Game Localisation: Loss and Gain in Visual Novel Subtitles (original) (raw)
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Game Localization: Loss and Gain in Visual Novel Subtitles
ENGLISH ABSTRACT This research discussed about loss and gain in the context of game localization with the limitation on subtitles. The objectives are to present the loss and gain in the visual novel game adaptation subtitles entitled A Child in the Forest and to identify reasons of the loss and gain happen. A Child in the Forest is a kind of game which consists of static and background images also music soundtrack with storylines and dialogues. It was made and translated from English into Indonesian version by English Letters students of IAIN Surakarta. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative. The method of collecting data, researcher gets English and Indonesian subtitles script from the game packages. After that, the researcher analyses the data which consist of loss and gain and also make interview with translator. The researcher uses informant to make data validation which is expert in translation and in the world of visual novel game. The result of this research, researcher found 63 data about loss and 55 data about gain. The reasons of loss and gain in visual novel game subtitle is mostly because of the translator wants to reach the goal of game localization in order the visual novel can be easy to be played and to be understood. INDONESIAN ABSTRACT Penelitian ini membahas tentang loss dan gain dalam konteks game lokalisasi dengan fokus hanya pada subtitle. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menunjukan loss dan gain yang ditemukan serta mengidentifikasi alasan Etty Syafa'ati & Umi Pujiyanti 186 kenapa loss dan gain bisa terjadi di subtitle visual novel game adaptasi berjudul A Child in the Forest. A Child in the Forest adalah sebuah permainan yang terdiri dari gambar statis dan latar belakang juga suara music dengan alur cerita dan dialog. Visual novel ini dibuat dan diterjemahkan dari bahasa Inggris ke bahasa Indonesia oleh siswa jurusan sastra inggris semester 2 IAIN Surakarta. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif kualitatif. Metode pengumpulan data, peneliti mendapatkan naskah terjemahan bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Indonesia dari data paket permainan. Setelah itu, peneliti menganalisis data yang mengandung loss dan gain dan juga melakukan wawancara dengan penerjemah. Peneliti menggunakan informan untuk melakukan validasi data yang ahli dalam dunia penerjemahan dan ahli dalam game visual novel. Hasil penelitian ini, peneliti menemukan 63 data tentang loss dan 55 data tentang gain. Alasan loss dan gain dalam subtitle game visual novel ini sebagian besar karena penerjemah ingin mencapai tujuan lokalisasi permainan agar visual novelnya mudah dimainkan dan dipahami. Kata kunci: Lokalisasi Game, Loss dan Gain, Subtitle di Visual Novel Game.
Subtitling in game localisation: a descriptive study
In less than four decades the video game industry has become a multibillion dollar worldwide phenomenon. As game technology has evolved, allowing for the inclusion of cinematic scenes in games, dubbing and subtitling practices have become incorporated into game design and localisation. However, while years of research in AVT have led to the establishment of subtitling guidelines, both for intralingual and interlingual subtitles, such guidelines are generally not applied in games. Some games provide subtitles of more than three lines, use small fonts, and do not take into account the established average reading speed. This paper adopts a descriptive approach to the study of current subtitling practices applied in the video game industry. It describes the different features of game subtitles and highlights the need for further descriptive and empirical research that should lay the foundation for the development of game subtitling guidelines.
The aim of the diploma thesis is to determine audiovisual translation of video games, especially subtitling of video games in Slovakia. The thesis is divided into four chapters. In the first chapter, we present video games—their origin, genres and the rating system in relation to the Slovak laws and their use in Slovak translation. The second chapter examines the subtitling of video games and its current situation in Slovakia in more detail. The chapter classifies subtitling as a part of the localisation process. We compare localisation with traditional translation. We also characterize translators of video games and the difficulties of their translation. The third chapter describes the methodology used in the practical part. In the fourth chapter, we analyse the results of the questionnaires researching the overall reception of video games and their translation into Slovak among Slovak translators and Slovak gamers.
EXPLORING TRANSLATION STRATEGIES IN VIDEO GAME LOCALISATION 1
This paper addresses the issue of video game localisation focusing on the different strategies to be used from the point of view of Translation Studies. More precisely, the article explores the possible relation between the translation approaches used in the field and the different genres or textual typologies of video games. As the narrative techniques and the story lines of video games have become more complex and well-developed, the adaptation of games entails a serious challenge for translators. Video games have evolved into multimodal and multidimensional products and new approaches and insights are required when studying the adaptation of games into different cultures. Electronic entertainment provides an interesting and barely explored corpus of analysis for Translation Studies, not only from the point of view of localisation but also as long as audiovisual translation is concerned. Resumen Este artículo analiza el campo de la localización de videojuegos centrándose en las diferentes estrategias utilizadas desde el punto de vista de los Estudios de Traducción. En concreto, el artículo estudia la posible relación entre los enfoques traductológicos utilizados en este campo y los diferentes géneros y tipologías textuales de los videojuegos. La mayor complejidad en las técnicas narrativas y el argumento de los videojuegos ha provocado que su adaptación proporcione un reto considerable para los traductores. Los videojuegos han evolucionado hasta convertirse en productos multimodales y multidimensionales, por lo que nuevos enfoques son necesarios cuando se estudia su adaptación a diferentes culturas. El entretenimiento electrónico proporciona un corpus de análisis interesante y apenas explorado para los Estudios de Traducción, no solo desde el punto de vista de la localización sino también en lo que respecta a la traducción audiovisual.
The Study of English-Arabic Video Game Localization: Assassin's Creed Mirage as a Model
Journal of English Language for Linguistics and Literary Studies, 2024
Video game localization is one of the integral types of audiovisual translation studies because it is a widely used product worldwide. The current study is about analyzing the English-Arabic subtitling of the video game Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. The study aims to shed light on the nature of the Arabic-localized product. It raises the following questions: First, is the subtitle translation into Arabic for the game Assassin's Creed adequate in terms of sentence structure and meaning? And what are the strategies used in subtitling from English to Arabic? The study counts on a model of analysis to analyze the video game localized version. The analysis answered the questions of the study.
2018
games on a minimal level (O'Hagan 2007: 2). This is one of the main reasons I chose the topic of my study to be video game translation, as it is an area of study that deserves more attention. Video games have been translated for decades, which transfers into great amounts of potential research material for translation studies, but this opportunity has not yet been utilised properly. Therefore, with this study, I aim to bring this area of study on video game translation, more specifically on video game subtitle translation, to the attention of a greater audience. As video games are an area of research that translation studies have overlooked for decades, I aim to explore this field by presenting its research potential and demonstrating how research on video game subtitles could be conducted. I do this by explaining theoretical background of both "traditional" subtitling, which includes TV, DVD and cinema, and video game subtitling and video games in general. The theoretical framework is then combined into a model method for video game subtitle analysis, which I created from Diaz-Cintas's and Remael's (2014) linguistic subtitle analysis, and Mangiron's (2012) video game subtitling conventions. The use of this method is demonstrated in the case study of Trine 2's Finnish subtitles, which are analysed by the aforementioned method by comparing them to the English original intralingual subtitles. This study begins by introducing audiovisual translation and subtitling, and then presenting background information about video games in relation to the topic of this study. Then the study's theoretical framework on linguistic subtitle analysis and video game conventions is presented, which is followed by the introduction to the model method for video game subtitle analysis. Continuing, the application of the model is demonstrated in the case study on Trine 2. Lastly, then, the study is completed by the conclusion which discusses the accomplishments of this study and my concluding thoughts.
This qualitative research set out to describe translation of video games into Persian from a non-professional translation lens. The study examined the translation and subtitling of cut-scenes in a fan-video recording of the game Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. These cut-scenes were non-professionally subtitled and uploaded on Aparat.com to share with other Persian-speaking gamers. Initially, the paper presents the key literature on game localization and describes the status quo video games in Iran and non-professional translation. In the next section, the collected data were presented and analyzed at two levels of macro and micro. The interview results of the macro-level revealed the subtitler’s background information, aims and motivations. At the micro-level, the non-professional Persian subtitles of a five-hour video recording were analyzed in terms of translator’s visibility and agency as well as technical and linguistic issues. The findings suggested that the aim of this novice subtitler for volunteering to render the cut-scenes into Persian was to improve his command of English language and to enjoy himself in gaming. In other words, he was seeking cultural in addition to symbolic capital. Other results suggested the visibility and presence of the subtitler in the translation through the frequent use of glosses and explanations. Analysis of the subtitles at textual and technical levels showed that in multiple cases the generally recommended regulations in terms of time and space related constraints were not respected and mistranslation of idioms was frequent.
Exploring Translation Strategies in Video Game Localisation (pp. 385-408)
2016
Percepción visual y traducción audiovisual: la mirada dirigida (pp. 87-102) Los parámetros que identifican el Subtitulado para Sordos. Análisis y clasificación (pp. 103-132) Towards a Multidisciplinary Approach in Creative Subtitling (pp. 133-153) La interacción de los códigos en doblaje: juegos de palabras y restricciones visuales (pp. 155-180)
2007
Resum: Els videojocs han crescut fins a convertir-se en una indústria d'entreteniment global. Aquesta globalitat no s'hauria aconseguit sense els esforços de transferència lingüística que fan que els jocs, independentment de l'origen que tinguin, arribin als jugadors en la seva llengua i contextos culturals. Malgrat la importància crucial que té la traducció, el seu valor no es té en compte en els estudis sobre videojocs, ni tampoc en els estudis de la traducció. Posant un èmfasi especial en la multidimensionalitat i en la multimodalitat dels videojocs, aquest treball defensa que la recerca sobre videojocs des de la perspectiva dels estudis de la traducció no sols serà profitosa per a la indústria dels jocs sinó també per als mateixos estudis de traducció, atès que obre noves vies de recerca.