Eon Why this game has not been translated to English?
- Thread starter Yahuna
- Start date
Mekanurg
I'd rather be different than indifferent.
Most likely due to the cost. The Free League is a giant compared to all other Swedish game producers, such as Helmgast and Eloso, and can therefore afford hiring professional translators.
That'd be my guess as well. Given the choice of spending X money to get book A translated, or spend the same money to get new book B written, it's very hard to prioritize translation. There are always new books that want to be written, and time and resources are limited… I'm not Helmgast, but I sympathize.
It would be awesome to have it translated but I don't think it's possible right now unless another company makes a deal with Helmgast to translate it and publish it abroad. Helmgast is a small team of passionate people who don't have the time or resources to translate the games by themselves.
That is exactly what I wonder why it has not happened. In Spain some editorials buy the rights (I guess) to publish english rpgs translated to Spanish. This happens both for big and small rpgs.
JohanL
Myrmidon
- Joined
- 23 Jan 2021
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They also have the international credibility to make people trust their products unseen and be ready to try them out.
Mogger
Hipsteranka
Helmgast have translated Kult: Divinity Lost and The Troubleshooters. However theres a new edition of Eon coming out 2024. But dont know if there are any plans for english version.
Stämma
WC-zonmö i behov av IQ-hjälp
Others have made good points. Eon is a bit of a big fish in a small pond. While it has its distinguishing features, it is simply much more difficult to stand out as a crunchy, setting-heavy, RPG in the Anglophone RPG-world.
Additionally, I'd argue that there is a particular issue with bringing over Eon to the international market, that don't apply to, say, Dragonbane or Kult.
That issue is Mundana. A major selling point of Eon is its setting that has been developed and iterated on for the better part of three decades. The list of modules published for the game is long, and Swedish speaking gamers can access a wealth of information about the setting.
Keeping Mundana as a selling point for the international market is rather difficult as there's a huge backlog of setting books that aren't available in English. You can give the cliffs notes version of Mundana, sure, but I imagine the amount of detail in the world-building drastically increases the amount of work that has to be put into a translation.
Additionally, I'd argue that there is a particular issue with bringing over Eon to the international market, that don't apply to, say, Dragonbane or Kult.
That issue is Mundana. A major selling point of Eon is its setting that has been developed and iterated on for the better part of three decades. The list of modules published for the game is long, and Swedish speaking gamers can access a wealth of information about the setting.
Keeping Mundana as a selling point for the international market is rather difficult as there's a huge backlog of setting books that aren't available in English. You can give the cliffs notes version of Mundana, sure, but I imagine the amount of detail in the world-building drastically increases the amount of work that has to be put into a translation.
I am not very aware of the amount of setting books. I bought the 3rd pdf bundle and the 4th core book only.
On the other hand, for my taste is the crunch in the rules, and the way this crunch is made, that makes the game so cool. I am so tired of the “rules-light” drift that the rpg world is taking…
On the other hand, for my taste is the crunch in the rules, and the way this crunch is made, that makes the game so cool. I am so tired of the “rules-light” drift that the rpg world is taking…
Honestly, from my point of view that isn’t really a big concern, since the new game is (at least to my tastes) so far improved both in rules and writing that I would almost never recommend a new player to get the old modules. Rather give them the groundwork and tools to extend the worldbuilding themselves. And even back in the 2E era, I personally never bought books because of Mundana, but rather the system was the selling point.
A lot of the really cool places like Muhad, Jargien, Arkipelagen etc don’t really have much description in the old books anyway.
Or the people involved don't know any translators who would also be a good match for the job. I imagine that you would want a pretty close working relationship with the person or people translating your fantasy roleplaying game. Swedish to English translators are also somewhat rarer than English to Swedish ones, for obvious reasons.