STFL Online Workshop Series –  Looking into Taiwan’s Game Localisation Industry Today

The 4^th workshop of the STFL Online Workshop Series on Game Localisation and Digital Entertainment 2021, entitled “Looking into Taiwan’s Game Localisation Industry Today”, was held on 28 October 2021. The workshop, delivered by Prof Yang Cheng-Shu, Distinguished Professor of Fu Jen Catholic University, and moderated by Dr Siu Sai Yau, Assistant Professor of the STFL, attracted more than 1,000 registrants.

Taiwan’s gaming industry has a long history and features wide inclusiveness. It has been nurtured by the game cultures of the United States, Japan, and Korea for many years, and its different genres of games have proved popular among gamers. Taiwan’s gaming website “Gamer” now ranks 8^th in the world in terms of traffic, and the island holds the 7^th position globally in terms of mobile game revenue. With increasing popularity of mobile games, the game industry has changed. Game developers has extended their playing field beyond game development and taken into account programming issues involved in multilingual versions of games. Most of the developers which engage in development all the way to distribution generally outsource their translation tasks. The translation companies render not only translation services but also dubbing, testing, proofreading, product development, and promotion advice, etc.

In an interview with the founder of a game company and its professional translators, Prof Yang learned that translators should have gaming experience and a good grasp of gaming language and conventions. Besides excellent language skills, good team spirit and communication skills are equally important in the localisation industry. Prof Yang ended the workshop with a note on the industry’s outlook, saying that horizontal integration of translation teams and the gaming industry is a trend ahead, while vertical integration with “talents, tools and cross-cultural knowledge” is another main thrust of development.

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Prof Yang gives her analysis of Taiwan’s game localisation industry today