languages available
(and how to make some money)
How to translate a game
Click on a game story to download the full text (in English) with instructions. Translate the text, send it to me and I'll compile it into a game and add it to the download site. Simple!
What if someone else has already booked the language?
Every translation will be compiled and sold on this site. If more than one translation is complete, the one that was booked first will go at the top of the list, and in a larger font. That one will probably get the most sales.
If you're slow and careful:
So if you're a slow, careful translator, book your space early, and when you're finished, your translation will be listed first. Don't worry about not being first: this is a long project, and most sales will be in later years.
If you're quick:
Slower translators can take well over a year, so if you're much faster, then translate it anyway, and be the only one listed for a few months. Often the slower translators find they can't complete it for some reason, so it's always worth having a go.
In the long term
This is a thirty year project, so don't worry about missing early sales. Most sales will be in later years. And if more than one translation is available for a language I'll publish any reviews right here.
How you get paid
The best way to get paid is to sign up to BMT Micro as a developer (it only takes a few minutes). Then I can assign you as a joint developer on your title, and you automatically get a cut whenever a game is sold. They pay monthly.
How much is there to translate?
The translation source file has the following parts.The big numbers are for Les Miserables. Later stories have about half this much text
* code (object names, screen messages, etc.) - about 800 short lines
* cut-scenes - about 1300 normal length lines (about 100 -300 characters each line)
* clues - about 2300 long lines (each about 400 characters)
* 'look at' dialog - about 1300 long lines
* 'double click' dialog - about 1700 long lines
* more code - about 100 short lines.
There are also some lines that begin 'X' or '//' - don't translate those.
The longest section is the clues, but this should also be the easiest to translate. If you've played the game then you know what each clue is trying to say, and you're free to change it as long as what you say makes sense and helps the user. The next longest sections are the 'look at' and 'double click' sections, and these are only there to make the game world feel more real. They don't move the story along, so you're free to change them if it makes your task easier.
"Buyer beware"
Obviously I can't guarantee that every translation will be perfect, so every translated game will come with a warning. I can't offer any money back (too much potential for abuse - I don't speak any other languages so I have no idea what could go wrong!) but every non-English game will also have the option of running in English. (But the help page etc. will still be in the other language.)
Also I'll post any language specific feedback on this page. So you can see what other people think of a particular translation.
How many copies will sell?
This game is a long term project. I don't expect to sell many in the first couple of years - people won't have heard about it. But if your translation is good and somebody mentions it on the right web site, who knows?
The real money will be made in later years when the game is bigger, and I've got more experience as a game developer. And more people will have heard of it. But if you come back in five years and ask to do a translation, somebody else might have already got in before you. So it pays to get in early.
Your translation could be better than the original!
This game is heavily reliant on dialog. If the game is easy or hard, or exciting or boring, depends a lot on the words. A good translation could make the game a lot better (and a bad translation could make it worse, which is why I'll put the option of an English version on every translated game).
Who knows, in ten years' time people could be saying 'the English version is rubbish, but the Spanish version is much better'
If you need characters that aren't here, find a font that's free to use for commercial purposes (most fonts are only free for personal use). Then type the translation in that font and let me have copy to put in the game. Oh, and let me know if your language is printed right to left, like Hebrew.
Sorry, no fonts that use more than 256 characters.
Unfortunately, the game engine I use cannot handle fonts with more than 256 characters (e.g. Chinese etc.). I spent some time looking into this, and yes, it would be possible to re-write the code to make this possible, but it would take many months. Unfortunately I can't afford to spend that time on it (unless someone wants to pay me!). So no Unicode fonts. Sorry.
Good luck, and happy translating!
Non-English fonts
Enter The Story uses a standard TTF font, with most of the letters you see below. (To see all the characters in a font, use Word or a similar word processor, choose 'insert symbol' and find the font you want from the drop-down list. Different fonts may have different characters.)
If the language you want isn't here, why not translate the game yourself?
The translator gets half of the selling price for every game sold in that language.
