What's happening with Edna & Harvey?
 

"Edna & Harvey: The Breakout", supposedly to be released in English last year? I've checked around and it's obviously not available yet, but I can't seem to find any further info on its status. Does anyone actually know what's planned? Or are we all to sit here with our fingers crossed? :crazy:

It's still in the works, but they had a setback with localization with threw off the timetable. Late this year is probably the earliest it can be expected, but it's definitely still planned.

Please, please, Patron Saint of the Adventure Games, let there be good English voiceacting? And good audio directing? I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I wouldn't mind if they just give us English subtitles and keep the original German acting (same with The Whsipered World btw).

Well, I'm glad to hear it hasn't been abandoned!

And I'm with Shany! I could definitely live with some subtitles instead of the real deal.

Sorry to bump this but I couldn't help but agree. Doing some research for uni I came across more details on this game and couldn't help but get excited by it. It's a shame it takes so long to get these Daedalic titles after they are released...

More details? :D

I will weigh in as yet another player who would prefer subtitles.

Better. (In the same way that it works for movies -- you get to hear the original inflections and passion and whatever; and maybe learn a bit too)

Faster. (No need to hold recording sessions, less delays like we are experiencing here)

Cheaper. (No need to hire voice talent, extra studio time, etc.)

Let subtitles become the norm. Especially in adventure games where text is most important, usually integral, and something we are used to ... and we are elitists.

Well, maybe subs would be faster, cheaper and better (arguably) but in this special case that would mean that at least ten percent of all of the lines wouldn't be real subtitles as they would have to say something completely different than the original German to get the jokes across. And those are a lot. Many of them linguistic jokes, too. Timing of puns comes to mind as well. So I can understand why a developer (or probably the publisher even more so) would prefer the whole shebang with emotional expression in the language of the targeted audience, with humor that's genuine to that language and with an opportunity to straighten out "mistakes" that have been made in the original.

By the way, I believe that the ones who will be drawn to an original version wit subs are still in the minority (considering the mainstream. Or how many US citizens go rent a foreign movie and watch it in the original language? Having to read all the time can distract from the plot, the characters and so on, too). But that's just a guess.

As for the "announced" date of Q4 2009: This has to be a misprint. As far as I know they struck the deal in early August. It would not even have been possible to translate the thing (roughly a bit over 28,000 lines), proofread it, let alone test it properly even if they had gone for subs only. So Q4 2010 was more likely from the beginning.

Furthermore I have the suspicion that US publishers want to buy a sure thing, so naturally they have to wait for significant success of the game in the home territory before they take on the risk (which is, of course minimized using that policy).

Cheers from sunny and extraordinarily warm Scotland, Dan.

Well I knew there would be argument for the "mainstream"...

That's why I put that bit in about "elitists".

You're right, everything should pander to the mainstream. Even though 4 adventure gamers immediately joined in on the subtitles idea...

Let's give up; never speak against market "smarts"; pander to the mainstream with out a second thought; play easy, mundane, menial, mediocre games; assist and accelerate this sickening trend by accepting the HOG (i.e. inane, mind-numbing crap) infestation into what was once a thinking-persons genre; oh, let's all have our walk-throughs at the ready!; and, whenever we get a chance... argue for more junk -- 12 HOGs a day just isn't enough!

@Lana:

Do I hear some bitterness in your last post? No need for that. I like to watch movies in the original language but I'm not a fan of Subtitles. Which might make me even more "elitist" ;)

But you seem to be making the point that translating a movie or game AND dubbing it somewhat diminishes the quality thereof. Sorry, I think that's nonsense.

I was just trying to see things from the perspective of a developer/publisher and those have to keep the mainstream in mind. They are not all enthusiastic artistic philanthropists (although there might be a tendency in AGs in that direction ...). You have to make money to be able to make another game. Maybe this could even work out like in the business of publishing books. You need "sellers" to be able to make artistic gems.

And yes, four immediately joined in. But four members of an "elitist" forum (your word, not mine) are hardly a number a dev or publisher can make money on.

So, to make it clear: I am not entirely against subs (they just personally distract me) but I feel that those who cannot stand them should have an opportunity to enjoy whatever the "elitist" enjoy, too.

Cheers, Dan.

ps: Had to rewrite the whole post, because my internet provider sucks:(

Oh, forget to mention this the second time:

You edited the post before your last (the "elitist"-thing), while I was creating mine, so I didn't know about it until I had already posted.

Yeah, I was being sarcastic. Maybe a little too much.

But it's just that I knew someone would find it necessary to speak up for the "mainstreaming" of things. It's no secret that the mundane is marketable.

Everyone understands that producing homogenized, LCD junk is less risky.

It doesn't mean that Coldplay doesn't suck. It doesn't mean that Taco Bell isn't to be avoided. It doesn't mean that I should accept whatever declines and just hop in my car, pull up to the drive-thru, order my "Coldplay/HotPak" cross-promotional Enchrito & Mini CD Meal... because the marketing dept at PepsiCo have "had an idea that the kids will love!".

Well, sure there's a trend in commercialisation that sucks out the artistic aspects of a product, dumbs it down or accustoms it to a mass audience and therefore eliminates anything unusual or "weird".
It doesn't happen necessarily or automatically, though.
And what has dubbing to do with this again?

Only subtitling a product may spare costs, but may also reduce the profit.
And since when is dubbing less "artful"?

@Lana again:

I couldn't help but notice two things:

1st: You obviously have an axe to grind with your perceived inferiority of the "mainstream".

2nd: You do not react to any other points and arguments that are being made.

This leads me to believe you are not really interested in a discussion. So this is going to be it for me.

Just one last thing: We are discussing one particular game that many consider to be quite good, very "un-mainstream" (but it has won prizes in Germany!? ...) and all in all remarkable.

Is it really your point that translating this particular game *and* dubbing it would "dumb it down"? If so I really have no idea what you were trying to say, or why, for that matter.

@ ozzie:

Thanks, you seem to be able to say in just two sentences what I am trying to imply in a whole article. Less is more!

Cheers, Dan.

Yeah I have to say I hadn't thought of subbing having that much of a demand on developers, but now you've highlighted it ADan I can understand.

I'm guessing this notion of dumbing down with dubs goes back to things like anime dubbing and the whole debacle with censorship, but I don't think this is the case with game dubbing. I don't think there's any dumbing down, I just voiced my preference for subbing if it meant an earlier release.

At the end of the day I just want this game! Dub, sub - whatever! I just want to play it :frown:

Hang in there, man. Have faith! I'm confident that the game will see the light of day. In English. Dubbed.

Cheers, Dan.

Lana, are you pushing for a reaction from Dan or something? I'm surprised he hasn't snapped back at you, with the condescending bullsh*t you've been throwing at him.

Kudos to you, Dan, for keeping your cool

I'm still interested in what you were referring to by this, Sughly. Can you shed any more light on the games situation? :D

Ohhh no, no, sorry, misunderstanding here. By details I mean the standard screenshots/trailers in German which I didn't pay as much attention to before but have since thought 'hey yeah what the hell is happening with that game?'.

So nothing new, sorry :frown:

Okay, here is something that doesn't say much but seems reasonable enough:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/945237-ed...-breakout/data

"TBA 2010"

Cheers.

I believe you are in the translation business and you're arguments are valid, but to both subtitles and voice overs. Both need careful and creative translation. However, I think subtitles are certainly cheaper to accomplish. And it is done in films and television shows all the time, so no need to worry about timing for that matter. It can and has been done time and time over. Even in mute adventures - like monkey island - with great success in my opinion.
You are however probably right about the US and UK customer because they are not accustomed to subtitles. But it would be widely accepted in countries where subtitles are more common. Maybe these markets could justify the development of a subtitled version. If successful the translation could be re-used for a full voice over.

nonax:
"You are however probably right about the US and UK customer because they are not accustomed to subtitles. But it would be widely accepted in countries where subtitles are more common. Maybe these markets could justify the development of a subtitled version. If successful the translation could be re-used for a full voice over."

Fair enough. I can agree with that. But in the case of Edna and Harvey it is still kind of difficult. For me the expression "subtitle" implies that the lines written in the lower part of the screen (or wherever) should say exactly what the actors say. That is just not possible in the game we're discussing here. You would lose ten percent of the jokes.

Of course you still can do it with a "creative translation" as subs but it would still a different thing than traditional subtitles then.

Anyway, as much the gamer wants to get to play the game they are interested in asap ... the decision still lies with the publisher/developer and their partners what they are going for and I suspect they take into consideration all the pros and cons and not only the preferences of a (supposed) minority of gamers.

But, yeah indeed, I can imagine games that are not being dubbed. Should be especially interesting with languages that are somewhat off my realm of experience. Like Polish, Russian or Urdu maybe ;)

Cheers, Dan.

nonax:
"Even in mute adventures - like monkey island - with great success in my opinion"

Talking about mute adventures: I absolutely love the concept of Samorost and Machinarium. Things like that have no need for translations and translators ... that basically puts me out of business and still: Absolutely marvelous! Those little stick men stories are really something. I definitely want to see more of that. Makes for something like a universal language.
(But of course you can't do any kind of game with this technique).

Cheers, Dan.

Obviously Daedalic has updated the information on their website concerning the English release:

http://forum.daedalic.de/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=492

Mind you it is not officially announced yet but it seems possible that it'll be finished anywhere between Q4 2010 and Q2 2011.

I just stumbled upon this:

[ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edna-Harvey-.../dp/B003Z6QH4Y ]

Although release dates on Amazon are notoriously off by quite a bit it's a good sign that there finally *is* a release date.

Too bad they couldn't make the holiday season ...

Attachment 2137:frusty:

Attachment 2138 for the info, ADan.

Cheers, ADan!

2011 is going to be a good year for my PC games collection!

It seems that the release for the UK (Lace Mamba) has been accelerated to Jan. 21st:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edna-Harvey-.../dp/B003Z6QH4Y

Furthermore I found out that the US release (via Viva Media) will even be earlier on Jan. 18th. That's a week from now!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...&index=blended

I wonder if there'll be a review of the English version on this site soon ...

Attachment 2177
Attachment 2178 for the great news! I can hardly wait to play Edna and Harvey :9.

Mine's on pre-order! :D

Thanks so much ADan, that's excellent news! My mind was drifting off, wondering hazily what new source of gaming stimulant I might possibly be able to find in recent times. I think I just found it.

Wow, I like this game a lot and the edition is quite beautiful :D

I'd like to preorder it too, but I can't find anywhere if this game is finally dubbed in English, why is always so hard to find basic info like this?...

Do you know if this game is going to be dubbed in English?, I can't find that info anywere :pan:

Thanks

Hi Zenger,

sorry for the delay. Yes, these versions are fully localized and dubbed. (At least I know for sure they have been translated ;).

I don't know about the quality of the voice acting, though. That's why I'm in part very interested in a full review. Of course I'm keen on finding out how the translation itself is doing with the critics ...

Thank You very much for your answer ADan :D

Kind regards

any news on english subs over german voices?

I wouldn't know. But I don't think the German audio is included in the English versions.

Consider this: 28 000 lines of audio (in wav-format?) worth about five to eight hours (or even more) amounts to a lot of data. Plus, there's always the question wether the majority of the targeted audience actually wants that feature (as discussed earlier).

I'm sorry I can't provide any concrete (or positive) information as I'm quite remote from the production process once I've handed in my translation.

Aha, so you were indeed responsible for the translation. Just like I suspected. :) Steve Ince involved again too?

Hi Guys and Gals.

E+H Collectors will have full English Voice Overs - and without being biased the full Collector's Edition looks really great!

Jason
Lace Mamba Global

The North American version is actually due on February 8th.

Never, EVER rely on Amazon as a reliable release source. ;)

Hey Jack :)

Agree, Amazon are usually "slow" at altering dates which is pretty frustrating but....

Well, Amazon.co.uk are spot on, full stock is already sat in our warehouse and the version looks great....... some on their way to you ;)

Jason