[kadji-kun]

I'm quite interested in it now. The early screenshots didn't look all that great. Thankfully the video changed my mind.

[ZeframCochrane]

A question springs to the mind of the non-german-speaking gamer: will this game's translation from german to english take six (6!) months too? Like that other game I'm thinking of?

[Neptin]

More screenshots:





Alter Ago will be released on March 26.

[ZeframCochrane]

Originally Posted by Neptin

Alter Ago will be released on March 26.

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing the screenshots!
Look just like the kind of game I like

Does the date refer to a foreign language (eg. Czech, Russian, German... etc) version? Or is it coming out in english straight away?

[terhardp]

It looks great and so is "The Black Mirror 2". I really hope they'll release english-voiced versions in March.

[MoonBird]

Honestly. I've never seen better graphics in electronic game. Congratulations team! They have fantasticly fragile atmosphere, melancholic feel to them. I'm really out of words.

[dekaneas297]

Can't wait for the English release. Let's hope it's on March

p.s. Alter Ego was nowhere in the Hype-o-Meter all these months and it's now one month before release?

[Neptin]

Originally Posted by ZeframCochrane

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing the screenshots!
Look just like the kind of game I like

Does the date refer to a foreign language (eg. Czech, Russian, German... etc) version? Or is it coming out in english straight away?

Only Germany, as far as I know.

[ZeframCochrane]

Originally Posted by Neptin

Only Germany, as far as I know.

Awwwwww... figures. I thought so.

Thanks for confirming.

[zazzaro]

Man their other game Tale of a Hero looks solid too.

[PAIN]

pff on German again the things going stupid than ever ...we have to wait again again and again ...the smart publisher may not know that the English is universal language or may just do that to sneak out to our nerves..

[ozzie]

Well, tell that the publishers in English speaking territories.
Apparently barely anyone of them is interested in localizing and distributing adventures. I don't know how good Alter Ego is, but even quality titles, like The Whispered World and Book of Unwritten Tales have a hard time to reach foreign audiences. Weirdly enough, console adventures have it easier...
Amanita Design made the probably unconscious smart move and developed the wordless Machinarium, which everyone around the world could understand without a need for translation.

[ZeframCochrane]

Originally Posted by ozzie

Apparently barely anyone of them is interested in localizing and distributing adventures. I don't know how good Alter Ego is, but even quality titles, like The Whispered World and Book of Unwritten Tales have a hard time to reach foreign audiences.

That's an excellent point which makes me wonder. Why not skip the localization procedure altogether and produce games directly in english? I'm sure there's no law against producing a game in english in a non-english speaking country!
Although in terms of global surface English probably isn't the most spoken language (Mandarin Chinese? Spanish? Russian?), in terms of videogame target audience I'm pretty sure English would be the best choice.

[ozzie]

Well, I guess it would make sense to only produce one international localisation, an English one. Most Germans understand English pretty well, so well that a lot of academic books don't get translated into German because people here tend to read the English version straight away.
But the reality is that the adventure market here in Germany is still healthy enough, so a German localisation is viable. Also you shouldn't forget that publishers don't tend to distribute and market the games globally, but only for a country or continent.
So each country/continent has its own publisher. I think Alter Ego has different ones for the German and English version, but I'm not sure. Everyone does the localization themselves, and holds the rights to it. So none of these publishers can think how viable their actions are globally, just nationally. That's probably a reason why so many adventures aren't released in English-speaking territories.

That's an excellent point which makes me wonder. Why not skip the localization procedure altogether and produce games directly in english? I'm sure there's no law against producing a game in english in a non-english speaking country!

Hm, I would have something against that, the creators probably, too. It's harder to write as well in a language that's not your mother tongue. And it would sacrifice something specific German to outside influences, just for the sake of commercialism. Language is a part of culture, and you can't express specific contexts as well in other languages you're not fluent with, at the least the special identity may go missing this way. But like I already said, a German version is viable anyway.

[ZeframCochrane]

Originally Posted by ozzie

So each country/continent has its own publisher. I think Alter Ego has different ones for the German and English version, but I'm not sure. Everyone does the localization themselves, and holds the rights to it. So none of these publishers can think how viable their actions are globally, just nationally. That's probably a reason why so many adventures aren't released in English-speaking territories.

Eh, you're right. It does come down to decisions taken by publishers after all. I wasn't aware of how successful AG were in Germany.
The way I saw it, high profile developers should invest to create the AG directly in english in order to appeal to the wider english market publishers (ie. worldwide, because let's not forget that, with the help of the internet, english games eventually spread and sell all over the world). Then use the revenue to finance a German localization. In my naive view, I considered that if a game is potentially successful in Germany, then it must be a high quality game, and if it's high-quality, why not release it in english straight away?
Convoluted!

Originally Posted by ozzie

It's harder to write as well in a language that's not your mother tongue. And it would sacrifice something specific German to outside influences, just for the sake of commercialism. Language is a part of culture, and you can't express specific contexts as well in other languages you're not fluent with, at the least the special identity may go missing this way. But like I already said, a German version is viable anyway.

Well, the language part is merely a technical detail. Once you have your storyboard in your own language, the same way you must hire a professional familiar with C++ or whatever "language" your game has to be coded in, you can also hire a professional to get your game in english, without much fuss. That's why I use the word "invest" in my previous paragraph, when talking about producing a game directly in english. It costs a little more, but revenue can't be hurt by it. Especially if you're aiming high! For example, games like Black Mirror 2 or Alter Ego almost invariably will have an english release!
Don't get me wrong, I would never bother an indie german developer by telling him that he should write in english...
You're right, I have been considering $$$ alone, without much regard for culture, haven't I?

[ozzie]

Yep, you haven't, and that's why I don't agree with you one bit.
I don't want to go off-topic too much, but just as an aside, look at Heavy Rain: many people commented how unnatural the English felt, which is certainly a side-effect of the fact that the writer's, David Cage, mother tongue is French.
I think every language has its peculiarities, words and phrases have differing roots. That's why it's no easy task to translate a work. It's not about straight copying a text word by word, but also about keeping the meaning, the spirit intact. The German translation of Monkey Island differs noticeable in parts, for example, but it does so to keep the spirit of the original in place.
The best translators even manage to occasionally slip in wordplays within the style of the original work, maybe as a balance for those that just don't work...

I don't think that the cost of the localization hinders the distribution anyway. Many publishers in English-speaking territories might just not deem it likely to make a profit, or a profit big enough for their likings, with such adventures, so they don't bother. Sad, but true. :-/

To come back to Alter Ego: I hope it has some actual fun gameplay! While I liked Black Mirror, I felt it was too talky in places, especially at the beginning, leaving the player behind as a passive listener for long times. Alter Ego seems to start out in a similar vein, according to previews, but I hope this changes in later chapters. Graphics are indeed very moody!

[ZeframCochrane]

Hehe it's ok. I do tend to be over-technical and forget that AG are in great part works of art! I guess there's no decompiling human languages...

Truth is, I'm impatient to be able to play this game which appears to have (as someone has mentioned in this thread) some incredibly beautiful prerendered backgrounds. I'm happy there's no need to translate those!

[Sandman]

This game will take probably for ever to come out

[Neptin]

Originally Posted by Sandman

This game will take probably for ever to come out

RELEASE DATE
Germany, Austria, Switzerland 03/26/2010
North America, Europe, Asia 2nd Quarter 2010

Source + English game trailer

[terhardp]

@Neptin, thanks for the info.

Personally, I speak german rather well, so I wouldn't have much problems following the game, however I just prefer to hear the voices in english. It's probably due to the inertion, but like someone said before, you can't deny the fact that most of the people associate english language with the videogames (globalisation aside).