Offering language support is one of the ways a game can expand and enter other markets where English isn't the main language. That’s what Tabletop Simulator did with its most recent update, which allowed the game to support translation to 29 languages. Here’s the thing though developer Berserk Games used Google Translate, and you probably know where we’re heading with this.
Tabletop Simulator was released back in 2015 and lets players not only play tabletop games but also create their own. To get an idea of what the game offers, you can view the release trailer below:
Translation Feature
An update released last week on Steam, the game gets translation support for various languages and custom translation made by players. The translation feature includes:
- Added translations for most common languages using google translate.
- Players can access the Language menu through the button in the bottom right of the main menu, or in the menu bar of the Configuration window.
- Added the ability to create a player’s own translations for the default UI and share them on the Workshop.
- Added localization support for the player’s text fields.
- This allows players to translate their mods for different languages
Lost in Translation
The use of Google Translate means that some translations aren’t going to be on point. A report showed a site where tweets have been collected showing some rough translations.
To be fair, when Berserk Game released the update, they said that Google Translate only serves as a jump-off point given its limitations. While players are indeed having fun with this new feature, localization professionals explained why such translation won’t be enough.
Berserk Games has since released a statement on Twitter saying that they’re thanking everyone for all the feedback. They added that using Google Translate was the only viable solution, and this is, especially true given the frequency of updates.
Overall, the new translation feature is a good attempt to localize the game. But rather than going for 29 languages, they could have started with a few ones just to see how things would play out.
What about you? What are your thoughts on this new feature?
