Testing Localized Builds

This can be the most time-consuming part of localizations since you have to do both linguistic testing and functionality testing. You can save some testing time by using two teams to do concurrent linguistic and functionality testing. Additionally, many of the QA strategies discussed in [Campbell03] would also apply to testing localized builds.

Linguistic Testing

Linguistic testing is where you check all the assets in the game to make sure that text is not overlapping, truncated, misspelled, or grammatically incorrect, and that all the voice-over files play correctly. Linguistic testing should be done by a native speaker of the language being tested. Translation houses often provide this service. Be sure to include time in your testing schedule for sending CDs to the testers, especially if they are in another country.

For linguistic testers, make sure they are familiar with how to play the game and know where all the translations need to be checked. One way is to have them check the text in the game against the text translation spreadsheet they already completed—just add a column for where to look for the text in the game. You can also send them a test plan for the U.S. version of the game. Make sure to provide cheats and walkthroughs.

Determine how you want linguistic bugs reported. If you do not provide a bug report form, you might not get enough information about how to fix the bug. This is especially true in cases where fixes are being made by people who don't speak the language they are fixing bugs for. In cases where you need to get additional text translated, organize it all and send it back to the translator in the same spreadsheet format you used previously. Table 4.5.5 is a sample bug report template for linguistic bugs. It includes information on where to find the bug, what the current (incorrect) translation is, and what the correct translation should be.

Table 4.5.5: Linguistic Bug Report Template

Bug #	Language	Location in Game	Description/Comment	Original Localized Text	Corrected Text	Status
3	Italian	Mission 4 - Briefing	Please use lowercase letter.	... Come forse sapere, il colpo di Stato ad Addis Abeba...	... Come forse sapere, il colpo di stato ad Addis Abeba...	FIXED
9	Italian	After Action Screen player) (single	Text not translated.	Originals Only	Solo originali	CLOSED

Functionality Testing

Functionality testing is where you test the general functionality of the localized build. You are checking for any bugs that the localized assets created that require a code change to fix. Normally, you should not get any functionality bugs since you are only swapping assets. However, if you did not plan for special characters or have text field length restrictions, you might find that you need to make code changes to accommodate the localized assets. Functionality testing can be done by the same QA team that did the U.S. version, since they are basically just running through the U.S. test plan. Bugs can be reported they same way they were for the U.S. version. Take special care to check keyboard input of all the special characters and the keyboard commands.

In addition to equipment used for testing the U.S. versions, you will also need to have multiple copies of each language's operating system and the appropriate keyboard for each language. You should include time in the testing schedule to have these machines set up for testing, especially if you are testing multiple languages at one time.