Lemma Soft Forums

Over the years, I've witnessed many French people overlooking games because they were written in another language and they miss out on good stuff as a result.
I guess it's natural in a way, most of us would rather read something in our native language.

But still, I feel there's much to gain in broadening the audience for VNs so after much internal debate, I've decided to provide my services as a translator.
It is also my hope that with this kind of initiative, other people will want to translate in their respective languages as well.

Since the latest version of Ren'Py shows the translation functionality right from the launcher, this is a great opportunity to get the wheel of fate turning ! (Yeah, I know...)
But we'll see if there is actual demand for it first , I'm kinda testing the waters here ^^'

Also, I'll only be working on two projects at most at any given time. Translating takes time and I don't want to half-ass it, some expressions can be tricky for instance.

Don't feel bad if I'm little picky too.
Like anyone else, I'm more inclined to work on projects I'm interested in to begin with.
That doesn't necessarily mean I won't ever translate your game though ! I'll just prioritize ones I like.

Thanks in advance for understanding.

Shoot me a PM if you're interested.
Also, feel free to ask questions and/or post suggestions/feedback in this thread.

Cheers !


Translated

• English to French
  • This Is Where I Want To Die, for NoJoker [link]
• French to English

Slots

• Secret project, for ...
• Free slot

Legend :
acknowledged
in progress
reviewing
awaiting feedback
completed
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Q&A

Q : I'm in the middle of writing my VN, will you translate it ?
Let me put it this way : would you contribute to a project which may not come to fruition ?
If I'm doing this, I'd rather translate finished products so please ask me when you're comfortable with the fact that your game's going to be completed.
The main reason is because if you make me translate a game which is never released, this time is lost on others who have everything in place. That's kinda sad..
Either that or you'll have to be very persuasive with me.

Q : Are you charging for this ?
Heck no ! I just want to help out the community however I can.
It's a win-win situation really : translating means more potential readers for your game, more readers means more interest in the medium, more interest means more games, and more games means more translating.

Q : Do you have examples ?
I have one translation project which is done and over with, check the Translated list.
I'm not sure dishing out lines out of context here will make for good proof but feel free to make suggestions or point me to some text to set as example.

Q : I'm French and I want my game to be translated in English. Would you be willing to do it ?
I guess, yeah. I'm fluent in both languages so it's no problem at all.

Q :What's the process like ?
To summarize a bit, it goes like this :
- Acknowledgment => I receive the files, look at them and brace myself for the upcoming work.
- Translation
- Review => Basically, searching for typos, improving the text, etc...
Once I feel like it's completed, you get the translated files back.
I'll also be available should people point out mistakes and they come out as being right on the money.

Q : How should I credit you ?
I guess it depends. If you use your real name in your project, then please use my real name as well if you think it's relevant.
If you credit people only using their nicknames, then I guess you can use my nickname instead.
People will be able to track me down regardless, but ask me for confirmation anyway. I'd rather you tell me beforehand ^^'

Q : My game is at a demo stage. Is it okay to ask for translation at this point ?
If you're confident your game's going to be finished eventually, sure ! This can also be used as a selling point to potential readers.
I'll consider demos to be projects themselves so once I'm done with yours, I'll move on until your game is completed.
When it is, I'll work on it once a slot becomes available.

Q : It says that you're a writer and proofreader in your sig. Can I ask you to help out with these as well ?
While my primary focus at this time is translating VNs, you can try me, sure..
By the way, you get a +10 persuasion bonus if your project has sci-fi in it.

Q : Wait, why don't you make your own VN ?
Sure I have ideas but I can't commit that much time for a project.
And I'd rather work in a team than being a one man army to be honest.

Q : Hey, I saw you draw ! Are you an artist as well ?
Oh no I'm not ! I'm comfortable in writing, drawing is something totally different !
I'm just trying stuff out, I'm a very curious guy ^^

Q : What genres do you prefer ?
Tough one actually. I like lots of stuffs, really !
If I had to pick, these I guess :
- Science fiction
- Fantasy
- Comedy
- Romance
- Drama
- Mystery

Q : What about types of couples in Romance stories ?
BxG for one, as most guys I suppose. I'm okay with GxB because again, I'm a roleplayer.
I'm less enthusiastic about GxG and BxB but that's probably just me not imagining myself kissing a guy or if I was a girl, myself kissing another girl.
I can still pull that off in roleplaying though. Funny, right ?

Q : Is it okay if they're traps ?
Uh... Can we.. change topics please ? * sweatdrops *

Q : Okay... And what about Adult stuff ?
I'm actually not comfortable with it, mainly because I get embarrassed if it becomes too sexual ^^'

Q : Oh my god, I love you ! Please go out with me !
No !

Hey
Maybe you could translate my latest game This Is Where I Want To Die: http://en.marcel-weyers.de/visualnovels ... nt-to-die/
It's pretty short and it's already translated into German, so I thought it would be nice to have it in other languages too. It has a message I want to put across and I want as many people as possible to read it

DeeKay wrote:Like anyone else, I'm more inclined to work on projects I'm interested in to begin with.
That doesn't necessarily mean I won't ever translate your game though ! I'll just prioritize ones I like.

Since you say that, I'm a little surprised you didn't include a Q&A for your preferences. You say you like Sci-Fi, but what else? Are there any genres that you gravitate towards, and others you're less enthusiastic about? How fast can you translate and what's your preferred story length?

@NoJoker
Sure ! That's typically why I'm eager to translate VNs, so games have more coverage ! I'm all for VNs which have some kind of message to get across as well.
I'll send you a PM shortly.


@CheeryMoya
You're completely right, it does sound a bit misleading, right ? I'll add it to the Q&A, sorry about that ^^'

I actually like lots of genres..
It's a hard one to answer but if I would gravitate to specific genres, it would be these :
- Science fiction : You said the magic word ! Wouldn't it be cool to have a space opera in VN format ? With all the lore, technology and conflicts and stuff ? Spaceships, different cultures, prophecies, etc.. You name it !
- Fantasy : I may be influenced because I'm a rolepayer and I like D&D set in the Forgotten Realms, but I like it ! Go easy on me with elves though, too many and I start to lose focus.. There are other races than elves, dang it ! ^^'
- Comedy : Generally not on its own, but I still enjoy a good laugh.
- Romance : Not on its own either. Feelings are great, but there's a point when it's overdone in that you already see the obvious without someone spelling it out for you. So yeah, if it's balanced enough.
- Drama : Touching stories have a place in my heart. Life's not always sunshine and bunnies.
- Mystery : A good mystery case is always a winner with me.

I have to say I'm not comfortable with Adult works. This may sound idiotic but when it starts to get too sexual for my taste, I get embarrassed so..
Yeah, no wonder I never read Erotica. Quoting someone, I have a low melting point ^^'

As for how fast I can translate, this is something I'm still gauging at this point.
The best reference I have is for translation assignments I did in university just a few years ago. The texts would be around 1 to 2 pages long, taken from novels or educational book and were mainly descriptive in nature. I usually took about an hour, reviewing my work as I finished writing.
I may be faster on a computer since I don't have to write and keep a dictionary next to me all the time. Thank the interweb for when I want to confirm something ! I still have one lying around just in case though ^^'

How about story length then ?
Stories that aren't too long I believe. I can't think of a good number but I don't feel comfortable enough to tackle super lengthy plots at this time. That and I still feel I should prove myself first before going for bigger VNs. I'm still in the middle of figuring out the best workflow as well so..
That's actually one of the reasons I'm limiting myself to two projects simultaneously.

I hope I wasn't too vague ^^'''

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm spamming but...

Oh my god! I love you! Please go out with me!
...

No, don't.
Really.
Don't.

Anyway, any idea when this thing might be open again?

Itwasneveradream wrote:I'm sorry if it seems like I'm spamming but...

Oh my god! I love you! Please go out with me!
...

No, don't.
Really.
Don't.

Haha, don't worry about it ! The last question was meant as a way to lighten things up a little.
You can imagine our avatars holding hands if you wish though ^^


To answer your question, I probably won't be opening this before the end of next week at least. I'm halfway done with NoJoker's project but I don't want to rush it.

Anyway, this might be a good time to share briefly about how I go over this whole thing.

Once I accept your request and receive your files, I glance at them quickly to gauge the amount of work needed. From that, I roughly deduce the minimum length of a translating session so I can work at a steady pace.
Then comes the bulk of the work, as in line by line translation, making sure expressions match their English/French counterpart, etc... Needless to say, I'll do my best to preserve the original meaning of the text so I could ask you some questions on the way.
After I'm done with all the files, I review them in search for typos and also to improve the text where I feel it can be done. When I'm satisfied with it, I send the files back to you.
Don't think our relationship ends here though ! If you happen to have feedback on the translation by your readers and it might need adjustments, I'll check if any of the claims are true and make them accordingly.

I hear When the Bells Toll will require a French translator in the foreseeable future!

The setting IS in Quebec, afterall!

@Lishy
Fair enough.
When the time comes, I'll probably help you out.. if you'll have me of course ^^


Oh, I should probably point out that I'm willing to translate working demos.

If your plan includes translation from the start, it's better to show it off to your potential readers, right ? That's what I think at least.
But.. that means I'm here for the whole game and it will be finished.. right ? ^^'

To stay true to the "two projects at a time" condition, I'll consider demos to be projects of their own. Once your game is completed, I'll be adding your project back to my list when a slot is available. This should provide a good turnover and hopefully not keep people waiting for too long.

Waiting for feedback from NoJoker but aside from that I'm pretty much done with This Is Where I Want To Die.

Opening again now for one slot.
Please be sure of yourself before submitting a request or if you're not, just send me a PM

Tres bonne initiative DeeKay

Merci bien ! J'espère que ça ouvrira des portes pour les joueurs/lecteurs français qui ne sont pas très à l'aise en anglais mais surtout que ça leur fasse essayer des romans interactifs.
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Thanks ! I hope this will benefit French players/readers who aren't too comfortable with English, but first and foremost I hope for them to give visual novels a try.

Just to let you guys know, NoJoker has released a new version for his game This Is Where I Want To Die, which includes the French translation.
Check the first post for the link.