Nine Noir Lives Afrikaans text and voice

edited in Projects
Hi guys, we're hard at work on our "point-and-lick" adventure game Nine Noir Lives. We've recently decided to support an Afrikaans translation (text and voice).

Below is a sample of that in the game (no voice yet and no lip syncing animations). So my question, is the novelty factor big enough for you as an individual to purchase said game for 15 USD, with the main motivation being because it's Afrikaans. Trying to gauge novelty factor relating into sales..


Comments

  • Well as much as this research is valid, this little place is actually very not representative of a potential pool of buyers. So I hope you try to reach a broader audience with this question to gauge interest.

    But for me, well no.
  • edited
    Some Afrikaans speaking players would certainly appreciate it but I doubt a player will buy it just because it is translated in Afrikaans, especially if they were not interested in point-n-click games and the theme/setting of the game.

    South African gamers are used to English and the kind of players who would prefer an Afrikaans version are not the kind that would be scrolling through Steam, looking for new games. Thinking about my mom for example, she struggles with English but she also do not play any computer games and only the occasion casual on her phone.

    I could be totally wrong and like Tuism pointed out, this forum is not representative at all. We are mainly developers here and even the Afrikaans speaking among might prefer English just because we got so used to it.

    Maybe try the mybroadband forum too with a post about this topic.
  • The two above have valid points. You should do some wider research on this.
    For me personally (and I am afrikaans) it's a no. If you have time to kill and it doesn't cost you anything, sure, you can add it to the game, but in my opinion you should spend any real resources on this.
    The 2 main reasons being:
    1. It's a very niche thing, and most of your buyers probably won't care about it.
    2. Being South African (or afrikaans) is not the main selling point of your game. If I take Boet Fighter as an example, their main focus was the whole South African vibe. Their marketing revolved around this and pretty much the whole theme of the game. So they focused this out and aimed their marketing at this. I really enjoyed watching their marketing videos, because it spoke to the theme of the game.
    I just can't see how a checkmark on steam would help your sales much, or that spending time on a video promoting the fact it is available in afrikaans wil be worth the effort.

    I realise this come across quite negative, it's not meant to be. If you want to add the language into the game, and tell people that you have a game on Steam and it's in afrikaans, go for it, but you might get 1 or 2 sales more if you add it in, and probably not much more because of the language. I haven't actually checked which languages you support, but if you only have english, adding another popular language would be much more beneficial.
    Thanked by 1Lesedi_Mosadi
  • Thanks guys! I'll take all the advice into account :D
  • Can I ask where your team is based so I can add your game to the Steam curator's list?
  • Hey, sure - we're based in Pretoria
  • There's a pretty huge demand for Afrikaans media including books, film, music, and if I'm not mistaken the Afrikaans "Singstar" did pretty well. If you can find the right place to market it, the humour is translatable, and it doesn't offend any cultural sensibilities that might be typically associated with Afrikaans communities you could probably carve a nice niche with it. The trick will be finding how to market to that niche.

    How family-friendly is the game? Is it something you could market as being good for Afrikaans parents to play with their kids? Because the Afrikaans parents I do know are always looking for appropriate Afrikaans media to enjoy with their kids.
  • mattbenic said:
    There's a pretty huge demand for Afrikaans media including books, film, music, and if I'm not mistaken the Afrikaans "Singstar" did pretty well. If you can find the right place to market it, the humour is translatable, and it doesn't offend any cultural sensibilities that might be typically associated with Afrikaans communities you could probably carve a nice niche with it. The trick will be finding how to market to that niche.

    How family-friendly is the game? Is it something you could market as being good for Afrikaans parents to play with their kids? Because the Afrikaans parents I do know are always looking for appropriate Afrikaans media to enjoy with their kids.
    Absolutely!! This is exactly my reasoning! We are specifically aiming for reference timeless humor that is appropriate for all ages. It's not a kids game though as it deals with some mature themes and the humour is quite sharp but it's structured to be approachable. The only key is to get the word out there, luckily I have some contacts in the Afrikaans media that I'll leverage! It's good to know that I'm not the only one that sees the potential here :)
    Thanked by 1mattbenic
  • No real advice on the Afrikaans issue, but that ''pink panther-y'' tune is catchy as hell
    Thanked by 1WilliamHK
  • The art/graphics is awesome and it is interesting to see a game in a language that is so, so familiar, yet feels strange in a games medium, but only because it is so under-explored and unexpected. :)

    If a target audience is tied to expected sales there is indeed reason for concern, as the potential audience is minuscule.

    Technically I would look at the speed of the text and allowing the player the time to read it at leisure. It disappears too quickly and it seems from the video there is no control over the time afforded to read the text. Don't assume player reading speed... I want to make a "koppie koffie en 'n beskuitjie" while I contemplate the last paragraph spoken :)
  • konman said:
    The art/graphics is awesome and it is interesting to see a game in a language that is so, so familiar, yet feels strange in a games medium, but only because it is so under-explored and unexpected. :)

    If a target audience is tied to expected sales there is indeed reason for concern, as the potential audience is minuscule.

    Technically I would look at the speed of the text and allowing the player the time to read it at leisure. It disappears too quickly and it seems from the video there is no control over the time afforded to read the text. Don't assume player reading speed... I want to make a "koppie koffie en 'n beskuitjie" while I contemplate the last paragraph spoken :)
    Thanks Konman! I think you bring up a super valid point and luckily I don't expect the sales to merit us doing it - I just want to do it because it's not really been done before. We are actually in talks to have it fully voiced so you might get to hear lines while chewing away on your 'beskuitjie' :D
    Thanked by 2konman Lesedi_Mosadi
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