Terra Translations Earns Great Place To Work™ Certification - Portadaa
18/10/2022

Terra Translations Earns Great Place To Work™ Certification 

At Terra Translations, our values compel us to cultivate a company culture that we can take pride in. We’ve made it a priority to ensure that all our team members feel seen and supported. Going the extra mile to check in with each employee has been our focus, especially over these past few challenging years. In return, our employees have spoken! For the second year, Terra earns a Great Place to Work (GPTW) recognition.

What is GPTW?

GPTW is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and leadership behaviors. These attributes guarantee market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation. The certification aims to make the world a better place by recognizing companies with healthy and engaging workplaces.

In order to be certified by GPTW, organizations are given a comprehensive employee survey. Over the course of a two-week period, the company will also complete a Cultural Proposal that summarizes the work environment and culture. Upon completing these reports, a third-party committee reviews submissions and identifies whether the organization meets GPTW’s certification criteria.

GPTW Year Two

Last year Terra earned an impressive 93 out of 100 regarding employees’ opinions on Terra being a great place to work. This year we did even better, scoring 98 out of 100. Not only is this score higher, but Terra also had a higher overall average for survey statements, rising from 92 to 94. After Terra shares the results with teams, we do something unique. We organize special meetings with every team member and HR to review the results and discuss any additional needs they may have. This is to ensure our employees have a safe space to comfortably voice their opinions they find difficult to share within a larger group. Terra implements feedback from our team members at every level of the organization.

Earning this designation for a consecutive year signifies Terra’s growth and commitment to employee well-being. The GPTW team supported Terra throughout the 2021 year to better connect our employees’ passions with their work. Their guidance has been critical to our continued success and our overall survey score improvement.

Our Commitment Continues

Terra will continue building an empowering workplace with ongoing initiatives such as our well-being program and career enrichment. For instance, we ensure that our team has the necessary equipment and accessories that make their jobs more comfortable. We hold stretching sessions and share articles that promote mindfulness. Additionally, we identify skill gaps and offer training programs that allow employees to grow their skills and knowledge. Lastly, as a remote company, we work diligently to curate social spaces and strengthen interpersonal relationships. This includes launching an employee recognition program where staff nominates their colleagues. We also have a dedicated studio where employees can gather to work or meet in person as they like. To ensure a positive and effective impact on our employees, we adapt our initiatives to their needs. They can choose to participate or not with an open invitation to share how we can improve.

People First

With a people-first approach to company culture, Terra believes in authentic and genuine care for our staff.

“We firmly believe that people are the most important thing in our company. And that is not just a mere catchphrase: It’s a reality,” explained Natalia Quintás, Chief People Officer at Terra. “We consider people in every decision we make.”

Unfortunately, not all companies promote a work culture where everyone feels like they belong. The threat of disconnection and division looms as our future grows more remote. For management, the transition and engaging a remote workforce can be daunting. At Terra, we emphasize inclusivity and diversity and let every person know that we’re in this together. We are not a company driven by competition but by collaboration, we complement each other.

As we continue our journey of learning, we consider GPTW a vital tool in this evolution. The feedback from this survey and our post-survey check-ins will only help us improve and become a stronger organization for our team and future team members as our company grows. We set our sights on next year’s certification, as it will be an achievement we will continue to strive for.

11/10/2022

How the Video Game Localization Testing Process Works and Why it Matters

It takes a lot of work to create a video game with an intriguing plot, well-developed characters, and a unique universe. The work doesn’t stop there if you want to localize your video game in order to break into new markets. A key step to ensuring that your localized video game is just as dynamic as the original is to undergo localization testing. Let’s take a closer look at what the video game localization testing process looks like and why it’s so important. 

What the Video Game Localization Testing Process Involves

So, what exactly does video game testing involve? Generally, the testing isn’t done by the translator. Instead, the testing is completed by a testing company or a hired tester who plays the game and identifies bugs.

The main goal of the testing phase is to make the product look and feel natural for the gamer as well as making sure the gameplay works fine. Testers not only check for linguistic or cultural issues, but also other visual or gameplay issues. 

Some of the things testers will check are the proper date, time, and currency formats corresponding to the regions and locales used. Color schemes are an important element to review too, as color can have different meanings in various cultures

Most importantly, the testers check the UI and appearance. They check that all the images containing text are localized, line breaks on the screens are in proper places, dialogs, pop-ups, and notifications or updates appear correctly, and that the text fits into all the fields without overflowing. 

Why the Video Game Localization Testing Process Matters

The reason localization testing is such an important step is because it helps video game creators confirm that the localized and translated version of their video game is consistent, clear, and as high quality as the original version. A high quality localization process ensures that a game maintains the original tone and feel of the game in whatever language it is translated into. The video game localization testing process is a key step because it helps check for this level of quality. You want your players to be able to play and understand your video game exactly as you intended it upon your original creation, even if it’s in a different language. 

The video game localization testing process isn’t necessary because translators and localization experts aren’t good at their jobs. It’s necessary as a second line of defense in a very complex process. Video game localization requires that a lot of different strings be translated and it’s commonplace to translate these strings out of order or context, which can lead to things literally getting lost in translation. Localization testing is a necessary step to review a translation as a whole and to make sure that all text is correct, coherent, and consistent. 

Don’t Forget to Laugh At Mistakes

As frustrating as finding a mistake is during the testing process, mistakes can happen and they aren’t always a bad thing. 

In the video game “Hitman: Blood Money”, there’s a mistake that’s become a fan favorite. In the mission titled “A Dance with the Devil”, there’s a lobster crate located in the kitchen area. If you pick it up and inspect it, you will see a development note addressed to Allan that read “Allan please add details here”. This mistake led to future appearances of the same note across a variety of Hitman games in the form of Easter eggs. For a good laugh, you can check out that famous mistake here

CAT-tools-Desktop-vs.-Browser-based-Portada
04/10/2022

CAT tools: Desktop vs. Browser-based 

Computer assisted translation (CAT) tools can integrate multiple and complex solutions, modules, menus, and features, but they also can adapt to be as simple as to fit in a browser’s tab. Basically, within the range of software solutions that assist translation and localization workflows, we can distinguish two types. The first includes software applications users need to install and run locally on their computers. The second group is online browser-based editors that project managers and linguists can access via an internet browser. Each type of CAT tool has its pros and cons, and we’ll sum up the most important below. 

Ease of Use and Accessibility: in the Cloud 

The main advantage of browser-based CAT tools, like XTM, Memsource, SmartCat, or Wordbee, among many others, is their accessibility. Since users don’t need to install any application, they can work on different computers by following a shared link. This makes projects more easily allocable, given that there are fewer hardware and operating system constraints (no need to install, more flexible requirements, user can borrow equipment, etc.). Furthermore, web-based solutions imply lower costs for clients and for linguists in terms of licensing and hardware. 

However, browser-based CAT tools depend strongly on the quality of Internet connectivity. This is one of their major cons, because bad connectivity really affects the performance of the platform and of the resources involved. Work is slower, online resources can’t be accessed, such as Translation Memories (TMs) or Term Bases (TBs), and there may be difficulties saving progress. 

Integral Solutions: Desktop Based CAT Tools 

Desktop applications for localization, like memoQ, Trados Studio, or Wordfast, offer comprehensive and complex solutions, and cover almost every need supporting different formats and documents. They allow linguists and localization managers to manage in detail TBs, TMs, and quality assurance (QA) features, in contrast with online editors, that sometimes support simpler configurations. Their comprehensiveness and customization make desktop tools ideal for complex and high-volume projects, where clients and managers need to leverage as many IT resources as possible. 

Desktop apps support offline work, so they are good allies for users with connectivity issues. Yet, they are more expensive and, as they need installation and specific requirements, they are not as versatile as web-based editors. However, most of these CAT tools provide browser-based online solutions, like memoQ WebTrans or Wordfast Anywhere, for instance. Likewise, some browser tools offer desktop applications, like Memsource Editor. 

Quality Assurance Insight 

Both types of CAT tools open up the possibility of exporting and importing finished documents or XLIFF files, which allows users to work in another environment or run QA checks with specialized software, whenever possible. However, this prospect tends to be more limited in browser-based editors. Some tools offer limited exporting options, while in some occasions, the possibility may be deprecated by project managers or clients, as well as other functions. Nevertheless, most browser-based tools integrate some kind of quality check. Choosing between one type of tool or the other must be really an informed choice, since both can add different kinds and degrees of value.