Do you live in a non-English speaking country? Do you like playing video games? Do you enjoy helping out your fellow man? If you answered 'yes' to all of the above, inXile Entertainment's upcoming Wasteland 2 needs your help. The company has launched its crowdsourced localization project to help translate the post-apocalyptic sequel into various languages across the globe.
Wasteland 2 Opening Cinematic Revealed
Localization is the process by which companies adapt their products towards a foreign market. It's Chevy going 'maybe we shouldn't call it the Nova in Spanish speaking territories' and in the case of Wasteland 2, it's translating the nearly 500,000 words of text into Spanish, German, Italian, etc. Why not let Google Translate take care of it, you ask? GT is a great tool for translating things for word for word, but a language is rich and complex and alive and many words do not have an appropriate translation in a foreign tongue. The ideas expressed by an Italian are coded differently, on some level, than the ideas expressed by me.
Additionally, inXile will have hardcore RPG fans in each language jumping in to play the game in their own tongue, providing an extra level of feedback. Lest you think you would be doing this simply because it's the right thing to do, inXile is going to reward the best contributors: anyone who has submitted approved translations for over 250 strings will receive a copy of Wasteland 2, including access to the currently ongoing beta.
Wastleand 2 Set To Ship At The End of Summer
"This is another development concept that fits what we've been trying to do all along with Wasteland 2. This project could never have happened without the crowd, and that's true for this particular effort as well. As the game's script is approaching 500,000 words, localizing becomes an unfathomably large task, and I couldn't imagine tackling it without our fans' help in conjunction with the editors," said Brian Fargo, CEO of inXile Entertainment.
Wasteland 2 came about after a massively successful Kickstarter, so it is no stranger to asking people for help. Indeed, it would not be here without us. That Fargo and inXile are continuing the symbiotic relationship is a good thing and speaks to a high moral standard. You can join up for the project here. Wasteland 2 ships at the end of August on Steam.