Open World: Recent Episodes
Terra Localizations
Love is in the air đ And believe us, this episode will make you fall in love with localization all over again. Guest: Arthur Flew, brings over 18 years of localization leadership experience from industry giants like Epic Games and Blizzard Entertainment, contributing to projects such as World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Overwatch, Fortnite, and Unreal Engine. Outside his professional realm, Arthur's interests are as diverse as his expertise, with a love for gaming, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and unwavering support for the Lakers. May the Loc Force guide you in this journey to the heart of gaming localization!
In todayâs episode, we delve into the fascinating realm of culturalization in video games. Join us as we uncover the importance of bridging cultures through gaming and creating meaningful experiences for diverse audiences worldwide!
This week, our star guest is Emily Scahill, Head of Client Success and HR wizard at Skillsearch. She is their go-to guru for recruitment across the games and interactive industries. On the geeky side, Emily is a founding member of the Skillsearch Dungeons and Dragons Society and, more recently, joined other brainiacs on the companyâs quiz team.
đ In this episode, our hosts will share their best tips to get the most out of a video game conference, from networking to finding business opportunities. Have you ever attended a video game conference? Which one?
What if we told you that localization is the Cinderella of the games ball? Discover why in todayâs episode of Open World featuring Olga Petrova!With over 15 years in video games, Olga has evolved from being a freelance translator in her college days to becoming a localization leader and shaping global gaming experiences. She has shipped more than 200 localized games, managed the regional launches of MMORPGs, supported live mobile games and delivered one of them to the Netflix gaming platform in 33 languages.
Join our hosts as they explore the world of accessibility in gaming, where inclusivity meets innovation. Letâs discuss the game-changing features that empower players with disabilities, from remappable keys for enhanced mobility to color-blind options and adaptive controllers!
Estelle Bailly, a Localization Director at Hi-Rez Studios, shares her journey in the video game industry. Donât miss her insights into the imposter phenomenon, the future of technology, and more!
In this episode, our hosts discuss the differences between EU and LATAM Spanish and share their favorite localization examples. Which games do you think have nailed their European or Latin American Spanish localization?
What's life like as a Senior Test Services Manager at PlayStation? Nadine Martin tells us all about it in this weekâs episode of Open World. Donât miss her advice for those who are just getting started in the industry!
History and real-life can blend with video games in epic ways. Letâs discuss how these virtual worlds transport us to different eras, from ancient civilizations to post-WWII Los Angeles.
This week, our awesome guest, Theo Cuny, shares his favorite video games and sheds light on the soft skills needed to succeed in the AAA landscape. Donât miss the best practices he acquired during his career!
In todayâs episode, weâll embark on a journey through the history of video game localization from the very beginning. Fasten your seatbelts, this is Localization Back to the Future! đź
Letâs delve into video game accessibility with MarĂa Eugenia Larreina!
đ In todayâs episode, weâll discuss the present and future of video game accessibility as well as some best practices for addressing challenges and making digital content accessible to users with disabilities.
Do you pay attention to accessibility features when you play? Let us know in the comments!
From Simlish to Al Bhed, fictional languages in video games are indeed curious and creative!
In this weekâs episode, our hosts explore the most famous fantasy languages and how they can become an actual work of art that gets players deeply immersed into the game.
This week, Santiago de MIguel, Gaming Solution Engineer at memoQ visits us to discuss all about Translation Management Systems in video game localization. Our guests also discuss the most important skills localizers should have, the future of localization and more!
In todayâs episode, our hosts discuss the most recent initiatives to foster inclusion in video games. But what does inclusion actually mean in this environment? Is it just about adding non-binary characters, or do companies need to take a stance? Discover this and more in this weekâs episode!
This week, Tamara TirjĂĄk visited us from Cambridge. She is Head of Localization from Frontier Developments and will be present at Game Quality Forum at the end of June! Our hosts explore strategies for a healthy work environment while geeking out over Planet Zoo!
Guest: Tamara is the Head of Localization at Frontier Developments, a self-publishing video game developer based in Cambridge, UK. She is responsible for defining the localization strategy, approach and execution across all games, marketing, publishing and Studio activity to deliver and support all products globally.
Hosts: đź Alexis Biro is an Argentinian English teacher and freelance translator with a background in Business Development. He started his video game-oriented career as PR Manager and Localization Advisor at Astral Clocktower Studios in late 2018 and for the past 3 years, has been working for Terra Localizations in the Marketing department and later as Biz Dev Manager.
đź Lara Lapier is an English translator with a diploma in audiovisual translation. She is not only an avid gamer but also a Women In Games ambassador, supporting diversity and inclusivity within the industry. Beyond her love for gaming, Lara is a Biz Dev at Terra Localizations. When she's not busy diving into the latest gaming adventures, you can find her embracing new challenges, expanding her knowledge, and seeking opportunities to empower others.
đź Melisa Ilari has a master's degree in policy and management from the University of Glasgow and worked as an Account Manager at Terra for five years before joining the commercial team last year as Biz Dev. In this role, she combines her passions for languages, video games and social activities. Some of her other hobbies include traveling, photography and baking!
Visit https://multilingual.com to catch up with the latest news of the language industry.
Get ready to meet the hosts for the second season of Open World.
đź Alexis Biro is an Argentinian English teacher, freelance translator, and father, with a background in Business Development since his very first job at a video game store in his hometown in Buenos Aires. He started his video game-oriented career as PR Manager and Localization Advisor at Astral Clocktower Studios in late 2018 and for the past 3 years, has been working for Terra Localizations in the Marketing department and later as Biz Dev Manager.
đź Lara Lapier is an English translator with a diploma in audiovisual translation. She is not only an avid gamer but also a Women In Games ambassador, supporting diversity and inclusivity within the industry. Beyond her love for gaming, Lara is a Biz Dev at Terra Localizations. When she's not busy diving into the latest gaming adventures, you can find her embracing new challenges, expanding her knowledge, and seeking opportunities to empower others.
đź Melisa Ilari has a master's degree in policy and management from the University of Glasgow and worked as an Account Manager at Terra for five years before joining the commercial team last year as Biz Dev. In this role, she combines her passions for languages, video games and social activities. Some of her other hobbies include traveling, photography and baking!
Visit https://multilingual.com to catch up with the latest news of the language industry.
Miki Gao intentionally stumbled into the gaming industry, with a diverse background in English, theology, and business management. Get her unique perspective on storytelling, Cantonese localization, equity, and finding a career in the video game industry in this episode of Open World.Miki Gao takes frequent jaunts across Eos, Teyvat, and everywhere in between, fighting daemons and making monsters think twice before they cause too much mischief. Her adventures have taken her on paths through real estate, hospitality, higher education, and even a few stints at the "Happiest Place on Earth." Miki holds a masterâs degree in management, a graduate certificate in marketing strategy, and bachelorâs degrees in English and theology. After graduating highest honors from her masterâs program, Miki made her arrival to the gaming industry at the beginning of 2021 and has been having the time of her life ever since. In her free time, Miki can be found devouring an entire pot of dumplings, accidentally abandoning her tea, and delving the depths of her imagination to wrest that ever-elusive book manuscript from the clutches of her muse. She is presently writing a Chinese high fantasy series, built on the foundation of legends that have inspired her since childhood.
Alex and Flor chat with Renee Gittins in this episode, the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association. She shares insights on the design and process of creating her new game, Potions: A Curious Tale. Learn about video game design, where game development meets localization and inclusivity in the video game industry. For more information on how to get involved with the International Game Developers Association, head to https://igda.org/.Renee Gittins is the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and a multi-disciplinary leader with expertise in software engineering and creative direction. In addition to her role as Executive Director, she maintains her work as the CEO of Stumbling Cat, creator of Potions: A Curious Tale. Renee is a passionate advocate and connector for developers and diversity in the game industry. She is outspoken about initiatives to increase diversity both within the game industry and gaming overall to help the game industry grow and improve for everyone.
The localization process of a video game is huge â and involves many different teams, tons of research, and technology. Learn the ins and outs of the localization process from this episode's guest, Cristina HernĂĄndez. She's worked on the localization of AAA games such as God of War and Detroit: Become Human. Cristina HernĂĄndez, Spanish Localization Tester at Rockstar
The localization specialist is the last bastion of defense between a game and the players. Get the inside scoop from Sebastian Erasmy on what itâs like working in game localization at Ubisoft. Sebastian Erasmy is the LATAM Localization Specialist at Ubisoft.
How can Western game developers make their way into the Asian market? You need a partner. Chinese regulations are strict, so proper localization, marketing, and PR are key. Get more insights from Vlad on navigating the Chinese market in this episode of Open World. For more information on Neon Doctrine: https://www.neondoctrine.com/Vladislav Tsypljak is co-founder of Neon Doctrine, an international indie video game publisher based in Taiwan, where heâs worked for almost 7 years. He formerly managed QA teams at EA Games, and also worked at Microsoft.
Speaking strange languages and living in foreign lands was the dream for Hugo Miranda, after living in his small home country of Costa Rica. After living abroad in both the US and Taiwan, Hugoâs passion for linguistics and bilingualism grew, leading him to work in the video game localization industry, giving him opportunities to share his passion for language with future generations. Hugo Miranda is the Latin American Spanish language specialist at Blizzard Entertainment. He began working in the video game industry as a translator in 2006. In 2011, he moved to Orange County, California where he set out to finish his degree in Linguistics. Shortly after, he joined Blizzard Entertainment, working in several different roles ranging from localization quality assurance analyst to project manager, all while aligning with his vision of bringing epic entertainment to millions of players in their language. Hugo Miranda is a Blizzard Entertainment employee, but all opinions in this episode are his own.
Working as a freelance translator requires proactivity to keep up with rates, market research and new technologies. In this episode of Open World, we hear from Federica Lusardi who shares her experience finding her way as an Italian translator in London, from freelance to in-house at Square Enix. She chats about best practices for translating visual novels, marketing campaigns, and how to expand languages for indie games. Federica Lusardi began working in the video game industry when she moved to London in 2011 for her MA in audiovisual translation. After working briefly as a language tester for Sega and after translating her first game for Codemasters as a freelancer, she worked at Pole to Win as an in-house translator and team supervisor. She joined Square Enix in 2016, where she currently works as an Italian translator and editor. Her work encompasses translation for video games and marketing campaigns, such as Life Is Strange 2, Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, The Final Fantasy Trading Card Game and Professor Layton vs. Phoenix freight ace attorney.
Localizing a video game is no small task, and it requires you to compromise, prioritize, maintain a clear direction, and collaborate with the myriad of disciplines involved in creating a game, says this weekâs guest, Ulises Uno, Content and Localization Manager at etermax. In this episode of Open World, get the inside scoop on Etermax and the expansion of their mobile trivia games to Latin American markets from Ulises, along with some great industry tips and the concept behind his âmeme museumâ. For more information on Ulises' Meme museum, check out the Museo ElectrĂłnico del Meme Extraordinario at https://www.meeeme.org/ and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/meeememuseu....Check out the catalog of pettable and non-pettable dogs in video games here: https://twitter.com/CanYouPetTheDogGuest: Ulises Uno is a Content and Localization Manager at etermax, headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ulises and his company have worked on developing and publishing worldwide social games in up to 30 languages. His educational background is in social sciences and translation, and he made his way into the localization industry first as a video game translator and copywriter. He now leads a team of language specialists, user experience writers and content writers, guiding them towards a product-centric mindset.
Working on a game with tons of content like Disco Elysium requires solid reference materials and systems in place to ensure consistency throughout the localization process. For Ivan Lopes, having passionate fans and methods to get direct player feedback is also vital in a big video game localization project. In this episode of Open World, our guest shares his experience working on the localization of Disco Elysium in Brazilian Portuguese and how his background prepared him for this challenge. Guest: Ivan Lopes is Senior Translator at BrazLocT Game Localization. Heâs worked as a professional translator and interpreter since 2009 in several fields including video games, tourism and audiovisual platforms. Heâs currently based in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil and studied Japanese at the Universidade de SĂŁo Paulo.
Creating the world inside a video game requires thoughtful and intentional considerations of cultural elementsâ from character design and outfits to symbols and architecture. Culturalization expert and geopolitical strategist, Kate Edwards joins Open World this week to share insight and guidance for effectively navigating video game culturalization. She highlights the importance of allegories for bridging real-world culture and video game fantasies and the need for greater active cultural awareness.Guest: Kate Edwards is CEO and principal consultant at Geogrify LLC. With almost 30 years of experience in the video game industry, Kate is a unique hybrid of an applied geographer, writer, and content culturalization strategist with a passion for global cultures and media technologies. She has held several positions as an industry advocate, including her former role as Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDAÂź) from 2012 to 2017, and her current role as Executive Director of The Global Game Jam. She also worked at Microsoft as geopolitical strategist for over 13 years, consulting on many game franchises including Halo, Fable, Age of Empires, Dragon Age, and Modern Warfare.
Ever thought about how youâd go about making virtual reality accessible? Where would you put the subtitles? What about audiovisual components? BelĂ©n AgullĂł GarcĂa, this weekâs guest, shares her experience working on the Immersive Accessibility Project (ImAc) in Europe as part of her PhD, aimed at bringing accessibility to virtual environments and multimedia. As VP of the new eLearning platform launched by Nimdzi Insights, she also gives us an inside look at this new avenue for localization and translation industry knowledge and information.BelĂ©n AgullĂł GarcĂa is the VP of eLearning at Nimdzi Insights. As a compulsive lifelong learner, she combined her years in the localization industry with her true calling: training others. She holds a BA in Translation and Interpreting Studies, an MA in Audiovisual Translation, and a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies. She has several years experience in various positions within the game localization industry, and has also been teaching game localization and subtitling technologies in several MA programs and workshops in Spain, UK, and France for over 5 years.
Localization cannot be an afterthought. In the same way that you wouldnât wait until the last minute to choose the music for a video game, the localization of a game needs to be planned from the beginning. This idea is key to Miguel Sepulvedaâs localization philosophy, Global Localization Manager at King Entertainment. In this episode of Open World, Miguel shares what he considers to be essential elements of video game localization and QA, emphasizing the need to give languages other than English the same degree of effort during video game development. Non-English speaking players shouldnât feel like second-class citizens, and should still be able to find their online community âtribeâ â especially in our increasingly digital world in the Covid-19 era.Miguel Sepulveda is Global Localization Manager at King Entertainment and a researcher at Nimdzi Insights. Heâs also the author of the blog, yolocalizo.com, where he writes every week on localization topics and leadership. Since starting in localization QA in 1995, heâs gained expertise on all things QA and localization, from facilities to engineering to management.
As a project manager, itâs essential to have an understanding of different cultures and languages in order to effectively manage your team and resources. Guest Francesca Sorrentino shares her wisdom and experience in video game localization with us in this episode. How has the localization industry evolved in the eyes of Sorrentino? What are her tried and true CAT tools? Which side is more fun to work in: client or LSP?Francesca Sorrentino has been involved in the video game localization industry since 2010 with various roles ranging from marketing, translating to senior localization specialization in several different countries. She is now based in Barcelona, Spain working as a freelance translator, project manager and localization consultant. Additionally, she is teaching a game localization master class with the Localization Institute, and serves as Conference Manager at the Game Global Summit.
Get a first-hand perspective of localizing games in the Japanese market from Yuhei Nasu, guest on this episode of Open World. With over 12 years of experience in the localization industry in Japan, Nasu shares details on what brought him to the industry, a day in the life of a localization producer, the challenges of English dialects and the strict video game rating system in Japan.Yuhei Nasu is the CEO and localization producer at Bonus Stage Loc. He is a veteran of the video game localization industry with over 12 years experience. Born in Japan and raised in England, Germany and the US, he is now based in Japan working in localization. In addition to localization, he enjoys gaming, music and skateboarding in his free time.
Maintaining a birdâs eye view of the localization industry is critical in being a strong translator and understanding the full localization process and global strategy of your company. Guest Marina Ilari gives her advice on being new to video game localization, with tips for joining professional associations and continuing your specialization in Episode 2 of Open World. Our hosts also share a âLocFactâ on the 2020 game, âGenshin Impactâ and memes about building PCs and what itâs like being a gamer during the pandemic. Guest: Marina Ilari is an ATA certified English to Spanish translator with over 15 years of experience. She has worked as a translator, editor and QA specialist for companies around the world with a focus on creative translations and video game localization. She is currently the CEO of Terra Translations and hosts the podcast âEn pantuflasâ.
There is an inherent privilege that comes with being a native English speaker, and itâs clear that there is a need for greater inclusivity in the gaming industry. In Episode 1 of Open World on MultiLingual TV, hosts Florencia Fole, Loretta Mulberry and Alexis Biro open with a âLocFactâ about transcreation, and how this comes into play with the humorous content in âThe Curse of Monkey Islandâ. For the interview portion of this episode, they welcome guest Rami Ismail, an independent indie game developer. To close out the episode, the Open World team shares some gamer memes with Rami.Guest:Rami Ismail is a Dutch/Egyptian Games Industry Ambassador. He is an independent games developer with over 20 titles, across PC console, web and mobile platforms. He also has extensive experience in consulting and insights, and is the creator of the freeware and ubiquitous presskit() program.If you want a grim panoramic view of 2020 visit:https://is2020over.com/Hosts:Florencia Fole is a Business Development Director at Terra Localizations, and also an Ambassador for Women in Games WIGJ. She is based in Buenos Aires. Lucio Nicolas Alcaide is a Project Manager at Terra Localizations and also does video game freelance localization. He is based in Argentina. Loretta Mulberry is a Project Manager at Terra Localizations based in the United States. She is passionate about translation and interpreting. Alexis Andres Biro is Marketing Manager at Terra Localizations and also works in Public Relations at Astral Clocktower Studios. He is based in Buenos Aires.