Playing by the rules: Videogames and legal content

We have all been there. Console on. Installation completed. The title launches. The splash screen teases hours of entertainment to come...and then the FTUE kicks in.

First Time User Experience (FTUE) refers to the sequence of content and options that a new user interacts with upon their first launch of a product.
More specifically, FTUEs in videogames contain settings for gameplay preferences, health disclaimers like epilepsy warnings and legally required text like EULA.

Whether they are rushing to play the newest release of their favorite first-person shooter or a farming simulation, users will often be speeding through most of the FTUE, ignoring warnings and consenting to user agreements of which they have not read a single word (no judgement on our side, we did it too).

However, First Time User Experience content requires an additional amount of attention at the linguistic and QA level for three key reasons.

1. The warnings, notices, and agreements displayed establish a legal relationship between the product and the player.
2. As legal content, their correct implementation and translation are a sine qua non condition for the release of the product.
3. Legalese is its own language, rooted in clarity, precision, and consistency.

NOT A WARNING - just a suggestion

If you missed it, we strongly encourage you to catch up with Wordfoxes’ series on certification, as some of the information we covered is related to the content of this article. Click here and here to be redirected to the right pages of our blog.

This is not mandatory, nor are we legally required to recommend it - hence why it is just a suggestion, not a warning!

Whether playing on a console, on our phones or just navigating a new app or website, we all have come across user agreements, privacy policies and terms of service that we must acknowledge in order to use a product.
EULA - End User License Agreement - is a contract between the user and the provider of a product (for instance, a console or a game) granting them the license to use it.

Being a contract, EULAs can be categorized as private legal texts and as most products of the legal genre, their vocabulary can be scholarly and abstruse, presenting a challenge in terms of translation.

When handling legal content, it is imperative to find a perfect balance between following the source text and respecting technical terminology while also trying to preserve linguistic flow and ensuring the intent of the agreement is communicated faithfully to users.

The first few lines of Sony’s license agreement and Terms of Service clearly illustrate the challenge at hand. In the following extracts, several elements should catch the attention of a trained translator’s eye: the structure of the text (highlighted in yellow), the vocabulary (in blue), and the terminology used (in green).

For instance, each numbered paragraph must be faithfully kept in the localized version, in the same order and under the same number. The translation of ‘‘Agreement’’ and ‘‘Terms’’ must be consistent throughout the text.

Finally, trademarked or Sony specific terms such as SIE (Sony Interactive Entertainment) must be mentioned as in the original and follow the translation provided in Sony terminology.

While platforms’ EULA are the most known, all videogames' manufactures have their own EULAs and display them along with privacy warnings and terms of user agreements, all of which must be acknowledged and accepted to enjoy the product.

A smooth FTUE sequence displays EULA and all legally required texts, while safeguarding linguistic consistency with the UI and with the player’s language settings.

In order to play any product on any platform, the EULA must be accepted.
In order to be accepted, it must be displayed whenever a new user launches a title for the first time.

This is challenge number one from a QA perspective: it is a mandatory requirement that the FTUE gets correctly triggered, contains the right EULA and that said EULA is fully displayed and readable, with no implementation issues.

Furthermore, it must be mandatory for the user to accept the EULA in order to proceed, and the buttons to accept or refuse must be both clearly displayed and functional. These requirements are usually triple checked when running certification testing.

While some conditions are obvious, refusing the EULA must block the launch of the game and bring the player back to their platform's main page, other are not as evident.

For instance, Sony’s requirements specifically mention that all legal text must be displayed within 90% of the screen: this rule aims to ensure that no overlap or cut-off might affect legally required text.

From a linguistic perspective, the FTUE content must be displayed respecting the console or player profile’s language settings.

For example, if someone is launching their game from Quebec, Canada and their console/profile are set to French, then the title should trigger the whole FTUE in French.

Failing to respect the conditions above might cause a title to fail its certification submission and possibly delay its release.

Let's circle back to UI consistency: as previously mentioned, users must be given the option to refuse or accept the EULA, with the understanding that not consenting to it results in not being able to play.

The UI should allow players to scroll through the entire legal text and present them with a choice phrased along these lines:

“By selecting "Accept," you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the Terms of the End User License Agreement.’’.
Usually, the player will find two buttons at the bottom of the screen, one to agree, and one to refuse.

QA must ensure consistency between the verb used in the statement and the one displayed in the answer.
For instance, the statement we used above as an example requires a button saying ‘‘Accept’’ or ‘‘I accept’’. Variations such as ‘‘I agree’’ should be avoided.

However, if the choice was phrased as: ‘‘You must agree to the Terms of Use to play Crimson Desert ’’, then a button reading ‘‘Accept’’ would be incorrect.

This is equally important when translating the UI of the game, since verbs such as accept or agree can be translated differently - especially if translators do not have any context while working on that specific button string.

The aim of EULA, terms of services, and privacy and health warnings is to establish a set of rules and limitations between the user and the manufacturers.

For manufactures and video game publishers, it is imperative that they are displayed as part of the FTUE, before the product is in use, as their main goal is to limit liability, establish limits and obligations of the user, and protect ownership rights.

For users, having FTUA content correctly displayed in a language of their choice grants their right to be aware of the constraints that come with the products they decide to consume, as well as potential health hazards.

As stated above, health warnings for seizure and epilepsy are most common in videogames, due to the visual elements that might trigger a reaction in users (e.g.; flashing lights).
It is imperative that players are informed whether a product could cause an epilepsy episode, given the serious health-related consequences it might have.

Accurate translations and well-executed implementation of legal texts protect both parties involved and is crucial to maintaining a safe environment to consume any entertainment product.