Friday, the end of the standard work week, and the start of hopefully good things for your weekend. Being that Friday ususally brings good feelings, we're here to usher in some of those good feelings with some free stuff! As you know, we're going to be doing a give-away every Friday (when we can/remember). One of you will win said prize simply by telling us why it would mean the world to you.
This week we're giving away a Salamander plushie from Lost Planet 2. In the picture above you can see said creature of grace cutely devouring Vital Suits, of which will then be doomed to be digested in the plush filled guts for 50 years. Leave a comment and tell us why it would mean the world to you! If you win, we'll send Sir Om Nom Nom to you.
Who won the last give-away? Well, it was none other than Alex! What he said touched our hearts in that special place. No seriously. It did. "This hat is the essence of moisture...and moisture is the essence of beauty…
This hat would actually be given to my younger brother if I won. The two franchises that I absolutely love from Capcom are the Resident Evil and Mega Man franchises.
While I would be more than ecstatic to wear that hat in the morning while making breakfast, walking to class pointing at people incessantly (believing they know the true glory that is my hat), and ultimately walking into chipotle while wearing this hat and my RPD shirt to see if I would qualify for the "police" discount. After the likely rejection, I would still eat my burrito while still enjoying my mild cosplay portrayal courtesy of CAPCOM.
While this would be my ideal choice for such a fine hat, I would actually give it to my younger brother because he does not have any resident evil attire nor any collectible items of any kind and because he's my brother, I would gladly give this hat to him for his excitement any day.
Winning the hat would means the absolute world to him and I would guarantee that CAPCOM takes the credit for his happiness. "
The second date of the Fight Club tour in the UK will be taking place on 15th October in Bristol at the West Country Boxing Club!
It’ll be a packed evening of Street Fighter x Tekken, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Super Street Fighter IV AE and Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Entry is free, and there will be free food and drink! Details below.
We’ll have an awesome DJ playing amazing videogame-themed mash up music and everyone who attends can enter a free prize draw to win a Viewlix Arcade Cabinet converted to run PS3 games! There will also be the chance to win some amazing A3 sized art prints and if you give us you PSN/Gamer Tag you can get an exclusive title for your profile on Super Street Fighter IV!
Head over to the Street Fighter FaceBook page for more details and updates on the Fight Club!
So save the date, mark your calendars and come and have a fight! Arrive early to avoid disappointment, there were huge numbers at the first Fight Club in London. Also due to the alcohol available this is for over 18s only.
We know you can't believe what your eyes are seeing, but it's true: Scotland is getting its own legitimate ranking battle season for fighting games, as well as a proper tournament! Here's a few details about the event from the site:
"Get Hype! On the 24th and 25th of March, Versus Scotland will be bringing Scotland its very own national fighters tournament – Hypespotting 2012. Happening in Glasgow, this will be Scotland’s largest games tournament to date and with all cash from tournaments going directly to the players, you can be sure to see some big names and popular faces in attendance!
We will host five tournaments over the two day event. With a cash pot and exclusive prizes donated from Capcom and Rising Star to name a few, plus the title of ‘Scottish Champion’ on the line, it’s all to play for. The official line up is SSF4:AE, Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3 and King of Fighters XIII, with another two games to be decided by a community vote!
Taking place at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow city centre, Hypespotting 2012 will be very accessible for everyone, being within walking distance of Buchanan Bus Station and Queen Street train station; getting to the venue couldn’t be easier!
The area has plenty of affordable accommodation for the weekend and there are plenty of restaurants and bars for socialising and eating during the event. Also nearby is the legendary Sauchiehall Street, filled with pubs restaurants and clubs.
As usual for Versus Scotland events, this one is also a licensed event, with a bar being made available until 2am. We will also be providing an online stream over the weekend, to allow the world to share in the hype with us.
We will be hosting a series of online and offline events to make sure that everyone has a chance to level up their game – this is the official ‘road to Hypespotting’ ranking battle season. For more details on this event and the road to Hypespotting, check out the Versus-Scotland forums for more details."
It has become apparent to us that sitting atop our mountain of Capcom game branded goods is no good. In fact, we should be handing these treasures out to people who will love it, fans, instead of letting it stay cramped in our desks. In the spirit of giving, we're introducing a new contest that, in theory, should re-occur each Friday. Since I cannot currently think of a better name, it's the Friday Give-Away!
What it is: Every Friday we'll put up some piece of Capcom treasure that can be yours.
How to win: Leave us a comment in the blog. Tell us why this particular item would mean the world to you. We'll go through the comments, pick our favorite, and send them the prize.
Simple, right? Today's prize, and in fact the introductory prize, is a very hard to find STARS cap/hat. It's the only one I've seen in the office, and do not even know it's origins. So please, if you want this mysterious STARS head covering to rest comfortably on your noggin, write us in the comments to this blog.
Next Friday we'll announce the winner, and announce a new item to be given away.
As I announced at the Street Fighter 3: Third Strike Online Edition panel at Evo, all registered participants at Evo will be receiving a free digital copy of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition PC compliments of Capcom and Microsoft.
The tokens that have been sent out are redeemable via Microsoft's Games for Windows Live Marketplace. Instructions for installation and quick checks for latest drivers are all linked within the email.
The emails with the tokens were sent via Evo's organizers in the last hour or so and if you were a player at Evo, they should be in the email account you registered with. Please do check your spam folders/filters as there's a solid chance things could get stuck there.
If you were a registered player and are having difficulties please contact the Evo organizers at event@evo2k.com.
See you online (I'll be that lousy Cammy or Sagat player you double perfected).
Our Director of Localization, Peter Fabiano, was kind enough to write up a bit about what goes into localizing our games here at Capcom. Not only that, but there's a glimpse at what is expected when looking for someone to hire, if you're intersted in a future job localizing Capcom games.
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Localization: What is it? This is a difficult question to address as there are many misconceptions and different approaches to the subject. I will base my explanation on the way I run things here at Capcom, in addition to some of the challenges we face.
First off, localization is often equated to mere translation. If it were that simple, you would all be playing games that read and sound like the first Resident Evil. Reduced to its simplest level, localization is the translation of text and terms into the users’ native language (e.g., OS localizations). Context must be taken into account, but the general makeup of the system remains the same.
Game localization, however, is much more complex, and adding to this complexity are the cultural and social idiosyncrasies of Japan and the Japanese language. These are difficult to convert well into Western languages, especially for an American audience. Sometimes, no matter how good the translation, the base concept just doesn’t work.
For this reason, I believe that localization is not where the process of bringing a game to the West should begin. Localization is only one part of the globalization process. It is necessary to plan in advance the way a game should be designed and developed in order to save costs and avoid quality problems that could arise later. This also saves time and works to smooth the localizing effort for each region or country. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.
Console games have come a long way from their 8-bit counterparts, and they are so infused with story and environments that internationalizing and culturalizing these games is integral. At Capcom Osaka, the Localization Team is actually a part of R&D. We try to integrate the production teams and get them to understand the importance of taking their games and adapting them for the foreign markets. We need to go beyond general text translation and provide them with information that is beneficial to creating a game that is relevant to the target users. Due to a number of internal and cultural factors, this can be quite challenging.
The original question posed on the forums was, “How does a person get into localization?” Before I address that, I think it might be better to start by letting you know what roles my team and I have here at Capcom.
The Localization Team consists of about 30 people split into 2 main groups: Localization and Communications. The Communications Team has a number of functions, but in general, they are in charge of ensuring that teams are in sync with each other and with our overseas partners by providing necessary information to relevant parties. (That sounds way too much like a job description. Oh, wait...)
The Localization side is made up of 20 people, including me. As the Director, it’s my job to build business partnerships, negotiate contracts, maintain schedules, perform HR tasks (hiring and team building), supervise team members, interface with teams and producers, resolve disputes and cultural misunderstandings, and try to get the individual dev teams to understand our target markets. But that’s probably the boring part for most people.
The rest of the team is made up of 5 Project Leads, 2 English Editors, 10 European Localization Experts, and 2 Japanese Localization Coordinators. The Project Lead is at the heart of the English and European (FIGS) languages. The process would ideally begin with a kick-off meeting with all parties involved: internal dev team members, key external dev team members, Localization Leads and me. This meeting helps to establish workflows, schedules, budgets, and provide an overall sense of the project goals.
It’s here where the real creative (read fun) stuff begins. The dev team will provide the Project Lead with as many reference materials as available. We receive game design docs, walkthroughs, game videos, scripts, and the game build. These reference materials are essential to an accurate localization. Unfortunately, there are many times when these materials are unavailable, which leads to context errors and potential mistranslations. I encourage each Localization Team member to keep open communication with the game designers so that we can close any holes in understanding.
Once these materials have been thoroughly reviewed during our familiarization period, the Project Lead begins to either translate the script or review what has been provided from an outsourced translator. If a project is handled entirely within the Localization Team itself, then the script would be passed on to one of our editors. There is a lot of back and forth with the Project Lead, the editor, and the dev teams. Depending on time, budget, and schedule, the project workflow can change drastically.
With more involving projects, a Project Lead will actually be placed on the project team where they constantly “fight the good fight” to create a game that feels like it was developed with the American and European audiences in mind. We are constantly providing feedback on the script, UI, design, and other elements that will vary across markets. Of course, the translator’s main role is still to take scripts and adapt them to be culturally relevant to the market. Depending on the game, the Japanese and target language will differ considerably. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is one such example. We tried to focus on the English text and then Japanese was written afterwards.
The Project Lead is also involved in writing for voice-overs, and when audio is involved, things get even more complicated (audio time-constraints, lip-synching, ADR, etc.). Many of the guys find this to be a fun and rewarding part of the project. If things go well, we are able to choose voice actors for roles and attend the voice recordings to ensure the direction and overall recordings go well and fall in line with our creative thinking.
If you consider the English localization Phase 1 of the project, FIGS would be Phase 2. First the English is completed in order to create a relatable script and game setting, and then it is sent over to the FIGS teams. The Project Lead then has the responsibility of completing his/her own tasks while managing the FIGS localization. The lead is responsible for managing any outsource teams as well as internal ones. At this point, the Project Lead should know the English version better than anyone and will maintain an important role in successfully completing a localization project.
Once translation and editing are complete, we proceed to the Linguistic Testing Phase. At this point we play the game complete with the translated text implemented, in order to spot any errors or oddly placed translations. The details of Linguistic QA can get rather complex so I will skip the boring details, but once everything is checked, implemented, and reviewed for regression bugs, we can finally rest – until we get any bugs back from the first-party check that is.
So that is a REALLY general overview of what we do here. Now I can finally get into what I look for in an employee.
First and foremost, you have to be a good communicator (mostly in English, but also in Japanese). You aren’t just going to be translating: you are going to need to explain yourself to me, your colleagues and the project dev teams. Sometimes you’ll even get the chance to interpret for producers and directors at events.
Secondly, you need to be a good writer or editor in your native language. If you aren’t a creative writer, your translations may not be appropriate for games.
Japanese is a requirement for Project Leads, but not a necessity for Editors, and certainly not for FIGS experts. Attention to detail is a must, as you will be dealing with a number of different file formats that are constantly being updated and changed.
(Our FIGS guys are so good they can find subtle errors in the English scripts!) You’ll need to be able to survive in a fast-paced environment and work well alone as well as with teams.
So, what do you need to study to get a job?
If you want to be a localization expert, then I suggest studying writing and Japanese. Take courses at school that focus on literature and writing, for example. We ask for writing samples and have a trial exam that we require from all applicants. Being well read also helps, because the subjects of the texts we translate run the gamut from science to literature, history to philosophy.
Project Leads, however, do more than just translate (and many times, they don’t even do this), which makes them all the more valuable. You’ll need to be a project manager and oversee communications throughout the project.
That is a basic overview of Capcom Localization. I hope it helps give you a clearer idea of the work involved and how you might prepare for a job in this industry.
We are moving full steam ahead to Comic-Con! Or should I say, full STREAM ahead… Ha! We are going to be streaming this year at Comic-Con, and it's going to be the biggest and most elaborate stream to date for Capcom. Building on our E3 improvements, we'll be streaming multiple camera angles, running interviews with producers, directors, designers, artists, voice actors, and much much more. And for the first time ever, we'll be able to stream EVERY game from the booth. In total, we're going to have nearly a dozen separate game and audio feeds, not including our standard cameras.
Look forward to new trailers, lots of surprise announcements, exclusives, and everything else Capcom related. If it's happening at Comic-Con from Capcom, you'll see it here on Capcom-Untiy.com and our Capcom-Unity Live Stream first!
Here's a rough taste of the schedule so far, but keep in mind it's still vague as we continue to plan and add fun content:
WED, JULY 206:00 PM-9:00 PM 6:00pm - 7:00pm Introduction to stream, trailers, booth tour. 7:00pm - 9:00pm Streaming of games and show floor.
THU, JULY 219:30 AM-7:00 PM 9:30am - 10:00am Introduction to stream, trailers, booth tour. 10:00am - 11:00am Interview: Jason Leigh, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record 11:00am - 1:00pm Live Tournament 1:00pm - 3:00pm Streaming of games and show floor. 3:00pm - 5:00pm Live Tournament 5:00pm - 7:00pm Streaming of games and show floor.
FRI, JULY 229:30 AM-7:00 PM 9:30am - 10:00am Introduction to stream, trailers, booth tour. 10:00am - 11:00am Streaming of games and show floor. 11:00am - 12:00pm Interview: Kobayashi, Dragon's Dogma 12:00pm - 1:00pm Interview: Niitsuma, Marvel vs Capcom 3 1:00pm - 2:00pm Streaming of games and show floor. 2:00pm - 3:00pm Ask Capcom Live with Christian Svensson 3:00pm - 5:00pm Live Tournament 5:00pm - 6:00pm Interview: Seth Killian 6:00pm - 7:00pm Streaming of games and show floor.
SAT, JULY 239:30 AM-7:00 PM 9:30am - 10:00am Introduction to stream, trailers, booth tour. 10:00am - 11:00am Streaming of games and show floor. 11:00am - 12:00pm Interview: Tsuchiya, Asura's Wrath 12:00pm - 1:00pm Interview: Ono, Street Fighter X Tekken 1:00pm - 3:00pm Streaming of games and show floor. 3:00pm - 5:00pm Live Tournament 5:00pm - 7:00pm Streaming of games and show floor.
SUN, JULY 249:30 AM-5:00 PM 9:30am - 10:00am Introduction to stream, trailers, booth tour. 10:00am - 11:00am Streaming of games and show floor. 11:00am - 1:00pm Live Tournament 1:00pm - 3:00pm Streaming of games and show floor. 3:00pm - 4:30pm Live Tournament 4:30pm - 5:00pm End of show, goodbyes.
Our live feed from E3 might be over, but that doesn't mean you can't rewatch some of your favorite interviews! We made sure to record them all. Further still, we cut them up into bit sized bits so you can find exactly the interview or clip you're looking for. Here's the list of links from day 2 and 3, just click on the interview or clip and you'll be enjoying the video in no time. If you're looking for day 1 interviews, go here.
Don't you just love running across a little secret in a game that is a tip of the hat to you? We do. You'll see little easter eggs littered through Capcom games, all because we're fans too. Just thinking about finding a little morsel of goodness gets me wanting to go exploring for something I might have missed… That got us thinking, and since it's near easter, why don't you tell us your favorite Capcom easter eggs?
I've included a couple of my person favorites to start you off, like the Tricell billboards in Bionic Commando, or the old school camera angle in Lost in Nightmares, and even a non-Capcom game, Frank West in Left 4 Dead.
Leave a comment and tell us your favorite Capcom easter eggs!
I get a lot of questions about how our whole raffles and points systems work here on Capcom-Unity. Breaking it down is fairly simple, since you earn points on your activity here on the site. So what exactly earns you points, and how much? Well, here's a list of a few of the point earning actions below:
Add a Blog Post • 30 Start a Forum Thread • 20 Posting Comment • 15 Sending Content to Friends • 15 Making a Forum Post • 15 Referring a New Member • 15 Sending a Network Invite • 15 Uploading a Video • 10 Joining a Group • 10 Uploading a Photo • 5 Updating Status • 5 Rating Content • 5 Voting on a Poll • 5
Aside from all of the above ways to earn points, you can also earn points by getting redeemable codes. Codes are given out in a variety of ways, but a common way is by participating in many of our online events, such as the live Ustreams.
Our raffles are the place to spend these points. We stock our raffles with all sorts of prizes, from rare Capcom goods from Japan, games, and other awesome prizes you can only get here. All you need is some Capcom-Unity points to get some raffle tickets. For example, think of your points as "cash," and the every time you enter one of our raffles you're "buying" one raffle ticket. Winners of raffles are chosen at random. Of course, you can improve your chances of winning by getting more tickets, as there is no limit on how many times you enter.
The best part about this whole system is that it's absolutely free. You earn points for free, and if you win in our raffles, we ship the item to you for free. Can't beat that!
