Perfecting your translation and language skills needn't be a bore. With the right approach, it can even be fun! Video games offer a terrific opportunity to hone your proficiency in another tongue while taking part in some healthy competition. Additionally, there are so many genres to choose from and devices to use for gaming that nearly anyone can find something to capture their interest. When you find something that you enjoy, playing it in order to practise your second language will hardly seem like learning at all.

What Are the Advantages of Video Game Translation?

Aside from the obvious reason that improving your video game translation prowess will give you a competitive edge, there is another reason to take part in this enriching experience.

Both the gaming and translation industries are growing by leaps and bounds. The market for video games is expected to be worth around 90 billion dollars by 2020. Further, annual spending on professional translation services is expected to reach over 56 billion dollars by 2021. If you have ever considered a career in mobile and video game translation or even app translation, there has never been a better time than now.

Understanding Video Game Localization

Gaming provides an atmosphere of learning that is dynamic. When you are playing, you become immersed in what you are seeing and hearing. This hyperawareness of your surroundings within a game can help you learn localization skills quickly.

Games that are based in other cultures, for example, will incorporate regional landmarks, symbols, street signs, and other visual details that might typically be overlooked. Localization services work hard to make these as realistic as possible. These seemingly small inclusions taking place in the background offer an excellent opportunity to perfect your localization skills by taking note of them.

Additionally, many app localization professionals and game developers have created different versions of popular games to reach across global boundaries. Spotting these features can be a game in itself. Are you eagle-eyed enough to pick up on any differences between two different versions of the same game? This is particularly fun for unearthing the use of colloquialisms in different languages.

Gaming Is Motivating to Language Learners

Some people value competition more than others, but for some reason, nearly everyone enjoys the sense of satisfaction that moving up to the next level brings. This dopamine rush that seems to be a universal experience among gamers is one of the best learning tools at your disposable.

When you become involved in a game you are really interested in, you naturally want to understand what is happening so you can progress. This determination can potentially drive language learning faster than any other method. It's like being dropped off in a foreign country with nobody who speaks your language.

To survive, you need to develop skills and understanding quickly by learning some basic words and symbols. It is likely that you will instinctively gravitate to someone you can communicate with (even on the most rudimentary level) who will help you understand things better. This brings us to another essential part of the gaming experience: communication.

Basic Communication Will Make You a Better Translator

Communication is the fastest way to improve your translation skills in gaming and nowhere is this more obvious than in massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMO's). These games are dependent on communication with other players from all over the world.

What's more, players are so involved in trying to beat specific parameters that learning takes place super-fast. Communication happens in real time, so there are not a lot of opportunities to stop and think about what you want to say and how you should say it. Also, because of its anonymous nature, interacting in the virtual world removes a layer of self-consciousness in even the shyest and most introverted people.

Making mistakes in the chat box is no big deal, and the sense of camaraderie that develops among players is one of the most critical aspects of this type of gaming. The negotiations that take place offer a kind of shared experience that is unique to gaming. Not only does this make you a better gamer, but it helps you to meet people who will help you be a better translator. Your language skills will stay fresh, and you will probably learn a lot of the jargon and slang of your second tongue in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take.

Gaming and Language-learning: Conclusion

Gaming is one of the most efficient and enjoyable ways of immersing yourself in a new language. It offers the ability to fast-track your learning while giving you a broad overview of the nuances of a different culture.

If you intend to make translation a career choice, the opportunities available in app strip translation, app description translation, and mobile and video game translation are abundant. The entire virtual world is at your fingertips.