Hoping to make your life's design a bit more dynamic!

Thanks for the feedback qwsed! I should mention, though, that the game's script was nowhere near being complete when those screenshots were taken. I'm pretty sure, actually, that things have already been changed

Purgatory, Damnation, The River Styx, Hell, Hades, Naraka, Diyu, Yomi and California it is all the same place.

Yomi, I had forgotten that one.
At least its short if it is decided along
the road that we should use it; that said
california wouldn't fit the restraints haha.

I think I went with the word "Underworld" when I was editing things... However, after reading about "Yomi", I'm pretty sure that's what the original Japanese word was.

I found something interesting, Drakee.
Assuming the setting for Chaos Seed is chinese (its what it looks like to me)
a correct word for underworld or hell would be Diyu.
I found more details here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyu.

At a glance, the chinese notion of hell has more to do
with a labyrinthine dimension rather than a place of
eternal damnation and suffering.
Further, it seems Diyu encompasses a lot of places
in a different plane, even the brink of the universe.

The time souls spend there before reincarnation varies
considering the gravity of their faults, and there
are specific zones for specific punishments,
with a grand total of some 96800 "hells"
a soul could possibly endure according to their karma.

Why just dont call it hell? If Diyu's meaning is just "hell". I doubt that it translates very well other than "its basicly their version of hell"

Since i have no chinese knowledge, Yomi makes more sense to me if any of the two.

Well its Draken's call in the end, but personally
when cultural aspects are an integral part of a game
I like to give the player as much immersion as possible.

Missing odds and ends can be explained with a well written
readme, provided people care to read it. Its just that (again
in my opinion) calling it hell would be westernizing the whole
thing too much. even if its a universal concept naming aside.

Actually they are all different concepts. Yomi for example is the Shinto belief of all afterlife. In Shintoism, there is no concept of Heaven and Hell. Instead Yomi is the place where all dead go to dwell and rot. With all exits guarded by horrific creatures to prevent escape. This concept is very hell like in certain aspects, however at the same time according to Shintoism, life delivers all there equally in death no matter your deeds in life, therefore it is also not entirely the same concept.

All that being said, I still say hell is hell, and I'm never one to put huge emphasis on technical details. I personally believe we should turn out the best possible English experience we can, even if that means a less literal translation. However, when dealing with culture, some would consider it an insult to not be proper. In the end, it is Draken's call.

He-he. As I said before, Yomi is probably the original word, and I'm not going to go into why I believe so because I don't want to spoil anything

That said, I'm sticking with "Underworld" because it doesn't imply any European concepts (hades), and still works with the story.

I agree Draken, and for anyone with lingering doubts, let me also say that how many of us English speakers have even heard the terms Yomi, Diyu or Naraka and would even know what they mean. Yes, Yomi actually isn't an underworld per say as they believe it exists alongside this world, but that isn't a concept most English speakers would get. How many English speakers would know the concepts of Shintoism. Most who even watch anime and ect wouldn't know them. Beyond the fact it has priest, priestesses and uses shrines. Buddhism would probably be far more apt to be known on western shores and even that you'd be hard pressed to find people that understand it that well. Heck, I don't understand either of them that well. What info I know is through research. Underworld is by far the least insulting and best term to be used here in my opinion as well. Good choice Drakee.

As for the idea of using Yomi, Diyu or Naraka and then explaining it in the readme, sure that can be done, but how many people read the readme. How many people pick up a manual when they buy a game instead of just popping the disc in. The only real option that would work is if the game actually took time to explain the concept in due course of the story. Easier just to make an alteration and convert to a term we're more familiar with.

There is a reason the gaming industry thinks of it as localization and not translation. Because sometimes you just have to change things to make it consumer friendly for whatever area you plan to release in. Something that we fan translation groups don't have to be conscious of mind you, but can be if we want.