How to Slay the Princess: Altagram’s Localization Approach to the Pristine Cut 

You’re on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess. You’re here to slay her. If you don’t, it will be the end of the world. 

Slay the Princess is a 2023 horror adventure game developed by Black Tabby Games and published by Serenity Forge. Due to its success following its original release, an expanded edition titled The Pristine Cut was released a year later, on October 24th, 2024. This edition features new content and includes translations for 12 languages. 

A Glimpse into the Localization Process  

Altagram's involvement in localizing Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut was a comprehensive effort spanning multiple departments and teams:  

Timeline: 60 business days for localization 

Languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Polish. 

Text Localization: +2.5 million words across 12 languages 

LQA: 1,412 edits across 12 languages 

Identifying Main Challenges 

Slay the Princess is a visual novel that unfolds through beautifully illustrated scenes from the perspective of the protagonist who has been tasked with deciding the fate of the princess, the world, and himself. The core gameplay involves selecting dialogue options or actions, with the story evolving based on the player's choices. It features a branching, looping narrative, where each cycle centers on the player's decision to either save or kill the princess. 

To Slay or not to Slay: The Art of a Killer Translation 

In Slay the Princess, the word “slay” plays a crucial role, not only in the title but also throughout the game’s narrative. While it may seem to imply the opposite of “save the Princess,” the term carries deeper meaning. After playing the game build and watching the walkthrough, our teams came to realize that “slay” in this context isn’t about killing the Princess—it might be more about a different form of salvation. The game challenges players to rethink the very idea of what it means to “save” or “slay.”  

When working with a title, there’s always a marketing aspect to be considered, which drove the client’s decision to keep the title in English for FIGS, ESLA, PTBR, and RU to retain brand recognition and to localize it for Asian markets for better accessibility. Therefore, finding the best translation for the term “slay” wasn’t exactly an easy task for all languages. To tackle this challenge, we relied heavily on queries to the client using Alocai Query Platform and internal discussions using Alocai Team Channels.  

Each language had varying degrees of difficulty when picking the right path to come to a solution. For instance, the German team decided after internal discussions to translate “slay” when it appeared in the game as “erschlagen,” a term commonly used in fairy tales and myths for killing monsters, dragons or mythical foes. It’s thematically fitting and easily distinguishable from “töten” and “umbringen,” which were used interchangeably as a translation for “kill.”  

In Simplified Chinese, however, localizing the term proved to be more challenging. First, the ZHSI translation of “slay” conveys a strong sense of brutal killing, a word even harsher than just to “kill.” The team had to eliminate terms that were too gory, not out of self-censorship, but rather because they didn’t match the tone of the game or didn’t work in the game-text. Words like “手刃” (to kill by knife) or “结果” (to finish off) either didn’t fit the game’s scenes and style or missed the “slay/save” nuance. Eventually, 再见公主” (Goodbye, Princess) was suggested for the title, and the team found that it beautifully captured the game’s lore: bidding her farewell by taking her life, only to meet her again in the next cycle. 

While this wordplay worked for the Chinese version of the title, it didn’t work so well in the main text of the game. If the narrator kept saying 快跟公主说再见” (Say goodbye to the princess), it would be distracting for players and affect the game’s tone. About halfway through the localization process, and after lengthy discussions with the team and the client, the phrase 送公主上路” (Send the princess on her way) was suggested as the player’s choice. Not only was it softer than “kill,” but also evoked a folk-tale flavor closer to traditional Chinese stories.  

Our final challenge was the question: should we try to be consistent and use “送公主上路” as the title? While consistency between the title and in-game choices is typically recommended, we wanted to ensure that the ZH-SI title was as appealing as the original English title. We shared our thoughts with the client, and fortunately, the client was fully supportive of our choice to have different translations for the title and the recurring player choice

Voices in My Head: Who Are You? 

Each narrative branch in Slay the Princess begins the same way, but the player's choices influence both the storyline and the visual style in subsequent loops, including changes to the princess’ appearance and personality. In each new loop, players can choose to either save or slay the princess again. A narrator and a cast of unseen voices, each with distinct personalities, comment on and try to steer the player's decisions. Initially, only the narrator and the Voice of the Hero are present, while additional voices—such as the Broken, the Cheated, the Cold, the Contrarian, the Flinching, the Hunted, the Opportunist, the Paranoid, the Skeptic, the Smitten, and the Stubborn—are introduced in later loops based on how the game is played. 

To make each hero’s voice, as well as the narrator’s and princess’s, easily identifiable, unique speaker tags are used in the translation files (e.g., “np” for The Narrator possessed by the Princess, “p” for The Princess when non-threatening, and “stubcont” for Stubborn and Contrarian speaking in unison). 

Each tag had its own character limit, so that our linguistic teams had to use their characteristic creativity to ensure the translations kept to a certain length, however the real challenge lay in choosing the appropriate form of address for each line

The choice between formal and informal language was determined on a per-language basis. For example, in German, the informal form was used consistently, while in French, a detailed address matrix was created to guide these decisions. 

Narrator > Player Formal 
Princess > Player Formal 
Voices > Player Informal 
Voices <> Voices Informal 
Player > Narrator Formal 
Voices > Narrator Formal 
Player > Princess Formal 
Player > Voices Informal 

The primary challenge was deciding between singular and plural forms of address. The voices and the narrator could shift mid-conversation, sometimes addressing the player as a singular entity—referring either to the player as “the one in control” or the body itself—or as a plural, which could include some or all voices, with or without the player. The word “you” could take on various meanings, from “you, the decision-maker,” to “you, the collective voices in this mind,” or “you, the single body made up of multiple personalities.” 

To tackle this challenge, we employed several strategies: 

  • Play the build: The entire translation team played through the build, navigating all chapters to gain firsthand experience of how voices and dialogue shifted dynamically. Immersing ourselves in the game allowed us to better grasp the pacing, tone, and context of each conversation, allowing us the chance to align our choices with the narrative flow. During LQA, consistency in character dialogue was ensured by observing what was happening on screen, providing valuable context for each line. 
  • Client References: Black Tabby Games provided extensive references, including a character bible detailing each character's tone and style. This material was invaluable during both the localization and LQA steps, helping us maintain a consistent tone for each character and follow the story’s natural flow, with only adjustments made when necessary to match the intended context. 
  • Script analysis: We used the scripts to examine all possible dialogue permutations. This was especially helpful for catching moments where certain voices, depending on the player's path, would chime in. While the build might show only one version of the scene, the script revealed additional details, like “if this voice is present, they say XY; if not, another character says Z,” ensuring nothing was overlooked. 

What made Altagram’s approach successful was the seamless cooperation between all stakeholders. It would not have been possible without the immense support of the co-founders of Black Tabby Games, Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias, who provided us with abundant references, thorough answers, and valuable insight. This has guided our dedicated and creative localization teams through their lengthy discussions and our production team overseeing both linguistic and technical aspects. A clear sign of this approach’s success is the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community. “After release,” says Altagram’s internal editor, Xuan Pan, “I was thrilled to see some players praise our title translation. [...] Thankfully, the players appreciated our work, and searching reviews in the Slay the Princess community has honestly been one of my happiest moments recently.” 

English translation: "The game is quite philosophical, and the Chinese translation is excellent. If you're interested, I definitely recommend buying it and giving it a try."  Source: https://steamcommunity.com 

As Altagram continues to support creative storytelling across languages, Slay the Princess stands as proof of our commitment to quality and innovation in game localization. 

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