# The Blind Belt



## xim

Hello all,

I am doing a videogame, and I would like to give it a japanese name (even for occidental users).

If it was English, I would call it "The Blind Belt" but I don't know how to translate it to japanese.

Let me give you a bit of context:




The game displays you 4 squares with 16 balls in each, with random colors. You goal consists on to align the colors together (as shown in the image). To do so, you can slide a row, slide a column, or rotate a square.

Why "belt"? => In level one, you can only move rows and columns. In superior levels, you can rotate squares. As you get to higher levels you can activate the "belt mode". If you have the "belt button" set to on (the button with a red led, and a purple belt icon in it) then when you rotate a square, it does not only rotate the contents of the square itself but also "drags the belt around it", so the balls shown in the red arrow will also move as the selected square rotates. I call the balls "around" a square the "belt" of that square.

Why "blind"? => Adding more difficulty in advanced levels, you do not watch your progress. You are presented the balls at the beginning and then all balls turn "black". You just do movements as if you had your eyes covered so you cannot see anything. When you think you have completed, you disclose the result and see if you got the result or messed it even more.

So the top-most difficult level is "without seeing what you do" and "with belt mode on", this is why I would like to call it "The Blind Belt".

I thought that maybe 盲目的帯 (Mōmokuteki-tai) is a reasonable translation for the concepts and making a good video-game name. Or maybe 盲目帯 (Mōmoku-tai).

What is best for a videogame name that respects those concepts behind?
Any other approaches or words in japanese to represent those ideas and make a fancy game-name?

Any help is welcome!
Thanks!


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## John_Doe

How about 目隠し(blindfold)? At least, this word exists in Japanese.


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## animelover

First, I think it's great you managed to do what many other people asking questions don't: provide ample context.

A literal translation of the English phrase is most likely not going to sound good, so som creativity would be required.

Edit: Never mind the below paragraph - I read your post again and realized it's supposed to be the name of the game, not just the difficulty level.

An important point I'd like to point out: You need *harmony*. Throwing good ideas together is not always a good idea. Whatever you decide to call this difficulty level, the name needs to harmonize and fit in with the other levels and the general theme. Otherwise it's like translating a short story and asking for a translation of each sentence in a different forum. Make everything 四字熟語. Make everything native Japanese words such as 目隠し. Use words from the Sengoku period. Use words based upon nature. Or astrology. But be consistent.

Personally, 目隠し doesn't sound intimidating - as the most challenging and brutal difficulty level should. Coining words is fun, so here are my suggestions, but take it with  grain of salt and wait for other opinions/suggestions.

(0)
昏き帯 



- くらきおび

- "dark kimono sash"

- quick and simple

- add a kimono/geisha layout to the game, animate the rotation so that it looks like a black kimono sash dragging the adjacent tiles


(1)
冥濛乱舞

- pronounced めいもうらんぶ, a shortening of 暗澹冥濛ノ狂喜乱舞

- The dark/blind part is obvious; as for the "belt": Rotating the square does not leave the adjacent tiles alone, they are getting dragged in, like a furious dance in ecstasy that leaves the surroundings in ruins.

- You could turn this into a pun by spelling it 冥盲乱舞


(2)
朦弧妄周

- read もうこもうしゅう, a pun on 猛虎猛襲 "violent assault of a ferocious tiger"

- lit. "hazy arc, recklessly spinning"

- the adjacent tile around the square look like an arc (crescent moon)

- 朦 refers to a moon covered by clouds that can't be seen


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## xim

@*John_Doe* and @*animelover* => Thanks very very much for your contributions, specially animelover for all the explanations, which I've carefully read.

I'm learning a lot. I am starting to see that this is much more about "interpretation" than words, so probably the help of any native japanese would behelpful here.
*
Any help from natives!!??*


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## SoLaTiDoberman

ブラインドベルト


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## Vaan

I think ブラインド・ベルト is the best choice.


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## John_Doe

It's strange to read, really. ブラインド・ベルト being "the best choice"... it is the same as not translating it at all.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

It is a fundamental misunderstanding of non-native that every foreign words can be translated to Japanese Kanji and hiragana words.
In Meiji era or more older times, linguists tried to translate every words into kanji or kanji-and-hiragana. They invented new words that have already become Japanese words.
However, now native Japanese people well know that it's impossible to translate every new foreign words into Japanese kanji.
For example, "tsunami" is now an English word.
Likewise, ブラインドベルト is a Japanese word, not English.



盲目的帯:This is very good literal translation. If the game was invented 100 years ago, maybe the title would have been translated as this. But it sounds obsolete. 
盲目帯: the same above.
目隠し: This is really a Japanese word, but it means completely different things. Out of question.
昏き帯: I don't know what this means. 
冥濛乱舞: I don't know what this means. Chinese?
朦弧妄周: I don't know what this means. Chinese?
I didn't want to be rude, but these were my honest feeling when I read them.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

I'd like to add something to #5 and #8.
For example, 
"The Lion King" was translated as ライオンキング, not 鳥獣戯画, nor 獅子王.
.......................................................................

On second thoughts, it might be possible to translate the game as:
びっくりベルト
びっくりしゃっくりベルト
ぶったまげベルト
いきなりベルト
こりゃあたまげた
こりゃまたアテズッポ
アテズッポでgo!
ストレッチアウト　ウィズ　ユア　フィーリング (Stretch out with your feeling)
リライ オン　インスティンクト(Rely on Instinct)
or something like that.
However, such translations include the translator's will or thought. In this case, they include *my* preference and *my* interpretation or understanding toward the game.

So one cannot decide whether it is correct or not, although one can decide whether it is nice or terrible.
Just an advice.

Hope this helps.


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## John_Doe

> This is really a Japanese word, but it means completely different things


Care to explain, SoLaTiDoberman? I think you're exaggerating.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

I'm very sorry, *John_Doe.*
I thought you might think so, and I actually deleted the post once.
However, the original poster wanted it back.
And the moderator said that I should have not deleted the post and he made it reappear.

I am terribly sorry, *John_Doe.*
I will be very careful and never let it happen again.

I apologize to you from my bottom of my soul.

I'm ready to take it back, but you had better ask the moderator, if it's exaggeration or not.
He would be neutral and show you what is the truth, or what is supposed to be the truth.
I personally don't know, and I will refrain from commenting anything that might bring about the trouble.
I don't want this happen again, never.

I'm very sorry!
Maybe I was hurt by this kind of trouble deeper than you could imagine.
I'm very sorry, *John_Doe*, you don't have to worry because it will never happen again. Never in your life when you use Wordreference forum.

If I'm allowed to change the comment, I would say:
*This is really a Japanese word, and it would be the best candidate for the translation for some Japanese people.
**I personally don't think it would be the best, but it is merely my personal preference.

*I didn't want you make the post like #10, so I deleted the post #8 once, but...


Thank you, *John_Doe*, for your post!
Have a nice day!   


...................................
On second thought (or third or fourth thought), I changed my mind.
I now think 目隠し is by far the most accurate and proper translation of the "blind belt" game.


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