Professional EN → PT-BR localization case study for No Backup, an indie tactical horror game with FPS/bodycam presentation, mission-based progression, interface-heavy systems, and radio dialogue.
Project status: translation and linguistic review completed; in-game linguistic QA pending access to a playable build.
This project covered the translation, adaptation, and linguistic review of player-facing text. The goal was to preserve the original tactical-horror atmosphere while making the Brazilian Portuguese version clear, consistent, and natural.
The work went beyond direct translation. Strings were reviewed according to their function, tone, interface constraints, and possible solo/co-op context.
- EN → PT-BR localization
- linguistic review and revision
- UI, menu, mission, and objective adaptation
- dialogue and radio-line adaptation
- terminology management
- context-based rewriting
- formatting and placeholder awareness
- preparation for an in-game QA pass
- interface and menu text
- mission names and objectives
- areas, items, and collectibles
- controls and settings
- warnings and system messages
- dialogue and radio communication
The PT-BR localization was guided by four priorities:
- Clarity: player instructions and interface labels should be understood quickly.
- Natural language: dialogue should sound written for Brazilian players, not mechanically translated.
- Tone: tactical and horror elements should remain tense without relying on exaggerated jargon.
- Consistency: recurring gameplay, interface, and narrative terms should follow the same decisions throughout the game.
Ambiguous English structures were adapted when necessary to work naturally in PT-BR, particularly when a line could refer to either one player or a co-op team.
- Terminology glossary — key EN → PT-BR decisions and contextual notes
- PT-BR style guide — tone, interface, dialogue, and formatting conventions
- QA notes — completed review work and the planned in-game validation scope
- Review source strings and available context.
- Translate and adapt text by function and tone.
- Standardize recurring terminology.
- Revise interface text, objectives, and dialogue.
- Document style and terminology decisions.
- Prepare validation criteria for implementation testing.
Tools: Poedit, manual terminology tracking, contextual revision, and style-consistency review.
- translation
- linguistic review
- terminology consistency review
- tone and style revision
- contextual refinement based on the available strings and dialogue flow
- text overflow and clipping checks
- contextual validation during gameplay
- subtitle timing and dialogue-flow review
- special-character and formatting validation
- placeholder and variable checks
- final terminology verification in the implemented UI
The project should therefore be considered linguistically reviewed, but not yet fully validated inside the running game.
Internal source files and complete translation materials are not reproduced publicly. This repository documents the process, decisions, and QA preparation without exposing restricted project content.
Brazilian Portuguese localization by Arthur Alves Stefanini.