Talking Localization with Raphael Boccardo – S02E03

Localization is more than translating a sentence. It’s about adapting meaning, emotion, and context across cultures. A game’s dialogue, a mobile app’s interface, a documentary’s narration, or even the error message that pops up at the wrong time, they all require more than just the right words. They need to feel right.

That’s why localization is more than a language skill. It requires empathy, cultural awareness, and the instinct to reshape content in a way that connects with people on a deeper level. In this blog post, we had the chance to talk with Raphael Boccardo, a localization professional with hands-on experience across a range of industries from games to pharmaceuticals. He now leads Brazilian Portuguese localization efforts as a Project Manager. We asked him some of the questions we’ve always been curious about.

1- Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi! I’m Raphael Boccardo, and I’ve been in the localization industry for over 10 years. I started out in the pharmaceutical sector as a proofreader and translator, and later had the opportunity to lead large-scale pharmaceutical projects as a project manager. In 2023, I shifted my focus to gaming localization, and I’m currently working as a Localization Project Manager for games, specializing in Brazilian Portuguese. I’m also pursuing a PhD in Spanish Literature.

2- In your opinion, what’s the secret to a great localization? Is it about keeping the original meaning, making it easy to understand and natural for the new audience, or adding a creative touch?

Great localization strikes a balance between creativity and a deep understanding of the target audience. A strong localization team not only aims to be creative but also makes an effort to truly understand how the audience thinks, speaks, and interprets the content.

3- What do you think is the toughest “boss fight” in the localization process?

I believe the toughest part is when management isn’t fully prepared to handle complex situations in a timely and strategic way. This often leads to communication gaps, delays, and last-minute decisions that could have been avoided with better planning. In localization, where timing and context are everything, these moments can have a direct impact on quality and team morale.

4- What do you do when you’re handed a text with zero context?

Zero context is very complicated because even when you try to stay as close as possible to the source text, you can still make mistakes. I think it’s about trying to reach a balance between being creative and being careful not to deviate too much from the source, but also taking some chances. Localization is always a risky job, lol.

5- What’s the most interesting bug you’ve encountered during the LQA process?

I think one of the most common bugs we encounter during the LQA process is missing target audio. It’s always a tough situation when you’re doing LQA and the localized audio doesn’t trigger properly, because that directly affects the player’s experience.

6- Is there any other tool or resource you can’t work without during the localization process, apart from your usual CAT tool?

I think good old Linguee, Google, and similar websites can definitely help during the localization process. And of course, a dictionary: you can never go wrong with this classic and powerful tool.

7- What are your thoughts on the growing use of AI and machine translation in the localization industry? Do you think these technologies are breathing new life into the industry or slowly killing it? I don’t think MT is a good tool for localization, especially in gaming. It often results in poor translations that actually slow down the process. In many cases, MT output is so unhelpful that translators end up starting from scratch. AI can be a powerful tool when used to support localization management and workflows, but not as a shortcut to generate final target texts. Unfortunately, it is often used today as a way for some LSPs to cut costs at the expense of freelancers. But this isn’t really an AI problem. It’s a systemic issue. In the end, these companies would probably find other ways to underpay translators anyway. Maybe it’s time to change the system.

We’re really grateful to Raphael Boccardo for taking the time to chat with us. With hands-on experience in both gaming localization and pharmaceuticals localization, he’s a great example of how versatile and far-reaching this field truly is. Hope you enjoyed this peek behind the curtain as much as we did.