How we put them to the test

Technical analysis
Technical analysis is the first investigation carried out on a product. In order to be flawless, a program must work on the most common configurations and not be prey to any technical fault. For this reason, the product is analysed in its every part, in order to identify any problems of a technical nature.

Cultural analysis
The second product control step is cultural analysis. A reference, educational or even videogame product must be localised in such a way as to seem to have been developed in the country of distribution. For this to happen, it is necessary to change any reference to the country of origin when this is inconsistent with the country of distribution. In example, a map of the United States on an American educational product must become a European map on a European product to better teach kids using an environment they know. Oku Studio, therefore, checks all the elements of a product to ensure that all cultural references are consistent with the country of distribution, in order to let the client know whether or not the product was accurately adapted to the Italian market.

Style analysis
Once the cultural appropriateness of the product is ascertained, the next step is to check the product's language and audiovisual style. If new animations have been created, the studio will check for graphical consistency with the original, in order that old and new animations appear to have been developed at the same time. It is important that dubbing and singing be kept faithful to the original, so that if one of the game's characters has a deep voice in the original, the same character must have an equally deep voice in the localised version. Lastly, texts are check for errors in style which, for example, might make for heavy reading or alter the original meaning through a too literal translation.

Beta testing
Once the validity of the product is checked, it is necessary to verify its stability and identify any production errors. In order to do this it is necessary to put the program through a process known as "beta testing". During this process, which could last for days, the program is tested in all its parts in order to view it from every possible angle, listen to every audio file and check all texts to highlight any errors.

Problem reporting
The testing process has now reached an end and the Oku Studio team must draw up a "bug report", or a text document of all the problems encountered. Section by section and case by case, this report highlights all the program's faults so that the localisers or developers may have a suitable reference document while adjusting the program's faults and settling its imperfections. The bug report may be drawn up in any language preferred. Should the localisation reveal itself inadequate for Italian market standards, the studio will provide a free quotation for the implementation of any of the necessary alterations.