Our Inclusive Language Origin Story

Two years ago, inclusive language was a dream in the distance, a well-meaning intention but never a priority. That all changed when Electronic Arts (EA) put together the taskforce. Not a band of superheroes but a group of everyday people with a mission to invoke change. In this session, attendees will learn how EA created inclusive language guides for 30 languages, and how it has helped us embed inclusion into localization. They’ll also find out how they’ve been building an inclusive language community and their plan for the future.

Takeaways: Attendees will receive some real practical tips on how to raise awareness of inclusive language; tips on building a strategy; and learn about common challenges to inclusion and how to tackle them.

Presenter:

Amanda Hawthorne
Inclusive Language Specialist
Electronic Arts IL

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Amanda Hawthorne

Inclusive Language Specialist
Electronic Arts IL

Amanda Jane Hawthorne is an inclusive language specialist with a background as an English teacher, trainer, and materials writer. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the area of diversity, specializing in race and LGBT+ awareness. Currently based in Madrid, Amanda works full time in the tech industry, is the founding director of The Bechdel Film Club Madrid, and volunteers with antiracism organizations. She is also an award winning researcher and recently contributed to the book How To Write Inclusive Materials by Tyson Seburn.

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Embedding AI in the Localization Continuum

In this presentation, we will explore several ways in which AI can be used to accelerate the localization of gaming content. Today’s localization flows are increasing in speed and size, with enormous projects on one side and daily tasks that need to be processed almost instantly on the other — both in an increasing number of target languages. To meet these progressively ambitious demands, perfecting the blend between human talent and artificial intelligence is becoming a pressing necessity. We will explain how AI can be deployed to accelerate the delivery of global games and their support operations and explore the challenges that need to be overcome to be successful.

Takeaways: Attendees will learn how and where AI fits best in the localization continuum, both for text and audio; and how to blend human talent with AI to accelerate outputs while maintaining quality.

Presenter:

Tony O'Dowd
KantanAI Director & Head of Localization Technology
Keywords Studios

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Tony O'Dowd

KantanAI Director & Head of Localization Technology
Keywords Studios

Tony O’Dowd is the founder and chief architect of KantanAI, a cloud-based AI and custom machine translation solutions provider which is a part of Keywords Studios. He is a serial entrepreneur and localization veteran with more than 25 years of experience working in the language industry. Tony has previously held senior positions at Lotus Development Corporation, Symantec Corporation, Corel Corporation Ltd., and Alchemy Software Development, which he founded in 2000. He holds a BS in computer science from Trinity College Dublin, and a fellowship from the Localization Research Institute at the University of Limerick. Today, Tony leads innovations in KantanAI and localization technology at Keywords Studios.

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Recruiting for QA and LQA: Round Table Discussion

In this round table discussion, we will discuss challenges and best practices when recruiting for QA and LQA, seen both from a client and a vendor perspective. The conversation will move through the most relevant strategies to create a recruitment pipeline and run successful interviews while navigating ever-changing policies. Our speakers will lead the session and talk about their individual experiences, and we expect all attendees to participate actively and contribute with their own input and ideas.

Presenters:

Vlad Pomarjanschi
QC Localization Team Lead
Ubisoft

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Vlad Pomarjanschi

QC Localization Team Lead
Ubisoft

Vlad Pomarjanschi started his career at Ubisoft six years ago, pursuing his all-time passion for videogames. Vlad quickly got involved in localization testing, subsequently joining QC-LOC where he climbed through the ranks, becoming its team lead three years ago. This position offered him the opportunity to engage in numerous and diverse Ubisoft projects, from small-scope titles to AAAs, facing all the challenges and rewards that come with managing localization testing. Vlad considers himself very lucky to be involved in such an impactful, yet dynamic field, with talents from so many different cultures and backgrounds.

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David Schumacher
Manager, Test Services - PlayStation Studios QA
Sony Interactive Entertainment

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David Schumacher

Manager, Test Services - PlayStation Studios QA
Sony Interactive Entertainment

David Schumacher has worked in the industry for over 17 years, 12 of which have been in quality assurance. Starting his career at Sony Internal QA, David rejoined Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2020 after working alongside clients such as the BBC, Fox, and Rebellion as a producer and lead designer. He is a manager in test services, the group that coordinates functional and localization testing for franchises such as Gran Turismo, Horizon, God of War and Dreams across all PlayStation platforms, and recently including PC and mobile.

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Translation Project Automation: Running a Short-staffed Department with the Help of Automation

In this session, we will see a practical case study about how the Travian localization team implemented automation to reduce staff, eliminate repetitive manual tasks, and speed up turnaround time. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of automation in this specific case.

Presenter:

Robert Herzog
Head of Localization
Travian Games

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Robert Herzog

Head of Localization
Travian Games

Robert Herzog is the of head of localization and writing at Travian Games, overseeing the strategic direction of both departments. He’s been with the company for 11 years, starting as a localization project manager in 2011. Before that, Robert earned his spurs in other video game companies as localization project manager and translator. He found his way into the gaming and localization industry as freelance translator in 2004.

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AI That Closes the Door on Translation Ambiguity

Ambiguity in short segment texts is a frequent issue in video game localization, and the translation of such segments often becomes a question of interpretation. Imagine you are a translator localizing a flight simulator game and you come across a segment titled “empty fuel tank.” Is it a warning that the plane has a serious in-flight problem or is it an instruction for the ground crew to empty the fuel tank before cleaning it? One scenario could be life-threatening for everyone on board, the other could be a routine daily task. Which route should you follow? Such choices are common for the linguist, and even more so for the gaming localization specialist.

Takeaways: Attendees will learn how these ambiguities can be identified and eliminated using cutting-edge AI techniques. AI methods can be applied in many ways, seeing these use cases will help the audience understand where else they could apply them. For example, an automatic detector of ambiguity flags segments that need special attention, directly addressing the linguist’s need for a swift and accurate solution.

Presenter:

Rafał Jaworski
Linguistic AI Expert
XTM International

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Rafał Jaworski

Linguistic AI Expert
XTM International

Rafał Jaworski, PhD, is an academic lecturer and scientist specializing in natural language processing techniques. His alma mater is Adam University in Poznań, Poland, where he works at the Department of Artificial Intelligence. Rafał’s scientific work concentrates around developing robust AI algorithms for the needs of computer assisted translation. These include automatic lookup of linguistic resources and computer assisted post editing, among others. Apart from the research and teaching, he works as linguistic AI expert at XTM International, leading a team of young and talented developers who put his visions and ideas into practice.

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Machine Translation Post-editing Challenges: A Hands-on Workshop

Are you struggling to implement machine translation (MT) into your localization workflow, and you would like to get insights and brainstorm with other peers on how to overcome some of the most common challenges? In this workshop, attendees will discuss the hottest topics in the application of MT into video game localization, from rates to training, through best practices and standards. The attendees will be divided into small groups to facilitate discussion, and each group will then share their highlights with the other groups. Attendees will share and gain knowledge on MT topics from both the client and service provider perspectives and contribute to setting industry-wide standards.

Takeaways: Attendees will learn how to tackle some of the most common MT challenges; share and gain knowledge on MT topics from clients, LSPs, and vendors’ perspectives; and actively participate in creating takeaways together.

Presenters:

Cristina Anselmi
Machine Translation Lead
Electronic Arts

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Cristina Anselmi

Machine Translation Lead
Electronic Arts

Cristina Anselmi is machine translation lead at Electronic Arts (EA). She takes care of everything related to machine translation (MT) implementation and maintenance within EA localization, leads a team of MT specialists, and coordinates several developments around MT. Cristina has been in the video game localization industry since 2012, managing all kinds of multilingual projects, from small mobile games to big MMORPGs, and several AAA titles. Her focus for the past four years has been implementing MT and AI technologies to automate workflows within EA localization. Cristina’s goal is to pave the way for this to be welcome in daily life and to be seen as a help rather than an enemy, a powerful tool that can enhance productivity, without jeopardizing quality and creativity.

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Marie Leininger
Vendor Specialist
Electronic Arts

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Marie Leininger

Vendor Specialist
Electronic Arts

After graduating from the Cologne University of Applied Science, Marie Leininger started work as a localization project manager for marketing content. In 2017, she moved to Electronic Arts as a vendor specialist and interim multilingual localization specialist. Marie’s main focus is on evaluating and defining translation and post-editing quality, and establishing and maintaining vendor relationships.

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