Video game localisation

This article addresses the main translation strategies for the localisation of superhero video games into a different culture. This specific genre relies on narrative-driven plots, as the games are based on original scripts from comic books. The adaptation of superhero games therefore presents a ser...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Fernández Costales, Alberto|||0000-0002-5120-8181
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:118849
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/118849
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Video game localisation
Transcreation
Comics
Humour
Audiovisual translation
Localització de videojocs
Transcreació
Còmics
Humor
Traducció audiovisual
Descripción
Sumario:This article addresses the main translation strategies for the localisation of superhero video games into a different culture. This specific genre relies on narrative-driven plots, as the games are based on original scripts from comic books. The adaptation of superhero games therefore presents a series of additional challenges, since the so-called 'transcreation' is sometimes restricted by the need to consider editorial policies and user expectations when re-creating comic-based universes. Hence transcreation is confronted with the need to be faithful to the original source inspiring the title. Besides assessing the balance between loyalty to the comic books and the freedom allowed in game localisation, this paper also approaches the translation of humour and the difficulty of adapting puns and jokes into different languages, which can seriously challenge translators' skills and creativity. In order to shed some light on these issues, this paper presents the results of a case study of the localisation into Spanish of one of the most acclaimed superhero games: Batman Arkham Asylum.