Currently, video games are hailed by many to be the world’s greatest and biggest cult phenomenon. Although there are several factors that contribute to this moniker, one of the key factors that is behind this success is Transcreation in video game localization. Without this process, video games would largely be inaccessible for players that speak a single language and prevent them from understanding the cultural context of the original game. Transcreation has enabled video games to cross borders and impacted the entire landscape of the video game industry.

What is Transcreation in Video Game Localization?
Transcreation in video game localization is a significantly different process than the ones used in traditional translation projects. The goal here is not to create an exact translation. Rather, Trans Creators focus on using creativity and individuality to retain the original meaning when adapting the language used in a video game for the target audience in a way that is natural and effective.

Generally, trans creators have free reign to carry out as many necessary changes to the language, and they are expected to include as much of the original meaning of the language used in a video game. With that in mind, it is not uncommon for trans creators to entirely change the meaning sometimes. The key aspect of their position is ensuring the desired outcome or result is understood by all diverse and varied players of the game.

Where is Transcreation Used?
The role of a trans creator is to adapt all the text and audio language used within a video game. The list of the languages they have to adapt to, can be quite extensive, but the following cover some of the main aspects they have to consider:

Names of characters:
It is particularly important to adapt the names of video game characters for improving the user experience. This is especially true if the original name signifies a certain meaning or bears a connotation. Transcreating names also helps users to relate and empathize with the characters. For instance, if a character in a video game is a friendly little strawberry that has the name ‘Berry Cute’ in the original language, a good idea would be to adapt the wordplay into something that relates to berries and cuteness for the target audience.

Names of weapons and powers:
Usually, the creators of games tend to create new terms or names for game elements like weapons and powers. As a result, a word-to-word translation might not be feasible under such circumstances. In such cases, trans creators would be expected to provide a translation from scratch. To do this, they must take into account what the game element actually does. To ensure this, it is crucial for the translators to experience and play the game themselves during the transcreation process or be provided with visual references of the game.

Instances of character restriction:
In many cases, there is nothing wrong with simply going with a literal translation, but in some languages, going with a literal translation can lead to further issues. For instance, a literal translation might take up a lot of space on the screen and block the view. Here transcreation can be instrumental for finding a solution that takes into consideration space restrictions. Buttons are one of the most difficult and challenging UI elements to transcreate as they can generally accommodate only a few characters.

Jokes:
As the sense of humor varies across different cultures, it is especially important to use transcreation for any jokes or humorous elements in a game. A direct translation can lead to potential problems if a joke is considered to be funny in a particular culture but is highly offensive to another culture.

Cultural references:
Such references can differ in relatability which can lead to confusion among different players. Common foods, songs, movies, celebrities and politicians might only be familiar to gamers in the country where the game was developed, but these elements can be very foreign and unrelatable to gamers from other countries or regions.

How This Affects the Gamer Experience
In addition to making video games more accessible to audiences from different cultures, transcreation in the video game localization process also improves the overall gaming experience. One of the best methods to ensure that they are carrying out their job effectively is to play or experience the entire video game. This will allow trans creators to guarantee the proper interpretation is used and ensure that the context of game’s plots, tools and characters is maintained.

In the end, video games are supposed to be fun and developers should create a world that is immersive for the gamer. If any of the elements are even slightly askew, the gamer’s experience might be severely hampered. Generally, their main goal is to entertain and a trans creator needs to help them accomplish this task. The end goal of both should be to convey the play experience of the game in a manner that is as close as possible to that of the original while making sure that the game is appealing and immersive to newer audiences.

The post The Importance of Transcreation in Video Game Localization first appeared on Tech Firefly.