A glimpse into video game localisation, a challenging process
The aim of this post is to provide a glimpse into video game localisation, a
very recent specialised field of translation that has led to the laying down of
whole new kinds of translation practices and terminology. The video game
industry has grown exponentially since developers started commercialising games
in the early 1970’s. The surging popularity of those products worldwide has
resulted in their distribution at a large-scale as mass-consumption products
and media through game publishing companies. The US market alone now generates
more than $30.4 billion in revenue[1]. More
attention has been paid to game localisation which is now fully encompassed in
digital entertainment companies’ strategies. Most games are developed in
English and Japanese as the US, Europe and Japan are home to nearly all of the
biggest video game design companies.
 |
| https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings |
Broad definition
Game localisation
is an umbrella term covering a wide range of tasks that go beyond pure in-game text
translation, including, for instance, video content (cutscenes) translation or
recording game soundtracks into the target language. According to O'HAGAN and MANGIRON (2013) it
refers to “the many and varied processes involved in transforming game software
developed in one country into a form suitable for sale in target territories,
according to a new set of user environments with specific linguistic, cultural,
and technical implications”[2]. The variety
of the “processes” aforementioned can be explained by the increasing diversity
and complexity of video games. The flourishing of the video game industry has
fostered creativity and ambitious projects. Video games are now more diverse
than ever before with countless genres and sub-genres offering different types
of gameplays, game designs and contents.
Localising games and the linguistic challenge
Translating
video games requires a good knowledge of the specific terminology players around
the world are familiar with and that is key to their enjoyment. This is
typically the case with gameplay terminology in RPGs (Role Playing Games). One
core feature of RPGs gameplay is stats which determine a character’s proficiencies,
strengths and weaknesses. Although some variations can be found, every RPG uses
a similar basic terminology: Level, HP/MP, Attack, Defense, Strength, Magic, Vitality and so
on. In-game actions and interactions also involve the use of many specific terms
such as Attack, Defend, Items or Block for RPGs or more action-oriented
games. The deeper the gameplay mechanics the more complex the terminology. The
game interface has to remain concise and readable, so it will not impact in any
manner the gameplay, its fluidity and the player’s experience as a whole.
 |
Final Fantasy XII is a compelling example. Game menus often
follow the same structure and provide the player with useful information and settings.
(http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Final_Fantasy_XII_enemy_equipment) |
The intercultural challenge
As with any other media, video game translators are
often faced with challenging situations regarding the cultural aspect of localisation.
For example, speech styles are an important part of Japanese language. A
character will speak differently according to his/her gender, age and
relationship towards the protagonist. These differences, while they are observable
in French and English to some extent, greatly impact dialogs in Japanese video
games. For Japanese-English or Japanese-French translators the difficulty is to
avoid as much as possible losing this level of characterisation, or worse, confusing
them when translating to Japanese. Onomatopoeic sounds are also commonplace and
are used for further characterisation. Cat-like characters for instance often
end their sentences with a nya or
similar sound (meow in English). Other
sounds are sometimes totally made up to fit a particular character or kind of
creatures or monsters.
 |
Case of a made-up creature in the game Tales of Berseria. Half-human
half-turtle (Kamenin in Japanese), it ends every sentence with a Tsu sound.
(https://www.jp.playstation.com/blog/detail/3547/20160824-talesofberseria.html)
|
The translation of puns and jokes-filled texts can also be
a tough task and so is translating a story-rich game filled with lengthy
narratives and dialogues. Games such as Heavy Rain or the Divinity Original
Sins series provide the player with thousands of script lines which contain crucial
information regarding the main story, background and optional information (lore),
and involve choice-making. The challenge of the translator here is to not alter
the immersion feeling provided by the original game in which storytelling is a
key component.
Translating and adapting
Always
bear in mind that translating a video game is first and foremost part of a business
strategy aiming to export a cultural media. It is not only a matter of ‘good’ translation.
Other considerations are at stake. Last summer I attended a conference at the
2018 Japan Expo convention featuring the two French translators of the latest Disgaea
series game. They underlined an important aspect of their job in translating the
game: some translations of the previous games have to be reused, no matter how flawed
they are, to maintain a level of coherence in the whole series.
Ultimately,
translating games is about keeping the enjoyment intact.
-Gaël
MALIN-
Ce commentaire a été supprimé par un administrateur du blog.
RépondreSupprimerThank you for this post Gaël! This is a subject I'm really interested in. I guess video game translator sounds like the perfect job for game lovers like us right? But it's nice that you have highlighted how challenging it can be especially with localisation issue. And of course the more complex the gameplay, the harder the translation. I often think about it when playing games with a rather dense menuing system. Final Fantasy XII is one of those games where I thought (well, apart from "Woa I love this game!") "That part must have been hard to translate". It is very important to have a good knowledge of the specific terminology of not only the games filed, but also sometimes the license itself. I remember the first appearence of "the Moogles" (fluffy little creatures present in every game of the franchise since 1990) in Final Fantasy III, when they were translated in French as "les Mimi". The current term being "les Mogs" in 99% of the franchise make it look a bit funny when replaying that one. Finally I think you are right when you say that the most important part is to keep the game entertaining rather than sticking to a down to earth translation. Translating from Japanese in particular can be very tricky because of the traditionnal "phrases endings" (-nya, -tsu...) used to add originality to each character.
RépondreSupprimerDiane D
Thanks for the feedback Diane, much appreciated. Yeah, being passionate about a field like video games can be a good driving force in our studies and career plans. Nevertheless, we have to be aware of the specificities and difficulties of this field of translation as you said.
SupprimerYeah I have that feeling too, contemplating all the work done, especially in story-rich video games, thinking "I never used to pay attention to that before". If everything seems right to players and sounds natural, you hardly think about all the work translators have poured into it. That probably means the translation is good.
Like you said regarding a popular and long-standing series like Final Fantasy, you have to fall in line with all of its rules and key concepts. That's undoubtedly a matter of translating a creator's ideas.
I like your anedocte about Moogles. I think it's an interesting example as Moogles in the original Japanese version are called Moguri (モーグリ), a portmanteau of the words "mole" (土竜, モグラ, mogura) and the word "bat" (蝙蝠, コウモリ, kômori). The English translation team went for Moogle probably because it sounded catchier and more English, giving up on the original pun.
Looking forward to talking about this subject with you again,
-Gaël M.-
Hey! I am sorry I am not a gamer so I can't really comment on that part. But have you, with your knowledge of Japanese, English and French ever come across a "weird" translation ? Did it affect your interest towards the game ?
RépondreSupprimer-Maaike
Hi Maaike, I’m glad the article picked your interest even though you’re not a gamer. As for you question, such cases have happened to me a few times, mostly while playing Japanese games that required less money to be made than high development budget games. I usually go for English as the default language for any game I play but it doesn't necessarily guarantee quality. In some games I encountered typos in the French translation and also dialogues or written texts that didn't sound natural or fit to the character.
SupprimerIt did impact my perception of the game on the moment without being too detrimental to the overall gaming experience unless these cases of "weird" translation were more than occasional. A high number of Japanese games is now being commercialised in North America and Europe, which has led to more attention being paid to the translation of these games in English and in French. In my opinion, this has resulted in better quality translations.
-Gaël M.-
Ce commentaire a été supprimé par l'auteur.
RépondreSupprimerThank you for the blog! You ended the search for Game Localization Services really well. Acadestudio is a leading interpretation and localization provider acing the industry for decades.
RépondreSupprimer