What can I do to lower my localization costs?
The single biggest thing you can do to cut your translation costs is to make your content consistent. Say, for example, you write three different strings that all have the same meaning, and are used in similar contexts:
String 1: I’m from London.
String 2: I am from London
String 3: I’m from London (Yes, removing a full stop counts as a separate phrase.)
Computer assisted translation tools will identify this as three separate phrases, despite it really only being one. So instead of translating a phrase once, these phrases will be set aside as three separate translations.
This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but think of it like this:
String 1 + String 2 + String 3 = 10 words
10 words x $0.10 (generalized cost of translation per word) = $1.00 (the cost of making a single change).
Now multiply that by, say, another 1000 inconsistencies in your project and the costs stack up.
But if these phrases are all the same, the calculation becomes a whole lot different. Instead of 10 words, a CAT tool would only identify four. And because the cost of a repeated string is lower than an entirely new translation, the cost of any change is reduced too.
Additionally, clever coding can cut costs. If you are using the same string all the time, code it in so that it can be called up in different parts of the game.
Finally, avoid hard-coding text. This is super, super mega important. If your text is hard-coded it will take you a considerable amount of time and effort before you can even send it off for translation.