Dark Translations - Cast your vote!

[Nephrinn]

I do not think anyone has heard of me or what I have done outside of the Hongfire forums, so I will try and (briefly) introduce myself. I hope I am welcome here and that this is an appropriate topic. よろしくおねがいします.

Over the past 6 months or so I have been translating Hentai games as an effort to improve my Japanese grammatical skills (I've been studying Japanese for about a year now) and have just recently completed the translation of one game and semi-translations of others (as parts of my learning process). I am on the eve of beginning another game and I have started a poll (a link will be provided at the bottom) to decide my next project. I have also started an initiative dedicated to translating "darker" style games, aptly titled "Dark Translations".

I should also point out that, while my Japanese grammar is quite good, my ability to make Japanese sound more like English has not reached its fruition, although I am constantly making strides to improve in that area. As a result of this, my translations may sometimes sound somewhat awkward because of my reliance on dictionaries, but I encourage you to at least give them a try as you may be pleasantly surprised. Needless to say, I would not be taking this next step if I were not confident enough in my translation abilities.

I encourage anyone who may be interested in the translation of hentai games of the more hardcore variety (Black Lilith, primarily), to visit this link and cast your vote. You can also get examples of how my translations sound by reading the character profiles I am currently posting on the blog.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, etc.., as I probably am leaving a lot unsaid.

[zalas]

Just curious, but how long was the previous game you translated? When you mentioned you like to translate "dark" games, do you mean things that are dark because there's a lot of rape going on, or would you include grotesqueness in there as well? For example, would you be interested in more story-heavy dark games like Sayonara wo Oshiete or Saya no Uta? Furthermore, would you ever intend to release only patches, instead of currently bundling the translation with pirate copies?

[Nephrinn]

Originally Posted by zalas

Just curious, but how long was the previous game you translated? When you mentioned you like to translate "dark" games, do you mean things that are dark because there's a lot of rape going on, or would you include grotesqueness in there as well? For example, would you be interested in more story-heavy dark games like Sayonara wo Oshiete or Saya no Uta? Furthermore, would you ever intend to release only patches, instead of currently bundling the translation with pirate copies?

For your first question, my previous game, Asagi 1, was, I believe, fairly short in comparison to mainstream hentai games. About 1/5th to 1/8th the size, I would estimate. However, Asagi 1 had only two characters and generally concentrated on a single path, unlike most games that have several "branches" and many characters.

For your second question, the previous game I translated is about as grotesque as you can get without it being guro content. Let's just say it would make baby Jesus weep and leave it at that.

I am unfamiliar with a vast majority of hentai games, so pardon me if I do not know what games you are referring to. Feel free to enlighten me.

As for your last question, I am actually not bundling anything with pirate copies. It is a small script file you put in the games install directory that overrides the default Japanese script. Unless you consider the English translated script to be "pirated".

[tea panda]

Well, as Zalas seemed to suggest, my cup of tea when it comes to dark games is not really rape but more the story-heavy type stuff, so Lilith stuff has always been meh to me.

But more importantly, I just wanted to say that it's great to see another translator around and that your hard work is really appreciated even if some may not articulate it. It's a pleasure to have you on NovelNews and I'm sure most of us hope to see you contribute to any discussions around here! =D

[Asceai]

GORE SCREAMING SHOW!!!!!

Fine, it's not that dark, but still -_-;;

[Nephrinn]

Originally Posted by tea panda

Well, as Zalas seemed to suggest, my cup of tea when it comes to dark games is not really rape but more the story-heavy type stuff, so Lilith stuff has always been meh to me.

But more importantly, I just wanted to say that it's great to see another translator around and that your hard work is really appreciated even if some may not articulate it. It's a pleasure to have you on NovelNews and I'm sure most of us hope to see you contribute to any discussions around here! =D

Understandable. We all have our likes and dislikes and I admit Lilith's stuff is less story driven than most titles, but its attractiveness rather comes in the form of generally more hardcore stuff that is scarcely found in other titles.

I appreciate the warm welcome. I wasn't sure of how people would receive me here, but this is a good start and I am already looking forward to my stay here.

[EchoMateria]

Personally rape/humiliation/training games are no no for me, but I have friends that love them. So I am glad for them that there is someone trying his best for their sake.

It would be best if you can establish a homapage for your translation efforts. I saw your post on this subject on the other forums and having a homepage, listing the projects, updating their progress reports monthly and hosting the patches that you make helps trendemously. You can either make your own or join wiki and blog based groups that list all the individual translation projects.

[Nephrinn]

Originally Posted by EchoMateria

Personally rape/humiliation/training games are no no for me, but I have friends that love them. So I am glad for them that there is someone trying his best for their sake.

It would be best if you can establish a homapage for your translation efforts. I saw your post on this subject on the other forums and having a homepage, listing the projects, updating their progress reports monthly and hosting the patches that you make helps trendemously. You can either make your own or join wiki and blog based groups that list all the individual translation projects.

Isn't the blog I posted a good enough homepage for my translations efforts? Perhaps people didn't see it because I embedded it in the word "this", but here it is:

http://darktranslations.blogspot.com

[EchoMateria]

Originally Posted by Nephrinn

Isn't the blog I posted a good enough homepage for my translations efforts? Perhaps people didn't see it because I embedded it in the word "this", but here it is:

http://darktranslations.blogspot.com

Oh thats great, I am sorry, I just didn't notice. "this" Is just a small word after all. (lame excuse :P )

[tea panda]

Originally Posted by Asceai

GORE SCREAMING SHOW!!!!!

Fine, it's not that dark, but still -_-;;

OMFG YES PLZ

Actually, I heard that someone had initially tried to open one of those Wiki things to get a group effort going, but it failed. So I guess any translation effort for GSS isn't coming anytime soon. =( Such a shame, considering how many awesome things I heard about it.

[Enerccio]

Originally Posted by tea panda

OMFG YES PLZ

Actually, I heard that someone had initially tried to open one of those Wiki things to get a group effort going, but it failed. So I guess any translation effort for GSS isn't coming anytime soon. =( Such a shame, considering how many awesome things I heard about it.

well translating game made with normal scripted engine is probably easier than game made with wysiwyg one.

[comic strip]

Originally Posted by EchoMateria

Personally rape/humiliation/training games are no no for me, but I have friends that love them. So I am glad for them that there is someone trying his best for their sake.

YEAH! thats me!!! :D

Nephrinn I don't know what to say.... You are the man!

I definately love these kind of games, while the romance stuff are good, these darker ones are really needed :D

Anyways I'm playing Asagi right now and loving it I was just telling Echo how I admired your work on the game... Seriously.

I'm also reading your blog I hope it all goes well with the new game's translation.

Cheers

[drmchsr0]

Get to TLwiki.

We need translators :V

[Nephrinn]

YEAH! thats me!!! :D

Nephrinn I don't know what to say.... You are the man!

I definately love these kind of games, while the romance stuff are good, these darker ones are really needed :D

Anyways I'm playing Asagi right now and loving it I was just telling Echo how I admired your work on the game... Seriously.

I'm also reading your blog I hope it all goes well with the new game's translation.

Cheers

I really appreciate the feedback and I'm glad you're liking one of my favorite games ever. :) I just updated my blog on the status of the new game I'm translating and it's coming along quite well. If I can just get 1% of the script done everyday (which is easy, maybe 2-3 hours of work), I should be able to finish the game in roughly 3 months time.

[Apples]

It really is great to have such a dedicated translator in the community, and it looks like you're definitely doing something more interesting than the mainstream eroge.

(not that it's really my thing - I can't read the title "Prostitute House Confinement Adventure" without giggling. And don't get me started on "Female Ninja Tentacle Gangrape Adventure" At least such titles let you know exactly what you're getting into.)