Loc Project Manager - Job Skills Test 2

(writing a Linguistic Memo)

To be filled in at home and sent to your
Ubisoft HR contact by email

The Linguistic Memo is the document we use at Localization, while the game is still in development, to
sumup the main information on the title and give stylistic guidelines on how the translation &
adaptation should be approached. It is addressesed to all the persons involved in the game
localization (translators, reviewers, artistic directors, linguistic testers), who, after reading it, should
be able to identify the language and the style to use in order to convey to the players that specific
emotion the game holds.

Assignment
Choose any game you loved to play and write its Linguistic Memo by following the structure below.
You might also want to do a bit of research about it, on specialized game magazines, reviews etc.

GAME
This section includes all the information required to get a good global vision of the game.

Target audience

What is the audience the game addresses to? Insert here also the age rating (PEGI/ESRB) the game
received. This information helps the translators know which kind of language they should use.

Pitch

This sums up the whole game story in a few words. With this, the translators can better identify the
setting, atmosphere. All story linked texts will be better understood.

Player Experience/WOW Moments/Key Features

This information details the main features of the game. This helps translators identifying which
sections of the ingame text can be especially important and highlighted. Also knowing what the
player is supposed to experience means the translators will know better how to address the player.

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DOCUMENTATION/REFERENCES
Insert here the references (movies, books, other games) the translators should check before starting
the content translation. This gives the translators an idea of what the final look and feeling of the
text should be like. Accompagny them with your notes if needed.

STYLE
This section includes helpful tips about the linguistic style.

Indicate which kind of language should be used (slang, oral style, short sentences, simple words,
absurd humour…) and explain why. What is the final effect we want to reach? What should the
target texts look like? Fun to read, manly, heroic, military?
Please also make sure you point out wheter the formal (vous/Sie/Usted…) or informal (tu/du/tú…)
style should be used.

You can indicate the semantic fields translators should keep in mind. To do so, you just have to
identify the main themes of the game, these are usually linked to:
- environment, setting of the game, the global atmosphere
- relations between the various characters
- historical context
- the actual type of the game, what actions the player has to do several times

If there are specific cultural points that you expect to be difficult to localize, you should point these
out here.

Also some legal issues can be present in the source text (for instance a joke based on a brand name
should be carefully checked).