1st June 2022 by Lois from LangLink
Introduction
Would you let your children play video games?
This is a question every parent faces sooner or later.
Video games have become an integral part of children’s lives. With new generations of parents embracing digital learning and mobile entertainment, games are increasingly seen as a bridge between education and fun. According to global research, nearly 70% of parents allow their children to play video games, and many even support their children’s in-game purchases. Some parents view educational games as an effective solution to improve motivation and learning outcomes.
The global market for children’s toys and games surpassed USD 270 billion in 2020, while the compound annual growth rate for educational games exceeded 30%. Clearly, video games are shaping the experiences of young learners worldwide.
As a company specializing in IT and game localization, and deeply committed to supporting educational and child-friendly content, LangLink Games frequently receives localization requests for children’s games. Each project requires not just linguistic precision, but also a sense of responsibility to both young players and their parents.
Evaluating the game content
At the end of last year, LangLink Games received a request to localize NanoBytes, a simulation game developed by Kade Global, a Hong Kong-based company renowned for its creative children’s products. In the game, players collect NanoBytes to build their own ByteWorld — a vibrant city filled with amusement and challenges. The game’s player base consists of approximately 60% children, 20% teenagers, and 20% adults.
The project involved localizing the English version into Traditional Chinese for players in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Before starting, the LangLink team conducted a thorough game content evaluation to ensure the title’s suitability for younger audiences — a crucial step in children’s game localization. The team downloaded and tested the game to assess its gameplay, visual design, and overall message. With its wholesome humor, peaceful tone, and positive community feedback, the game was deemed educational, healthy, and appropriate for localization.
Selecting caring parents experienced in gaming translation
For this project, choosing the right linguists was key to success.
LangLink maintains an extensive network of professional translators specializing in game localization, but children’s games require more than technical accuracy — they demand warmth, empathy, and creativity.
The project management team selected linguists who are also parents, experienced in gaming and child-related content. Their dual perspective helped shape a localization style that resonates with both children and parents.
The linguists developed a translation style guide emphasizing clarity, simplicity, and emotional connection. They adapted puns, cultural jokes, and context-specific humor into language that children could easily understand while retaining the game’s playfulness. When needed, additional contextual notes were added to support comprehension without losing the original charm.
Q: What do you get if you cross a Cheeseburger and a computer?
A: A Big Mac!
問：如果將起士漢堡和電腦放在一起，會得到什麼？
答：大麥克 (Big Mac，麥當勞餐點，也是蘋果電腦型號名稱)！
This approach ensured the localized version preserved its humor, educational value, and family-friendly appeal — reflecting LangLink’s belief that localizing for children is not just translation, but cultural and emotional adaptation.
Seamless Collaboration for a Meaningful Result
In terms of process, we established online cooperation mechanisms to facilitate internal communication within our team and to enable our client to advise on our glossary and translation style and answer our questions at any time. The project proceeded smoothly thanks to our client’s prompt response. After the translation was done, we invited our experienced test personnel to play the translated version of the game to ensure that we handled everything properly and the content remained fun and lively.
In the end, we delivered it to our client contentedly, and our client was satisfied with our language and the care for children we displayed behind it. It was a responsible piece of work to me. I’m looking forward to playing it with my kids after its Chinese version is released. Also, I’m looking forward to receiving more fun children’s game localization requests from our clients!
Conclusion
Now, we arehappy to see more and more children’s game developers and stakeholders working together to develop for children’s physical and mental health. We cannot deny that video games help children to recognize their social roles and identities, but we also see the negative effects of serious video game addiction on our next generation. This is mainly reflected in the fact that video games are not conducive to the physical health of children, especially young children. Excessive use of eyes and hands can lead to myopia, amblyopia, and wrist inflammation in young children. Serious video game addiction is also unhelpful for children to develop temperance, discernment, and other good qualities.
Therefore, at the end of this article, I, as a caring parent, propose the following to parents who allow their children to play games:
- Help select games to make sure they are healthy and beneficial to children’s mental development.
- Set up restrictions on time and money spent on games to develop temperance.
- Accompany kids when they are playing games to share happiness with them.
Last but not least, wish you all a happy Children’s Day!
