Hoping to make your life's design a bit more dynamic!

It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:19 pm

All times are UTC [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 232 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 20, 21, 22, 23, 24  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2018 6:11 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:33 pm
Posts: 509
Wildbill wrote:
I prefer what some people derisively call "generic" RPGs, and I'm not big on unique, add-on, or innovative features. I also don't need a lot of splashy, complicated graphics and cut-scenes or an explosive, dramatic, "catchy" musical score with excerpts and riffs that get stuck in my head for years.

To me, the story is everything.

How well someone tells that story makes or breaks a game-playing experience for me. Over the years, I have set aside dozens of games due to amateurish writing, suffering from chronic "kid-speak" that is chocked full of "cools" and "awesomes", not to mention passive voice phraseology every other string with no action verbs, combined with copious usages of nouns such as "stuff" to depict objects instead of naming them precisely.

As for these folks at websites who set themselves up to presume to rate RPGs (movies, books, whatever) in any language, I recall the wag I first heard mention something to the effect of, "Opinions are like [that part of our anatomy we sit on]. Everyone has one!"

I feel the same way. While I do of course enjoy seeing nicely drawn graphics on the game I'm playing, I value a well written storyline above all. No matter how good a game may look, I can't play it if the plot isn't intriguing and captivating. For example, Burning Heroes may not compare graphically with most of the newer games out on the market today, but the storyline is fantastic. Without giving away any details that might be considered spoilers, I'll just say that the last boss' motives aren't revealed fully until the end of the game for quite the interesting plot twist.


"Truly, if there is evil in this world, it lies within the heart of mankind."
- Edward D. Morrison (Tales of Phantasia)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 6:19 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:54 pm
Posts: 2340
Location: Virginia
Recca wrote:
Wildbill wrote:
I prefer what some people derisively call "generic" RPGs, and I'm not big on unique, add-on, or innovative features. I also don't need a lot of splashy, complicated graphics and cut-scenes or an explosive, dramatic, "catchy" musical score with excerpts and riffs that get stuck in my head for years.

To me, the story is everything.

How well someone tells that story makes or breaks a game-playing experience for me. Over the years, I have set aside dozens of games due to amateurish writing, suffering from chronic "kid-speak" that is chocked full of "cools" and "awesomes", not to mention passive voice phraseology every other string with no action verbs, combined with copious usages of nouns such as "stuff" to depict objects instead of naming them precisely.

As for these folks at websites who set themselves up to presume to rate RPGs (movies, books, whatever) in any language, I recall the wag I first heard mention something to the effect of, "Opinions are like [that part of our anatomy we sit on]. Everyone has one!"

I feel the same way. While I do of course enjoy seeing nicely drawn graphics on the game I'm playing, I value a well written storyline above all. No matter how good a game may look, I can't play it if the plot isn't intriguing and captivating. For example, Burning Heroes may not compare graphically with most of the newer games out on the market today, but the storyline is fantastic. Without giving away any details that might be considered spoilers, I'll just say that the last boss' motives aren't revealed fully until the end of the game for quite the interesting plot twist.
We had fun putting BH together, didn't we? And Ritchie did a tremendous job translating it for us. He even said back then he'd translate another game for us - even gave me a list - but I haven't spoken to him for a few years.

I'm like you are in a way you mentioned once - how we get used to seeing a certain name or term in a game, then we get a better translation or someone comes along and makes a convincing argument for changing it, and like waving goodbye to an old friend who is leaving permanently, we do so reluctantly. I recall several people who were really pumped about BH who later said they were disappointed because the scenarios were so repetitive. One tester didn't even finish the job, just informed us of the reason and walked away.

What can I say? As Bongo` put it recently when I hollered for more space in 3X3 Eyes, "We may only go with what Nintendo gives us". As for a game someone doesn't like that we, the commercial producers, or anyone else puts out, I can reiterate for the umpteenth time, "Just set it down and walk away." An instructor I had at the Navy's Electronic Warfare school put it this way once: "Take the best and leave the rest." That works!


Image


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 5:34 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:33 pm
Posts: 509
Yeah, that sure was a great game we all worked on. If it wasn't for Burning Heroes, I might not have even become a member here and might have missed out on all the amazing projects we all worked together on as a group. I remember back in 2009, it was an announcement about a secret project on RHDN by Bongo` and Draken that first got my attention and later found out about D-D. Bongo` revealed to me that the secret project was indeed BH like I had guessed via PM there and Draken later gave me the Lennus-II password for the old message board we had before. I remember being a bit stubborn before, thinking that the old forum was better since it was simpler, but I had quickly gotten used to this one and became fond of it back then. I'm not sure if I ever said this to him, but nice work on this message board, Taskforce! It looks wonderful and much better than most of the message boards on other websites (RHDN included). I'm both honored and grateful for being a member here and look forward to hopefully many more years of working together on our translation projects of great, classic games. There's still quite a few rare gems left that still haven't a proper translation yet like Haou Taikei Ryuu Knight and all those others on various lists here. Maybe one day, we'll have the chance to translate and play all of them.


"Truly, if there is evil in this world, it lies within the heart of mankind."
- Edward D. Morrison (Tales of Phantasia)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2018 4:33 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:49 am
Posts: 1381
Location: Oklahoma City
Wildbill wrote:
Over the years, I have set aside dozens of games due to amateurish writing, suffering from chronic "kid-speak" that is chocked full of "cools" and "awesomes",


Can't say as I agree with you on this point at all. I like a teenager to sound like a teenager, not a young adult, middle aged adult, or worse seasoned adult. If "cools" and "awesomes" are appropriate, then by all means, please put them there. The one thing that bothers me is when a teenager sounds like a 95 year old learned scholar of every subject known to man. They don't have that kind of life experience yet. It just doesn't work. It also doesn't work when they're spewing slang and phrases that teens would never use. For example, one that you like to use in writing is Pray Tell. Older folks will say this a lot, but a teen however, not sure I've ever heard one or of one saying this phrase. It really bothers me when I see a phrase such as this coming out of a teens mouth. I'd much rather see a "cool" or "awesome" that sounds like a teen should sound. Let kids be kids. Let teens be teens. Let adults be adults and let older folks be older folks. Even in writing this should be the case. Also, by limiting certain phrases to certain individuals of certain ages, it has the added benefit of making them seem more natural and realistic as well.


Image


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2018 8:06 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:24 am
Posts: 215
The problem with talking like a teen is that many of us are probably too far removed to know what language they speak.
Probably not many of were using "sick" as an adjective to mean anything but "to have an unhealthy body". :P
Maybe to speak of someone having disgusting thoughts.
Definitely not a positive adjective.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2018 8:18 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:49 am
Posts: 1381
Location: Oklahoma City
KingMike wrote:
The problem with talking like a teen is that many of us are probably too far removed to know what language they speak.
Probably not many of were using "sick" as an adjective to mean anything but "to have an unhealthy body". :P
Maybe to speak of someone having disgusting thoughts.
Definitely not a positive adjective.


Yeah, but lets assume you are writing a game about a young girl. if you are using phrases that sound like they should be coming from some old man hanging out on the golf course with his golfing buddies instead of some young teen girl hanging out with her friends, then it probably shouldn't be coming out of the young teen girls mouth. I'm not saying you have to go -- dating myself here -- valley girl or anything or even try to guess what a young teen girl would say, just avoid phrases she definitely wouldn't. And don't worry, I agree that some phrases that teens did/do like to use shouldn't be used in professional writing. A good more recent example is totes for totally. I don't blame anyone if they refuse to use this in writing. My point is, it is fine if you don't like to use "awesomes" and "cools" in writing to make a youngster sound younger, however you should also give some thought in the opposite direction. Avoiding making a youngster sound older is just as crucial. And something that really bothers me.


Image


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 4:32 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 6:16 am
Posts: 3
tcaud wrote:
Valley speak is still a thing. For sure.


Totes


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2018 6:27 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:33 pm
Posts: 509
There's one more thing to remember as well when writing lines for various characters. Namely, not just their age, but also the place and time where they live. For example, a child in the Middle Ages wouldn't use modern words such as "cool" and "awesome" since they didn't exist yet. Or rather I should say, the slang didn't exist yet, but the literal meaning of the words might have. For example, "cool" meaning slightly cold, but not as the slang meaning of it. Most of the games we translate are set in either the past or distant future. Therefore, many modern phrases and slang words are not appropriate for the script. And since most of the people who play fan translations are older gamers that enjoy 80s and 90s vintage games, older slang like "golly" and "gee whiz" from the 80s era and before that would probably be better for usage in our translations. We also have to remember to make the script appealing to those playing our patches as well. Which again, are mostly older retro gamers which are cultured and have better and more refined tastes than most of today's youth.

Personally, I think that the 80s style expressions used throughout the Shadowrun series is more interesting than today's modern vulgar and offensive way of speaking. Older expressions such as "whiz" and "chum/chummer" sound much better than the modern equivalent of "cool/awesome" and "dude/bro" to me. As for the Medieval period of time, the classic "sir, my lord/lady and madam" are obviously the proper terms to be used for a plot set during those times. Bottom line though, the best thing is to try and match the original script as much as possible without losing the spirit and meaning of whatever is being translated. That's at least my honest opinion on the subject.


"Truly, if there is evil in this world, it lies within the heart of mankind."
- Edward D. Morrison (Tales of Phantasia)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2018 1:46 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:16 pm
Posts: 44
While that's true, the original Japanese scripts are not typically written in any sort of archaic style, and use lots of modern slang and casual speech. You have to be careful about using faddish slang, but long-lasting words like "cool" or "awesome" would not be out of place as translations of what the Japanese often says. Now, sometimes you have to write for an audience that doesn't know that, and so it might not be appropriate to use anyway. But once you start down that road, where does it stop?

It's tough to do because people are used to a very sanitized style of dialogue in RPGs, where every character speaks the same proper English. Not all games are done this way, but if you do try to make a character speak the way he or she does in the Japanese version, it can stand out. And it's harder to do than just translating everything as straight English. Also, Japanese makes use of something called "yakuwarigo", which are ways of speaking that aren't exactly true to life, but that are standard for expressing a certain type of character. That's harder to translate.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Post subject: Re: The SNES translation list
PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2018 2:40 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:49 am
Posts: 1381
Location: Oklahoma City
Time should definitely be a consideration, as long as we're talking Earth and not Fantasy.


Image


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 232 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 20, 21, 22, 23, 24  Next

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group