Context

A mid-size studio commissioned a full linguistic QA for a narrative-driven farming simulation game. The game combined resource management, farming, fishing, crafting, and relationship-building, with a focus on daily routines, seasonal events, and character interactions.

The Italian localisation was derived from English, which had in turn been translated from the original Japanese content. This double translation made LQA essential to ensure the Italian text was accurate and culturally appropriate. Content included UI elements, system messages, item descriptions, tutorials, and character dialogue tied to in-game events.

Although not explicitly set in Japan, the game included several references to Japanese culture that do not have direct equivalents in Italian culture. For example, traditions such as visiting a shrine or references to seasonal foods and drinks required careful handling to ensure they could be understood by Italian players.

Maintaining consistent character voices and terminology across hundreds of interconnected strings was also critical to preserve immersion. This proved challenging because the localisation had been handled in fragmented batches by different teams, leading to variations in tone, naming conventions, and terminology.

To unify terminology, the QA team created a single, searchable glossary covering animals, crops, tools, and character names, replacing multiple glossaries organised by content type. I contributed by reviewing and standardising plant and animal terminology, ensuring consistency with both gameplay mechanics and natural Italian usage.

I then carried out LQA across multiple builds on the sections assigned to me, identifying issues such as mistranslations, terminology inconsistencies, readability problems, and text overflow or truncation. When English translations were unclear or culturally ambiguous, I flagged them, obtained clarifications from the localisation agency, and proposed Italian alternatives that preserved meaning, tone, and cultural relevance.

All issues were documented in Bugzilla, including reproduction steps and screenshots, providing the development team with structured and actionable feedback. This process helped unify terminology and ensure an enjoyable gaming experience for Italian players.