Kickstarting Localization for Clannad

For those who don’t know, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that “help[s] bring creative projects to life.” Essentially, the site gives small businesses and startups the opportunity to advertise their mission and get funding from the vast Internet population, and that funding is allowing some previously impossible projects to get off the ground. One such project is the localization of a videogame called Clannad.

Videogames are localized every day and game developers happily pour plenty of money into these projects in the hopes of reaching more markets. Clannad is different. Given its description on its Kickstarter page, it is unlike most other videogames that boast mind-blowing visuals and heart-stopping action. Clannad, instead follows the story of a teenage boy with a troubled family life who moves to a new high school and then teams with a girl in his class to revive the school’s drama club. If that strikes you as an odd premise for a game, you’re not alone. But apparently this game – and the Japanese graphic novel upon which it is based – has a large and devoted fan-base in the English-speaking world.

The Sekai Project, which has organized the Clannad Kickstarter localization campaign, initially set their sights on raising $140,000; they now have $269,892 in funding from 3,211 backers. That means a group of over 3,000 people have wanted to play this game enough that they’re willing to put nearly $90 towards its English translation. Actually, two well-heeled supporters gave more than $7,000 each and will receive a one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn color shikishi (a small square of paper) from the novel’s illustrator.

Whether or not the concept of a videogame in which you try to breathe new life into an ailing drama club seems strange, there are enough people out there who are passionate about it, and they’re willing to make sacrifices to make it available in their language. The localization of Clannad is interesting because it shows the power of the people and what they’re capable of when they want something and are willing to support such projects. We at Simply CSOFT find this to be one of the more inspirational localization stories we’ve come across to date; we may even be inspired to try this game out – once it’s in English anyway.

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