Want to know what it was like to translate the wacky Metal Gear Rising? Want to find out how long it took to get Fire Emblem: Awakening to U.S. shores? Today’s a good day to get answers.
Welcome to Kotaku Asks, a weekly feature where we invite guests from the world of gaming to come answer burning questions from Kotaku readers. (If you think you’d be a good guest or have any requests for future guests, e-mail me.)
Today we’ve got Mark MacDonald, executive director at the Tokyo-based localization house 8-4. For over a decade now, MacDonald and crew have been translating and localizing Japanese games to English—you might have seen their work in the aforementioned Fire Emblem and Metal Gear or you might have played it in Dragon’s Dogma, Tales of Xillia, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and many other games. They also localize English games for Japanese audiences and run a fun podcast called 8-4 Play.
Mark will be answering questions for an hour or two starting at 9am Eastern. Ask anything you’d like.
UPDATE: Q&A’s over—thanks to Mark for taking the time to chat with us today.