Proofreading Service for Scenarios

[Catch21]

I look at a lot of scenarios, and sometimes the English could use some improvement in the scenario briefing++. This is obviously more so where English is not a first language.

So if anyone has any interest in getting their scenarios checked for English grammar++, just send me what you'd like me to look at and I'll gladly take a look at it and get back to you with suggested changes that you can decide whether to use or not.

Now I know some joker is likely to chime in with 'start with your own posts, will you?', but seriously it seems a 'win-win' for a lot of reasons:

1) It's an obvious 'win' if done correctly in terms of user understanding of the scenario.
2) It's a 'win' for me since I may get to see more scenarios.
3) Prior experience- I've done it before for a few designers (and, in a former life, advertising agencies), either as a stand-alone effort or as part of playtesting.
4) Native English speaker (UK or US if you wish, so colour or color, your choice), and some additional language skills particularly related to Military History, so I know abbreviations well and what Pz.Kpfw. stands for and means for example. If you give me a text in an original language and an English translation I'll attempt to reconcile for grammar, but only as an adjunct to the grammar++ effort.
5) No playtesting, though I may look at the scenario some, and this in itself might be useful if you talk about a unit I can't see for example. That's simply because I don't want to promise what I can't deliver.

This is a purely volunteer effort and is done on a 'best efforts' basis. It would seem to me designers have nothing to lose other than the overhead of organizing an email, since they can incorporate suggestions in their scenarios however they please or not at all.

[demyansk]

That's nice of you to offer this to others,

[Catch21]

Hehe, maybe, see 2. Since any will likely be from non-native English speakers, I'll hopefully see scenarios off the beaten ('Anglo-Saxon' world) track, which I find interesting. I've seen particularly good stuff from the Polish TOAW contingent 1918-1939 which have taken me to areas of history I was previously completely ignorant of.

[Telumar]

1.) Merry Christmas! 2.) Great offer! I usually asked my native speaker playtesters, but as scenarios develop, so do the briefings.. I have a briefing for a new version of Anzio 1944 @2km and Nijmegen 1944. Unfortunately both are in Adobe InDesign's .indd format, but i could export the text portions to a .doc or .odf. Or provide the documents as pdf files. If you're interested, drop me a mail. In case you don't have my e-mail adress anymore: cariundel at yahoo de.

[Catch21]

I can deal with most formats, but MS Word .doc allows me to put into MS Word. This has really exceptional auditing abilities (I'd imagine .odt has something similar but I don't use it that much), so you can view and accept/reject suggested changes and then pull a final version back out to whatever you're using.

I can return in .rtf format- readable by most WP apps- or if I've the software- and I've access to most formats in and out- return it to you in your preferred format. Your choice though, again, MS Word .doc allows for easier edit audit and accept/reject functionality at your end.

Best also to use a service like Dropbox to post files rather than clogging up mailboxes- http://db.tt/ieqdpshA if you want an account which will throw a few MBs of storage my way.

[altipueri]

I once thought I could eat for free in Europe by offering to correct bad/amusing English in menu translations for free if they fed me for free.

But great idea, I remember trying to make sense of some scenario instructions in some other game where it had probably gone through the babelfish from Russian to German to English.

You know the old stuff: "Send re-inforcements we are going to advance" became "Send three and four-pence we are going to a dance"

[Catch21]

Hehe. Look on the bright side, I may get free scenarios to look at pre-release, but then I suppose with TOAW I'd (eventually) get them free anyway. Which, unfortunately for TOAW, makes game engines like Decisive Campaigns' and 'Panzer Corps' far more attractive (even just viable) financially- with add-ons- to any games publisher.

Otherwise, be amused: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ation.html