Therefore, the direct term translation is out of the question. The name Royal Jelly is neutral enough in English, but in Polish it is called “Bee’s Milk”. For example, in the real world, “Royal Jelly” is honey bee secretion, but in Empires of the Undergrowth it’s a substance made by ants. Resources in the game were another challenge. Things as straightforward as difficulty levels can sometimes provide a challenge because of the target language’s vocabulary and phrasing. This includes concepts and terms that are known to all gamers, phrases that are universal regardless of language, and terminology that doesn’t translate well but requires a translation nevertheless. Last but not least, a challenge in its own right: video game lingo. Finding their counterparts in Polish wasn’t that easy. The client did provide us with the list of references, but that was only half of the job. The level is fun and difficult, and so was the translation. To make it even more interesting, the narrator constantly quotes a bunch of Christmas movies and songs. I couldn’t find a bug phrase or idiom that would do the job in Polish, so I had to work around it.Įmpires of the Undergrowth includes a challenging level where you get to be a spider at Christmas time.
You might spend an hour (or more) doing research and looking for something that will work and still convey the same pun, only to realize that it’s just not going to happen.įor me that phrase was “Just Isn’t Cricket”. Then there are some phrases that need a bit more work, like “Get Your Own Eggs” or “Prison Break”.īut there are some that will really rattle your brain. In some cases, that’s quite easy: “Picky Eater” or “Quality Not Quantity” translate perfectly well into Polish.
It needs to convey the same message as the original. Not only do you have to be able to spot them, but you also have to make sure that the translation is relatable in the target language. Finding and recognizing idioms or references is also quite a challenge.