Positioning video game localisation as an elective course : a double case study of Persona 5 and Minion Rush

Today, video games have grown to be a global entertainment industry and this could be credited to the presence of the game translators, who put in their efforts in transferring languages and make games, irrespective of their origins, accessible to the players in their own language and cultural context. Despite the fact that translation plays such a vital role in this growing industry, the formal education for game translators are often neglected and they usually had to pick up game localisation skills on the job or in an ad hoc manner. However, it is important to note that specialised techniques and knowledge are required in game localisation and skills learnt may be insufficient should they only pick them up on the job. As such, this paper details the benefits of VGL education and urges universities in introducing game localisation as an elective course at Masters’ degree in TS. This is accomplished via a double case study of two recently published games where a comparison analysis of the original and translated in-game texts, as well as marketing materials, is conducted to highlight the challenges faced during translation of the games. Translation strategies adopted by the translators are also identified to understand how these challenges are overcome in recent games. For the case studies, a PlayStation 3 and 4 video game, Persona 5 (中：《女神异闻录5》) and a mobile app game, Minion Rush (中：《小黄人快跑》) are selected. The former game is chosen for analysis mainly because its localisation in English was being criticized by many players as being “too literal” and “too much cultural references”(O'Donnell, 2017), whereas its Chinese version had received great reviews on its localisation. The result of the analysis for this game allows one to understand the current market demand for localised games and identify the suitable strategies translators used to maintain or enhance the gameplay. On the other hand, the latter game contains references adopted from the well-known movies, Despicable Me and The Minions. It is chosen for the second case study where the result of the analysis enables one to study the priorities and constraints translators face when localising games with references to movies, books or films. In addition to the relevant examples from the two case studies, a list of skills and qualities required in game translators suggested by both academia and industry is compiled. With these information, a post-graduate elective course outline for VGL is proposed, supporting the argument that VGL education can prepare current and future translators for the dynamic game localisation jobs in future.Master of Arts (Translation and Interpretation