Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 10.10 A Cancel button and the problems with localizing it.
In addition to text and voice over, one other aspect of localization is localizing the
actual content for certain countries. For example, any World War II game must be
careful not to infringe on German laws, which forbid the usage of certain symbo-
logy related to the Third Reich. Other countries may have stricter laws on violen-
ce, which may require reducing or removing blood and/or objectionable scenes.
And,finally,themostdifficulttypeoflocalization errortocatchisinstanceswhere
idiomatic phrases or other references might be okay in the American culture, but
confusing or perhaps even offensive in other cultures. These types of localization
problems extend well beyond the realm of user interfaces, but they are something
to keep in mind when preparing a game for another region.
UI Middleware
Recall from Chapter 1 , Game Programming Overview , ” that middleware is an
external code library that's used to simplify certain parts of development. No dis-
cussion of user interfaces for games, especially AAA ones, would be complete
without discussing the predominant middleware in this category: Autodesk Scale-
form. Some games that have used Scaleform include Star Wars: The Old Republic
and BioShock: Infinite . Although Scaleform is very popular for large-scale com-
mercial games, it's not as popular for smaller games because it's not a free solu-
tion.
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