Japanese Localization Consultant for Coin Crew Games
| Dates | Spring 2025 |
| Role | Japanese Localization Consultant |
| Team | Individual, Independent Contract |
| Development Software/Tools | Google Docs |
| Summary |
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Project and role overview
I was contracted by Coin Crew Games in January 2025 as a Japanese Localization Consultant. Coin Crew Games is an indie game studio that has created arcade cabinets as well as video games such as Escape Academy. I was tasked with researching Japanese market trends and localization challenges for escape room-style games.
Market research included Japanese gaming demographics, platform/genre preferences, and trends in real-life escape rooms. I also provided a Japanese language overview with analysis of linguistic characteristics and typical localization challenges. In terms of escape rooms, I provided samples of popular Japanese-specific puzzles and played Escape Academy to offer example localized text and give feedback on areas that would be difficult to adapt.
To write the report, I needed to verbalize basics of Japanese that I took for granted, such as complexities of Kanji, uses/connotations attached to different scripts, and honorifics. In doing so, I feel like I gained a clearer understanding and appreciation for the flexibility and expressiveness of the language. I also think that I could apply the report for future work as a sort of checklist, since it provides such a broad list of topics that need to be considered for localization.