Video Game Translation - Translating Worlds

Time to sit on the gaming couch and get ready for another post on video game translation and localization. Slap on that virtual reality headset that makes you dizzy, press start, and off we go!

Translating worlds

One of the foundations of video games, in addition to story and gameplay, is the world that the whole game resides in. It needs a certain coherence and gravitas to allow players to suspend their disbelief (within the reasonable limits of the medium) and feel immersed in the experience as much as possible. This world will inevitably consist of locations that may or may not use words in the developer’s native language.

If a certain location has a completely original and untranslatable name (think Mordor from Lord of the Rings), we’re generally in the clear as translations go.

But what if the place is named “River Land” for example? There is a very literal translation for a place like that in virtually every language on earth, but should we go ahead and translate it? Well, it depends.

First of all, some names are given to places because they roll on the tongue in a certain way in the original language. Developers don’t only use literal descriptions for these places, they also use words and terms that sound evocative of the setting. They can also use wordplay in their language to add some depth, or perhaps as an inside joke for the domestic market.

Deciding to translate (or not translate) these locations can be a tough call, as it can have the upside of keeping the game as faithful as possible to the original version, and the downside of making it feel inconsistent and oddly out of place when these words appear. As a rule of thumb, if these directly translatable moments are few and far between, and don’t really have any impact in the worldbuilding as a whole, it’s reasonably safe to go ahead and translate them. If it’s a common ocurrence, there might be deeper implications beneath the surface that could affect the message the developers wish to convey.

At the end of the day, the best course of action is to be in contact with the writing team and to give them the reasons why and how you would translate their text. Ask them for the reasoning behind those names, if any, and make sure they give you their blessing to go ahead and do your job as best as possible.

Coming soon

On our next post, we’ll be talking about translating those pesky options menus. Stay tuned! ;)

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