that a lot of implied details come out easier in English (translating one part of a description may make the next two sentences no longer necessary).

It's not just my translations, though, and it's not just Game Over scenes. H-scenes in general also tend to go overboard with description, but something about the translation to english leads to an incredible sense of seeing the same words over and over. I think it has something to do with our very languages; I feel like it's fine to repeat a lot of words in Japanese, but if you start using the same words a lot in English, it looks lazy and uncreative. Not to say that means people are being uncreative, it's just a difficult situation to work with.

I know how that goes, for sure. I have a bad habit of not reading ahead when I'm translating so I'll get to a line then come up with a good way to express it in English only to realize that the next line literally contains the exact same phrase I just used. Then it's back to the drawing board for the first line... Part of this could be because I've read through the scene before (maybe months before) and I'm subconsciously remembering the next line, but who knows.

Japanese H-game writing definitely reuses words far more often than English. It's really common to see the same verb in 3-4 consecutive sentences, only modified with different adverbs, especially onomatopoeia that doesn't translate easily. I'm not a creative writer by profession, but I do know that you should limit adjectives and adverbs and instead pick better verbs and nouns for good English writing. Japanese doesn't make that easy! Auxiliary verbs have the same problem. If 3 sentences contain しゃぶる　しゃぶり尽くす and しゃぶってしまう, how do you translate those for variety into English? Stuff like that ends up taking the bulk of my translation time.

As for money, Aroduc recently tried a kickstarter to translate a game and actually raised a few thousand dollars very quickly before the developer pulled the plug on him. He did make the "mistake" of contacting the developer for permission first though, which is why they knew about him. Aroduc has an extensive translation resume and following that allowed him to raise that much money, but it is proof that there's demand out there and people willing to pony up cash.

The main reason I don't take donations or anything is because I don't like the idea of a money trail leading back to my real identity. I'm less worried about copyright problems and more worried about criminal penalties for distributing obscenity (however unlikely that may be). Not that I'm impossible to track down now, but taking money definitely puts an easier target on my head, and I'd rather not do that for what would probably be a paltry sum to me. I do this for fun and to give back to the community, not to make a living off it. The extra copies of the game I help sell by translating also hopefully encourage developers to make more of the games I like.

 

[krisslanza]

Re: Paid Translations?

Speaking of translations, I recall getting some voice audio things with a script file, and man... Google TRanslate is so bad, hahaha

 

[Dimly Lit Hamster]

Re: Paid Translations?

Speaking of translations, I recall getting some voice audio things with a script file, and man... Google TRanslate is so bad, hahaha

Voice? What do you mean?

 

[krisslanza]

Re: Paid Translations?

Voice? What do you mean?

Basically erotic audio files, I suppose? Some of them come with scripts in a text file, which means I can run them through Google Translate to figure out what is being said (when it isn't just sex SFX). Some.