Alright Lunar fans, I’ve been promising a surprise for you all for a while now, so I think it’s time I came clean! I, and the rest of PK Bloggin’! are excited to say that Jessica Chavez of XSEED Games was kind enough to make time for us to do an interview, and even provide some great exclusive Lunar: Silver Star Harmony screenshots just for us! (I’ve never conducted an interview before, how exciting!) Even if you aren’t a Lunar fan, please enjoy it, since there’s a lot of great information here about the localizing process, and being part of the game industry in general.

For those who don’t know you, can you tell us who you are, and what you do at XSEED Games?

My name is Jessica Chavez and I am a localization monkey at XSEED Games.  I am the company’s sole editor at the moment and I oversee the translated text in some of our games. Mostly I smooth out rough translations, fix spelling errors and adjust for formatting, but for some titles I also go to the recording studio and, as you’ve seen lately, I manage some online community stuff like the blog and facebook.

I am female, hopelessly fond of the phrase “clowns taste funny” and addicted to coffee.

How long have you been working in the video game industry, and how did you get your start?

I’ve been at XSEED for nearly two years come September, and I owe my start here to a bittersweet combination of ill-timing and pure luck.

I actually started off first in comic books (I worked for TokyoPop previously) and through unhappy circumstance (TokyoPop’s subsequent downsizing in 2008) I made the happy transition to video games. A prior three-year stint in Japan also contributed to my move to niche Japanese game publishing.

Were you a “gamer” prior to working in the business? If so, has having a career related to gaming made them less enjoyable?

I was a gamer prior to working in the industry and I’m afraid I have to say “yes” to the, er, being less-inclined to play part of that question. Most of my work is done staring at the computer screen until my eyes bleed as I wrestle text into shape, but I do have to play our games quite a bit here as well. As a result, when I go home the last thing I want to do is play anything… But, I am still a big fan of RPGs and my love of those has made this career choice very desirable despite the drain on my own personal enjoyment of games.

I still haven’t touched much of Dragon Age Origins since I got it…

What’s the localization process like? For RPGs, especially, there’s a lot of text, and usually a lot of cultural references. What kind of work goes into making the game accessible to a Western audience?

Brace yourself, this might be a bit long…

The localization process is actually extremely complicated and depends on the coordinated efforts of a lot of people. Bare minimum you need,

1) A trusty translator, 2) a cutthroat editor, 3) a go-between the publisher and the Japanese dev team (my boss, Kenji, does this), 4) Marketing/PR gurus, and 5) suffering interns. we don’t actually have one of these right now but they’re such a staple of the gaming industry that I thought I’d give a nod to their stoic plight.

There are other steps prior to the translation of the game, but the translation stage is the approximate start for my role in this so I’ll begin there.

First the text is sent via file format (.xls, .csv, etc) from Japan and the translator will begin laying the groundwork for system text. We’re talking character names, locations, menu text, etc. I’m usually in communication with the translator during this period and together we settle on naming conventions and the general feel of the game. After that, the files start getting tossed back and forth between myself and the translator as he/she finishes it and I take a scalpel to it.

For my part, I go through chapters and chapters of roughly translated text at a time and sift out spelling mistakes, grammar issues, even graphic problems. I do rewrites where cultural clarification is required or make outright changes that are needed for the NA audience and also insert quotes from “The Tick” where I see fit. Additionally, I spend a lot of time getting the script to fit into the nice, clean little speech bubbles you see in-game. That’s probably the most tedious aspect of the job.

After a few rounds of that, the edited files are sent to Japan and implemented into the game. A few days to weeks later (depending on the Japanese dev team) I’ll have an English build of the game to look at. With this ‘beta’ version in hand I’ll start playing through and doing more minor rewrites, check that names/places/spells match up and clean up any mistakes that I missed previously. This is the beginning of the QA (Quality Assurance) period of game localization. After we think we’ve caught most of the problems, the final files are given to Japan and those are what end up in-game.

At the end of the process, essentially the game is still what it is in Japan, just now in a language that makes sense to you, and presented in a way that’s also going to make sense to you. We do take liberties here and there but we also have a deep respect for the Japanese team and their intended vision of the game. It’s a balancing act for sure.

The XSEED, Lunar, Ragnarok, etc. Facebook pages are one of the only times I’ve really seen a company strive to actively converse with, and touch base with their fans. It’s really great to see. Is that mostly your doing, or is it a team effort?

Well, we had always hoped to be big enough to expand out and reach more fans, but prior to the Facebook push we’ve only had a blog or two for a few games. It has always been a matter of having enough people/time to be able to manage a community, and even though we still don’t have that luxury, we really want to develop a relationship with our fan base.

For my part it seemed natural for me to take control of the Lunar Facebook, because I’m the one who worked on the game. I like talking with fans and it’s nice to have a chance to explain what’s in the game and what we’ve done to make it special for you. I want people to know that we care and that we’re working hard. I want you guys to know that you’re supporting something worthwhile and that we appreciate it. As a gamer myself I’ve always kind of felt like I was nothing but a dollar sign to companies, and personally, I believe that you enjoy your purchase more if you know what went into it, who’s behind it, and that they’re listening.

Honestly though, the Lunar Facebook has been really fun. It’s hard for me to budget time for it but I’m actually quite obsessed. It delights me to see it grow so exponentially over the last few weeks and in return I try to post as often as I can to make it worth your while.

I’ve talked about the Lunar: Silver Star Harmony release a lot on the site. Do you have any funny anecdotes from the translation process, (or anything interesting really,) that you could share with our readers?

Well, there was definitely a lot of shock and amusement when we played the SSSC version to prepare for it (that book in Vane still has me gaping) (yes, you know the one I’m talking about) and it gave me no end of opportunities to slip in my own stuff…so I’ll leave you with this. See if you can pinpoint where all these things are in-game. A treasure hunt, if you will.

ALL-NEW Lunar: SSH inserts

1)      Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference
2)      Cameo of the infamous “graveyard duck” from Castlevania
3)      The unfortunate adventures of Mr. Tiddles
4)      5th Element nod
5)      The best children’s book title ever
6)      Monty Python stuff
7)      Buffalo Bill, is that you? (X 2)
8)      Jaws reference
9)      Nivea commercial gag (props if you know what this is or noticed it)
10)     Breaking of the 4th wall a la Jessica

For readers unfamiliar with the game, (though if they’ve been reading this site at all I don’t know how they could be!) what would you say makes Lunar stand apart from other RPGs?

Lunar stands apart from other RPGs on the strength of its story and the depth of its humor. It’s one of the few RPGs today that doesn’t take itself too seriously and yet packs such an emotional punch for not just one character, but all of them. It’s no hack and slash, fetch-quest, generic RPG. Yes, the story is familiar but it’s done so well that it’s classic, not clichéd. It doesn’t try to coax you out of your money on pretty visuals or gimmicky undress. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is bacon, folks. Pure, unadulterated salty goodness.

We’ve been commanded to inform people that there are bath scenes in the game. Who are you most excited to see there?

I’m excited for Jessica and Nash because I have two killer outtakes for those scenes! Coming soon!

A lot of people on the internet are concerned that this new version of Lunar for PSP is not going to hold up to the older versions on Sega CD and Playstation. Is there anything you want to say to ease their concerns?

Lunar: Silver Star Harmony will be both familiar to you and yet wholly new. It will comfort you with its recognizable humor and charm and surprise you with the fresh coat of paint the visuals, history, music and characters were given. It’s worth buying because it adds to the richness of the series. It doesn’t try to subvert the old Lunar that you love, it just adds another facet that you’ve yet to see. And more of Lunar is never a bad thing.

Lastly… how about that Lunar: Eternal Blue? ;P

I’d love to see it too, and I know Japan is watching the American response very closely. I have my fingers crossed the same as you.

I cannot thank Jessica enough for taking the time to answer all of these for us (and so thoroughly/wittily, to boot!) and for being among the first interviewees for PK Bloggin’! ..and for the exclusive screenshots, of course! I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to talk with her. (…in the metaphorical-internet-typing sort of way.) It is really interesting to read about the whole process (I had no idea about quite a few things that she mentioned!) and her writing is always fun to read! (I really like parentheses!)

I’ve come across a few of the new references in Lunar that Jessica’s mentioned here already, and will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for the others. Everyone should keep an eye on their Facebook page for those outtakes that she is going to post, too… I bet they’ll be hilarious! (There’s some great ones uploaded already, if you’ve got time to check them out.)

As you should all know by now, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony was released March 2nd for the PSP, and March 4th for the PSN for those unfortunate enough to have been suckered into a PSP Go. Whether you’re a Lunar fan, or an RPG fan with a PSP and a penchant for classic themes with added personality and charm, I think you’ll really love it!

(For those of you wondering what else XSEED Games has done that is awesome besides Lunar, or wondering if I even know or have played anything else that they’ve done, some other great games they’ve localized include Half-Minute Hero for the PSP, Ragnarok DS and Retro Game Challenge for the Nintendo DS, and Little King’s Story and the upcoming Fragile Dreams (which looks stunning) for the Nintendo Wii… just to name a few. See, I can totally talk about games that aren‘t Lunar!)