Localization Tools in General Purpose Game Engines: A Systematic Mapping Study

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
Game engine localization tools are predominantly 'tool-facing' (designed to import external kits) rather than 'user-facing' (designed to create translations), creating a gap in the production pipeline.See it on page 1
02
Unity features the most robust ecosystem of third-party support, with 80 identified localization tools in its Asset Store, 21 of which are user-facing.See it on page 10
03
Official documentation for major engines like Unity, GameMaker, and Construct often lacks direct guidance on localization, forcing developers to rely on ad-hoc processes or external tools.See it on page 13
04
Effective localization requires early-stage planning, specifically separating translatable text from source code, selecting adaptable fonts, and designing UI layouts that accommodate varying text lengths.See it on page 4
05
Marketplace availability for localization tools is extremely limited for most engines; for example, Godot and Unreal Engine each offer only three localization-specific tools in their respective official libraries.See it on page 11
06
CryEngine and Unreal Engine are among the few platforms that provide built-in localization systems within their standard toolsets, though they still require external workflows for comprehensive management.See it on page 12

Summary

International Journal of Computer Games Technology Volume 2021, Article ID 9979657, 15 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9979657 Localization Tools in General Purpose Game Engines: A Division of Game Development, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden Correspondence should be addressed to Marcus Toftedahl; [email protected] Received 31 March 2021; Accepted 5 July 2021; Published 23 July 2021 Academic Editor: Cristian A.