2026-07-29 Localization Business Simulation · 本地化商业模拟

Published in AI-Empowered Education Forum / Educational Game Design Workshop · 人工智能赋能教育学术交流会, 2026

AI-Powered Educational Game Design AI 赋能教育游戏设计工作坊

Localization Business Simulation

本地化商业模拟

Students learn project management by running a game translation project—not by listening to a lecture about it.

Course: Localization Translation Web-based decision game 4 rounds · classroom ready

Open the simulation ↗ 中文演示

01 The big idea 核心思路

From hearing about the job → doing the job

从听课到角色扮演

Who

Translation students

They will soon work with global content, clients, and tight deadlines.

Role in the game

Project manager

A game studio hires their team to translate a game into English.

Learning goal

See how choices matter

Quality, cost, time, and client trust all pull in different directions.

02 The story world 故事设定

One project. Clear limits.

一个本地化翻译项目：任务、团队、成本清晰

The job

Translate a Chinese game into American English for an overseas launch.

The limits

~143,000 words · 8 weeks · ¥150,000 budget · quality must not feel “machine-translated”.

Many people want different things. Students must decide—and live with the result.

03 Course = game 课程即游戏

Four lessons → four rounds

四节课 = 游戏四轮

Round 1

Start the project

Plan people, time, money, and tools

Round 2

Protect quality

Check work and fix problems

Round 3

Reuse assets

Save time with past work & terms

Round 4

Handle crises

People, change requests, legal risk

04 How you play 怎么玩

Read mail → decide → face the result

读邮件 → 做决定 → 承担后果

1. Read the client email→ 2. Check the dashboard→ 3. Make a choice→ 4. See what changes

Every choice has a cost. That cost can follow you into later rounds.

05 Goals & challenges 目标与挑战

No perfect answer—only a defendable one

没有完美的答案，只有合理的权衡

What students watch

Budget, quality, deadline, client happiness
Green / yellow / red warnings
A short written decision summary each round

What makes it hard

Cheap now may cost more later
Speed can hurt quality
Several problems can hit at once

06 Form & controls 游戏的形式

A simple web page—open and play

简单网页，课堂即开即用

Why not 3D?

Focus on decisions

Fast to load, easy to share, works on classroom computers.

How students interact

Click options · move sliders · write a short team note · teacher unlocks the next round with a password.

07 Progress 推进方式

Your past choices change the next story

上一轮的选择，改写下一轮的剧本

Start🔐 Quality🔐 Assets🔐 Crisis

If they overused machine translation

The client returns angry. More errors. Harder recovery.

If they went very slow & careful

Quality is better—but almost no time left to fix anything.

08 How learning happens 知识点怎么进来

Feel it first. Name it later.

先体验场景，再了解知识。

Story emails

The client’s tone shows pressure and stakes.

Short hints

Each control explains cost and risk in plain words.

Result cards

“This happened because of your earlier choice.”

09 Role of AI AI 扮演什么角色

Rules stay fair. AI makes the world feel alive.

规则保证公平；AI 让情景更生动

Rules engine

Scores & hard limits

Same inputs → same outcomes. Fair for grading.

Large language models (optional)

Emails, samples, replies

More natural pressure and variety—without giving “the answer.”

AI assists the story. Students still make the judgment.

10 Challenge A 挑战示例 A

How much machine translation will you use?

你会用多少机器翻译？

Use little

Safer quality

But almost no spare time later.

Use a lot

Cheaper & faster

Client may complain hard next round.

Skip the term list

Save a little money

Creates chaos when the team reuses text later.

11 Challenge B 挑战示例 B

Three problems arrive on the same day

三件事同一天砸过来

People

Lead translator is ill

Unfinished work. Deadline cannot move.

Change

Client adds more text

No extra money. No extra days.

Legal

Their company may share the blame.

Early planning becomes the toolkit they need today.

12 Assessment 如何评估

We grade the thinking, not one “best path”

评的是思考过程，不是唯一标准答案

What we collect

Each round’s decisions
How budget / quality / trust moved
A short reflection at the end

What “good” looks like

Can explain why they chose this
Can link today’s pain to an earlier choice
Uses AI as a helper, not a blind autopilot

Takeaway 总结

Cause and effect is the gameplay

决策的因果关系，就是核心玩法

Rules keep outcomes fair and repeatable. AI can make the story more vivid. Judgment stays with the students.

Thank you Questions & playtest welcome