Sharing the joy of video-game translation, one event at a time

• Type: Non-profit event
• Editions: 6
• First edition: 2014
• Participants: 2000+ 
• Locations: Online and 60+ workshops worldwide

Core Values

1. Open: Accessible to all audiences
2. Free: No part of the event monetized or promotional
3. Independent: Entirely self-managed and financed
4. Collaborative: Emphasis on creativity over competition

The past

The LocJAM translation contest was born out of a single ambition: giving everyone the chance to translate a video-game.

For that, we reprogrammed free, non-commercial games to make them easy to translate and shared them on our site. For ten days, anyone would then be able to submit their translation to a professional jury.

It was a roaring success, with over 2000 pro and amateur translators across ten languages and five editions.

A real community gathered around the event, sharing tips and ideas online and through a network of volunteer workshops held around the world (from Madrid to Minsk, from Montevideo to Milan).

Milestones

1. April 2014 - LocJAM1 (Republia Times) - 6 languages - 7 workshops - 511 entries
2. February 2015 - LocJAM2 (Grandpa) - 8 languages - 19 workshops - 620 entries
3. February 2015 - Approved as an IGDA program (IGDA Foundation)
4. October 2015 - Guest speakers at the European Commission (Translating Europe Forum)
5. March 2016 - LocJAM3 (Hotel of Madness) - 9 languages - 19 workshops - 391 entries
6. December 2016 - LocJAM Japan (Ikinari Maou) - Japanese only - 2 workshops - 118 entries
7. April 2017 - LocJAM4 (Ikinari Maou) - 10 languages - 15 workshops - 421 entries
8. July 2021 - LocJAM RPG (Adventures from Another World) - 17 languages - 105 entries

The future

Our sixth event was spin-off called LocJAM RPG, which ran from the 2nd to the 4th of July 2021.

The response was great and we are now looking forward to new editions. Please give us a shout here if you  want to suggest a game for future events or share your experience with development jams.