Context before individual words
Players control a cat, crunch leaves, and unlock upgrades. In this world, a description needs to explain what happens while keeping the game’s light, playful mood.
The sample set includes stamina and movement upgrades, a fairy’s dialogue, and leaf counters. Each type of text calls for a different balance of imagery and clarity.
Giving whiskery a familiar Russian voice
In a stamina upgrade, the word whiskery offered an opportunity for cultural adaptation. I chose a reference to Samuil Marshak’s «Усатый-полосатый» instead of a literal rendering.
The reference keeps the feline image and adds a familiar note for Russian-speaking players. The practical meaning — more energy for actions — remains clear.
Original · EN
Supercharge your stamina to stay wild and whiskery as long as you please.Translation · RU
Мощнейший буст выносливости - чтобы носиться усатым-полосатым сколько душе угодно.Original · EN
Wide leaves crunchedTranslation · RU
Похрустано широких листьевFull text · two languages
Cozy Crunch — localization examples
Read original and translation: Cozy Crunch — localization examples
All eight examples from the PDF: the English original and Russian translation. Context and the translator’s notes are preserved in English, as in the source document.
Context: A description for an upgrade that gives the player more energy to perform actions in the game
Supercharge your stamina to stay wild and whiskery as long as you please.
Мощнейший буст выносливости - чтобы носиться усатым-полосатым сколько душе угодно.
Context: The description of an upgrade that increases the amount of energy gained when the player jumps on and "crunches" a leaf.
Crunching leaves gives a bigger boost to your stamina - crunchy and energizing!
Хруст листьев дает еще больше выносливости - хрустяще и бодряще!
Context: The description of an upgrade that increases how quickly the player walks
Your paws move effortlessly, gliding over leaves like a gentle autumn breeze.
Лапы несут легко: скользишь по листьям, словно осенний ветерок.
Context: The description of an upgrade that improves how far away the player can see the fairy character.
Your keen feline eyes now spot the fairy from even farther away, ensuring you never miss a moment of the chase.
Зоркие кошачьи глаза теперь замечают фею еще дальше - ни один маневр не ускользнет.
Context: The name of an upgrade that unlocks an interact-able component that allows the player to roast the leaves that they have collected
LEAF ROASTER
ОБЖАРЩИК ЛИСТЬЕВ
Context: The fairy character is talking to the player character (a cat)
Things might seem slow now, but we're gonna turn you into an unstoppable leaf crushing beast!
Сейчас все может казаться медленным, но мы сделаем из тебя неудержимого зверя, сокрушающего листья!
Context: A tooltip for the total number of the wide leaf variety leaves that were stepped on and crushed
Wide leaves crunched
Похрустано широких листьев
Context: A tooltip for the total number of the tier 1 leaves that were stepped on and crushed
Not very crunchy leaves (Tier 1) crunched
Похрустано не очень хрустящих листьев (Уровень 1)
Feedback from the developer
In his recommendation letter, Jobblesack Games Inc. founder Jo Blaszak specifically highlighted the Marshak reference, attention to detail, and responsiveness to feedback.
This project reflects my approach to localization: understand the player’s action and situation, then find wording that feels at home in that game world.
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