{"id":2294,"date":"2020-11-16T10:33:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T09:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/blog\/how-to-translate-localise-videogames\/"},"modified":"2024-01-24T12:24:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T11:24:22","slug":"how-to-translate-localise-videogames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/magazine\/how-to-translate-localise-videogames\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about video game translation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>V<\/strong><strong>ideo game translation<\/strong> is quite a niche area of the profession, but that being said, it\u2019s vital when looking to successfully market a game abroad. It would be absolutely unthinkable to release a video game that could only be played in one language, given that the international gaming community is so big these days. But what are some of the key criteria to follow in order to ensure a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/video-game-localization-services\/\">video game translation <\/a>is effective?<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Video game localisation: why does it matter?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s important for gamers to feel <strong>emotionally involved <\/strong>in a video game in order for it to be a success. It goes without saying that gamers will be much more engrossed in a game if it features dialogue and text written in their native language. As such, rather than translation, video game translators are more likely to talk about localisation. <strong>Localisation <\/strong>is a complex translation strategy that seeks to convey the message of a written or spoken text in a target language, while also ensuring the context in which the communication takes place is both believable and familiar.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take an example: suppose a character tells a joke in a video game, but the joke in question just doesn\u2019t work or isn\u2019t funny in translation, the translator must then choose to either <strong>reinterpret<\/strong> or alter the text in order to make the dialogue make sense and achieve its purpose (entertain the audience). Another example is <strong>linguistic register<\/strong>. In some countries, there are quite significant differences between formal and informal language, and using the wrong register risks alienating gamers, who might start to think they have invested their time and money in a poor product.<\/p>\n<h2>How to translate a video game: the importance of using correct terms<\/h2>\n<p>Another factor you need to pay close attention to is the accuracy of the terms used in translation. It is important to use<strong> translation memories and glossaries<\/strong> to ensure gamers have a consistent experience while playing. For example, if gamers notice that a certain weapon is called a \u2018Sword of Fire\u2019 in the inventory but then hear a character refer to it as a \u2018Fire Sword\u2019, it may confuse them and ultimately lead to them liking the game a lot less.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, if a video game has a long history and has been played by an army of fans for many years, it\u2019s even more important to remain faithful to the choices made by previous translators with regard to<strong> certain key elements<\/strong>. For example, it would be a very bad idea to change the Leap of Faith in Assassin\u2019s Creed to the \u2018Jump of Faith\u2019, as it is an expression borrowed from the history of philosophy and has since entered the collective imagination of generations of gamers.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth thinking about the people who have actually commissioned the translation project. Translating a video game requires the translator to respect the <strong>manufacturer and\/or distributor\u2019s <\/strong>instructions, or risk the entire job being rejected. Thought translating video games was child\u2019s play? You thought wrong, my friend!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video game translation is quite a niche area of the profession, but that being said, it\u2019s vital when looking to successfully market a game abroad. It would be absolutely unthinkable to release a video game that could only be played in one language, given that the international gaming community is so big these days. But what are some of the key criteria to follow in order to ensure a video game translation is effective? Video game localisation: why does it matter? It\u2019s important for gamers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to translate and localise videogames | Eurotrad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Translating a videogame is an incredibly creative process but there are a few rules to follow, and not abiding by them risks unleashing the wrath of gamers!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/magazine\/how-to-translate-localise-videogames\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to translate and localise videogames | Eurotrad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Translating a videogame is an incredibly creative process but there are a few rules to follow, and not abiding by them risks unleashing the wrath of gamers!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/en\/magazine\/how-to-translate-localise-videogames\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eurotrad: Agenzia di Traduzioni\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-16T09:33:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-24T11:24:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.eurotrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/videogames_in.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta 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