Part Zero: This is a great game.
Part One: Issues with Game Localization
There are still many issues with the localization of games into Chinese. Many terms are translated too abstractly. Please hire professional translators to quickly address serious translation errors, including the confusing translations of equipment terms like “parry” and “block,” which are fatal because they represent entirely different actions. As a Chinese person, my evaluation of the Chinese translation of the game’s equipment terms is a failing grade.
I reiterate, please hire professional Chinese translators (or a studio) soon to address these issues. For example, consider the excellent localization team of Baldur’s Gate 3.
I guarantee that if the Chinese is optimized and Chinese voice-overs are provided, the game’s positive ratings among Chinese speakers will increase by 5% to 12%.
Part Two: The Chinese Community
Currently, the Chinese community’s attitude towards the game is mixed but gradually shifting to mostly positive. When the game was first released, some unethical influencers (a very few) posted videos that created a binary opposition, claiming the game was either a masterpiece or garbage, just to gain traffic. These influencers, after initially setting the tone, are now being criticized by rational players.
The Chinese language represents a massive and unique player community, no different from other language groups. Given the large base of players, even if the proportion of poor players is lower than in other regions, the absolute number of such players is still significantly higher due to the vast size of the player base.
To connect with Chinese players and maintain a good brand image among them, you only need to:
1: Chinese players experience poor connectivity in peer-to-peer (P2P) games due to insufficient IP addresses and large geographical spans. If you want to avoid negative reviews due to multiplayer issues in the Chinese community again, please carefully design solutions focused on optimizing multiplayer connectivity.
2: Reliable translations are crucial. I understand that your team might not have Chinese speakers, but this is no excuse for poor localization. Even using DeepL or GPT-4 for translations would be an improvement over current methods (please avoid using Google Translate). I strongly suggest hiring a professional Chinese translation team, one of the largest groups of translators in the world, which could quickly solve these localization issues and prevent them in future games.
3: Join Chinese video platforms (if you so choose). It’s unfortunate but true that 99% of Chinese players cannot use Discord or YouTube. Consider engaging with the Chinese community through local platforms such as Douyin and Bilibili.
— From an ordinary Chinese player (English translation by GPT-4)