LocQA — Localization Quality Assurance — is the testing of a game’s localization in the actual running game build, not just review of translated text files. LocQA is the step where text that looks correct in a spreadsheet is verified to actually work in the game: fitting in UI containers, rendering with the correct font, displaying in the right context, and not breaking gameplay. Without LocQA, localization bugs — truncated text, font rendering failures, mis-placed strings — reach players and generate negative reviews. This guide explains what LocQA tests, why it requires a reference build, and what issues it catches.

What LocQA Tests

LocQA tests cover several distinct categories: (1) Text truncation — translated text that is longer than the original English may overflow or be cut by UI containers; every UI string must fit within its display area in each language. (2) Font rendering — characters display as correct glyphs, not boxes or substitution characters; CJK, RTL, and extended Latin characters are common failure points. (3) Line breaks — text must break at correct positions; CJK languages have different line-break rules (no spaces; break between characters), and some languages cause problems with automatic hyphenation. (4) Variable substitution — placeholders (player name, number values, item names) must substitute correctly in the target language; grammatical agreement issues can arise when variables interact with localized text. (5) Context accuracy — strings must match their visual context in the game; text that looks correct in isolation may be wrong in context (a button label vs. a menu header, for example). (6) Gameplay impact — localized text in tutorial sequences, timed prompts, or gameplay-critical UI must function correctly at game speed.

Why LocQA Requires a Reference Build

LocQA cannot be performed without a playable reference build of the game. Text review in a CAT tool or spreadsheet only tests linguistic quality — it cannot show whether text fits in the UI, whether fonts render correctly, or whether variables work. Only running the actual game reveals: how text containers are sized, how font assets handle the target language’s character set, how the game engine handles right-to-left text direction, and how translations interact with gameplay. A localization project without a reference build means LocQA is impossible — the provider can only deliver translated files and hope they work, without any ability to verify. LocQA-without-build is not LocQA; it is proofreading.

CJK and RTL LocQA

CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and RTL (Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi) languages present the highest technical LocQA requirements. CJK LocQA tests: font file completeness (all required characters in the font asset), character encoding (correct Unicode), line breaking rules (CJK line breaks at character boundaries, not spaces), punctuation rules (CJK punctuation is distinct from Latin), and vertical text support if applicable. RTL LocQA tests: text direction (correct right-to-left rendering), UI mirroring (layout elements correctly reversed), bidirectional text handling (numbers and Latin text within RTL strings), and cursor behavior in text input fields. First-time CJK or RTL implementation requires additional LocQA scope — these rendering requirements often reveal engine configuration issues that must be resolved before the translation is usable.

LocQA Deliverables

At the end of a LocQA pass, the localization provider delivers: a LocQA bug report (categorized by language, severity, and bug type), corrected string files addressing confirmed LocQA findings, and documentation of any findings that require developer action (UI resizing, font file updates, engine configuration changes). LocQA bugs are categorized by severity: Critical (gameplay-breaking, text completely missing, crash), Major (text truncated, UI overflow, significant context error), and Minor (cosmetic issues, spacing, punctuation inconsistencies). Critical and Major bugs should be resolved before release; Minor bugs may be acceptable in some contexts. After developer-side fixes, a LocQA recheck verifies that resolutions were correctly implemented.

Frequently Asked Questions