Word for Word

We're initially translating the game to French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
As such, I'm knee-deep in localization preperation.

That means I'm taking any and all English text in Pig Eat Ball and changing it out for a list-look up.
Basically there's a big spreadsheet of all the text in the game. Each text entry has a name. The list redirects to the language the game is set to be played in.

Here's a pic of the spreadsheet:


The column on the left is the look-up code word. The column on the right is the text to be used in-game.


Below is the C# code in the editor.
The red text in quotes is the special look-up word.
It then checks the spreadsheet to find the actual, translated text.




That's the C# code.

Below is what it looks like in the helper system in Unity.


We're using I2 in Unity to get the text into the game.
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/localization/i2-localization-14884

Agile is the Word

 Why didn't I just do this all from the beginning?
Well, that would take foresight. :)
But also it'd be a lot of wasted effort. The game changed a lot over the years. Even for a smaller game the design can change a lot. To be on top of it and have the look-up system already in place would be a good amount of work and commitment to a certain design. It's much faster to prototype things with English baked into the code.

I'm sure it's possible to make a game with the localization system in there from the start! I just don't think the design would be as agile, and I might be less likely to scrap work and make changes. That worries me as I could end up with a worse design, because I didn't want to waste earlier work.

Text Me When It's Done

In any case, we're almost done getting all the localized text ready.
After the spreadsheet is ready we'll send it off to the localization company to be translated.
Then all the text will just magically appear and be wonderfully translated in game!

I'm very excited to see all those languages be possible, and I can only read English!

Pig Eat Ball is getting close to finished. 
Please be good and Wishlist it on Steam, then tell a cool friend of yours!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/339090/Pig_Eat_Ball/
Thank you.  💗💗💗