Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[GDC 2011: ArenaNet's Adam Vance talks localization for Guild Wars]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/01/gdc-2011-arenanets-adam-vance-talks-localization-for-guild-war/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/01/gdc-2011-arenanets-adam-vance-talks-localization-for-guild-war/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/01/gdc-2011-arenanets-adam-vance-talks-localization-for-guild-war/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Ask the average Guild Wars player what makes the game so enduring, and "localization" is probably not on the top of the list. But the game is truly a masterpiece of blending players across an international community, with a single multilingual client supporting a wide range of communities across the entire world. ArenaNet's Adam Vance hosted a panel on the localization process for the game at GDC, discussing the many trials and tribulations the game faces from both a business standpoint and a cultural standpoint.

It certainly doesn't seem like a difficult task from a conceptual standpoint -- even just running a block of text through secondhand solutions such as BabelFish can produce something that looks somewhat translated. But as Vance explained, simply changing the text from one language to another is an issue, and linguistics only scratches the barest element of what's needed for adapting a game. "Localization should be as much a science as an art," as he put it during the panel. While the focus remained on localizing Guild Wars from a business standpoint, players will still find interesting facts within the discussion.

Continue reading GDC 2011: ArenaNet's Adam Vance talks localization for Guild Wars

MassivelyGDC 2011: ArenaNet's Adam Vance talks localization for Guild Wars originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adam-vanceanetarenanetclientscultural-issuesculturefeaturedgame-developers-conferencegdcgdc-2011guild-warsgwlanguagelanguageslocalizationncsoftserverstranslationTue, 01 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Atlantica Online speeds up download with new Lite client]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/07/atlantica-online-speeds-up-download-with-new-lite-client/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/07/atlantica-online-speeds-up-download-with-new-lite-client/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/07/atlantica-online-speeds-up-download-with-new-lite-client/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Atlantica Online just celebrated its first year in the US, but the free-to-play game apparently had another trick up its sleeve -- namely, allowing players interested in the game a chance to get in and start playing even faster. After all, it can be obnoxious to download a client and wait for it to patch through updates when you just want to dive in and get to playing. Ndoors Interactive has just launched the game's lite client, a way for a smaller initial download to let you start playing the game as fast as possible.

The new client's trick is to only frontload the first twenty levels of play while downloading the rest via background processes. This allows new players to log in and start playing their character faster, but it can cause issues for existing players who might be at a higher level (and the press release specifically suggests avoiding the lite client if that's the case). For everyone who hasn't started the game, it's an interesting way to make the startup more accessible and significantly faster. Consider taking a look over the weekend, and possibly getting in on some of the one year celebration goodies Atlantica Online has to offer.

MassivelyAtlantica Online speeds up download with new Lite client originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atlanticaatlantica-onlineclientsdownloadsf2pfree-to-playlaunchesndoorsndoors-interactivenews-itemsSat, 07 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New SDXC cards to allow for greater MMO portability]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/new-sdxc-cards-to-allow-for-greater-mmo-portability/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/new-sdxc-cards-to-allow-for-greater-mmo-portability/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/new-sdxc-cards-to-allow-for-greater-mmo-portability/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Massively multiplayer online games tend to take up less space on your hard drive than your standard PC game, as the bulk of the data is stored on farms of servers that power your MMO of choice. However, despite the fact that most of the underlying magic is happening far away from your own screen, MMO clients still take up a number of gigs of space, as laptop users who regularly play different titles know all too well. But since an MMO client is really just an access point then, there's no reason why it has to be tied to any one machine or location, particularly if you're on the go for much of the time.

While the typical solution for some MMO gamers with a preference for portability is to keep their game clients on a portable drive (myself included), even these small drives are beginning to look downright clunky compared to some of the other options available, or soon-to-be available.

Continue reading New SDXC cards to allow for greater MMO portability

MassivelyNew SDXC cards to allow for greater MMO portability originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adam-holiskycapacitycesclientclientsconsumer-electronics-showengadgetfantasyon-the-goopinionportabilityportablesdsdxctechnologyworld-of-warcraftwowwow-insiderSat, 10 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST