The relationship between machine translation and SteamDeck certification

2024-07-27

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From the perspective of game localization, machine translation can quickly process a large amount of text content, including the plot, mission descriptions, item descriptions, etc. in the game. Although the quality of machine translation may not be as accurate as manual translation, its efficiency enables games to be launched in multiple markets faster. For a masterpiece like Dragon Age: Shadowbringer, it would be extremely costly and time-consuming to conduct a comprehensive manual localization translation. Machine translation can provide a preliminary version in a short period of time, laying the foundation for subsequent manual proofreading and optimization.

At the same time, machine translation also creates conditions for communication between players. Players come from all over the world, and they share their gaming experiences and strategies on game forums and social media. Machine translation can help them overcome language barriers and better understand each other's views and experiences. For example, a post about gaming skills posted by a Chinese player on a forum can be understood by English-speaking players through machine translation, thus promoting the prosperity of the gaming community.

However, machine translation is not perfect. When dealing with some specific terms, cultural backgrounds and metaphors in games, deviations and even errors often occur. For example, in Dragon Age: Shadowkeep, there may be some unique magic terms, race names or historical allusions, and machine translation may not be able to accurately convey their meaning and cultural connotations. This requires the intervention of human translators to make detailed adjustments and corrections to ensure that players can truly appreciate the charm of the game.

In addition, the quality of machine translation is also affected by the complexity of the language pair and the richness of language resources. For some niche languages ​​or language pairs with relatively scarce resources, the effect of machine translation may not be satisfactory. This also brings challenges to game developers, who need to weigh the cost and effect of machine translation, and in which areas they need to invest more manpower and resources to improve translation quality.

From a more macro perspective, the development of machine translation technology has a profound impact on the entire gaming industry. It lowers the threshold for games to enter the international market, allowing more small and medium-sized game developers to have the opportunity to promote their works to the world. At the same time, it also promotes the exchange and integration of gaming cultures from different countries and regions. Players can access more gaming works from different cultural backgrounds, enriching the gaming experience and promoting the development of gaming innovation.

For individual players, machine translation has also changed the way they play games. In the past, due to language barriers, many players might have missed some excellent foreign-language games. Now, with the help of machine translation, they can more easily try games in different languages, broadening the range of game choices. But this also requires players to have a certain degree of judgment and have a reasonable expectation of the quality of machine translation to avoid affecting the understanding and experience of the game due to inaccurate translation.

In general, although machine translation was not a direct factor in Dragon Age: Shadowkeep's Steam Deck certification, it played an important role in game promotion and player communication. In the future, with the continuous advancement of machine translation technology, it is believed that it will bring more opportunities and challenges to the game industry.