A Request for Creativity - Cultural Localisation in Video Games
During the last decade, the translation industry has witnessed the dramatic rise of the software
localisation sector. Globalisation, internationalisation, localisation and translation are terms that need
to be handled. With the development of the video-game industry, a new area of need for translation
also evolved: Game Localisation. This new dimension in translation combines elements of audiovisual
translation and software localisation. But what is the unique nature of game localisation? The big
challenge of this field of translation is to overcome language barriers in video games through
audiovisual translations and editing techniques.
Dr Carmen Mangiron is one of the localisers of the Final Fantasy series into Spanish. In an interview
with Languages and the Media, she gives a first overview of what game localisation is about.
L&M: Dr Mangiron, could you please describe the unique nature of cultural localisation in video
games?
Dr Carmen Mangiron: Cultural adaptation or localisation in video games is unique because it goes
beyond words and text and can include the modification of the images and graphics as well. It is
probably the type of translation that allows maximum customisation of the product. Images and
graphics that would not be acceptable in the target culture can be modified or completely omitted to
adapt the game fully to the target market’s culture and expectations.
L&M: Where do you see the need for game localisation?
Dr Carmen Mangiron: At least fifty percent of the revenue generated by the video games industry
comes from international markets (Chandler, 2006) and localised versions of games. As games are
primarily designed to entertain the players, it is important to make sure that there will be no oddities linguistic, cultural or visual - that may deter their enjoyment. For this reason, cultural references and
humour, for example, need to be adapted and localised. The player can identify with the game and
enjoy it without the feeling it is a translation designed for somebody else.
L&M: How can language barriers in video games be overcome?
Dr Carmen Mangiron: Game localisers are given almost carte blanche to make any changes they
deem necessary to the text in a video game. This goes to the point that they sometimes end up writing
new dialogues or creating new jokes or puns where they are absent in the original. More often, rather
than translating, they are transcreating the text. The particular characteristic of the translation of video
games is that it can be very flexible: It is even possible to request modifications to the images and
graphics of the original game, as mentioned earlier. If the body language or the garments of a
character from a Japanese game, for example, are considered “too Japanese”, they can be
redesigned to be more attractive to an international audiences.
Di Marco (2007) mentions the case of the Japanese video game Fatal Frame, in which not only the
facial expssions of the main character, Miku, were changed, but also the way she dressed and spoke.
It was thought that the Japanese character, with childlike features and a matching voice and wearing a
school uniform would not be appealing to a Western audience. For this reason, she was redesigned to
look older and more mature.
L&M: Did anything from the original get lost in translation? How can you keep the feel and look
of the original?
Dr Carmen Mangiron: As in any kind of translation, there is always a certain loss in translation,
because there are always cultural and intertetxual references and jokes that cannot be translated.
However, I believe that the translations also gain something, for example, new jokes, puns and cultural
connotations included by the translators. Sometimes it compensates for the loss of the original;
sometimes it just gives a flavour and authenticity to the localised game.
Keeping the look of the original is mainly achieved by keeping the original images and graphics of the
game, even if minor modifications are made for cultural and marketing reasons. Translators seek to
keep the feel of the original by providing a functional translation that has the same effect on the player
and reproduces a similar gaming experience.
L&M: Could you please exemplify what, in a video game, is localised and how?
Dr Carmen Mangiron: There are several components, known as assets, that need to be localised in a
video game: the in-game text (user interface); the audio and cinematic assets (script, for dubbing
and/or subtitling); the art assets (graphics that contain text); and the printed materials (manual,
packaging). The localisation process varies according to the company. Some big developers opt for
the in-house localisation model, which means that the translators work on site, usually in a team and
have access to the original game. Smaller developers outsource the localisation to specialised
agencies, who are in charge of the whole process: translation, review, quality assessment (QA), and
the recording of the script in a studio. In this model, translators do not have access to the original
game and sometimes they have very little information about the game. This type of translation is
known as blind-folded translation.
In the case of the series Final Fantasy, the developer, Square-Enix opts for an in-house model.
European versions of Final Fantasy, such as the Spanish one, have the user interface in Spanish but
the script is not dubbed. It is only subtitled and the English version is used for the voiceover. The
cultural modifications have mainly to do with humour, inter-textual references and cultural references
from Japanese or American culture. These references are either adapted or omitted.
L&M: What is your personal relationship to video games and how did you get involved in the
field of game localisation?
Dr Carmen Mangiron: I consider myself a casual gamer. I like role-play games series and adventure
games. My work in the field of game localisation began in 1999, when Square was looking for
translators to translate Final Fantasy VIII directly from Japanese into Spanish. I was contacted about
the job and became one of the translators of the Final Fantasy Series into Spanish. And it’s real fun!