🎮 Video game localization is not just a literal translation of texts, but a true art of adaptation, where the translator is a co-author of the atmosphere. Thanks to whom the graphics, plots and jokes in Hades II or Baldur’s Does Gate 3 sound like a native language to us?
The Department of Economic Cybernetics knows the answer to this question and shares these and other most interesting theses from a conversation with the famous Ukrainian translator Bohdana Vozniuk.
🌐 Why is Ukrainian localization on the rise?
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the situation on the market has changed dramatically. While previously Western studios often united Eastern Europe under the Russian “umbrella”, now the demand from Ukrainian players has transformed into a powerful trend.
Some developers are adding Ukrainian out of solidarity, others are responding to demand or seeing commercial benefits in it. Even small studios without multi-million dollar budgets are increasingly including Ukrainian localization at the release stage, and large contractors are beginning to realize that Russian translators are not suitable for our market, so they are actively hiring Ukrainian specialists.
⚙️ Technical challenges and working blindly
Many platforms (for example, Nintendo ) have still not fully integrated the Ukrainian region at the system level, which is why developers have to take risks and independently circumvent strict guidelines for the sake of our players.
Translating without understanding the plot or character’s emotions (such as confusing pronouns or objects) can completely ruin a scene. This is why quality LQA (localization testing) requires as much effort as the translation itself.
🤖 Artificial Intelligence vs Human in artistic translation
Bohdana categorically opposes the use of machine algorithms in fiction and game scripts: “A priori, machine translation cannot be used in fiction translations. AI cannot read context, humor, and idioms, and the Ukrainian language is too complex with its roots, forms, and nuances to trust its trace to generated content.”
In summary, the game industry ( GameDev ) today is not only about creativity, but also about large-scale global business, project management, market analysis, and IT architecture. Understanding how technology products adapt to local markets develops systems thinking, cross-cultural communication skills, and project management.
Create high-quality digital content, choose Ukrainian, and invest in your development together with the Department of Economic Cybernetics! 🚀✨
📚 The material was prepared based on information from GameDev . dou : https://gamedev.dou.ua/articles/localizing-hades-2-and-bg3-interview/