Game localisation is an emerging field in Translation Studies that initially began attracting attention in the late 1990s, when the first studies analysing this new translation phenomenon were published by professionals working in the field. In the last decade, research on game localisation has gained impetus. Particularly, in recent years, the number of books, journal articles, book chapters, undergraduate, masters and doctoral dissertations aiming to shed light on this relatively young area of study have increased considerably. This paper examines existing research on game localisation, focusing on published papers (articles and book chapters) and books. It presents a diachronic view of game localisation research, describing the main topics and methods used, as well as the issue of research materials. Finally, it explores potential future research avenues and calls for reception studies, which are necessary to consolidate game localisation as an established research domain within Translation Studies.
Over the last few years accessibility to the media has been gathering the attention of scholars, particularly subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH) and audiodescription (AD) for the blind, due to the transition from analogue to digital TV that took place in Europe in 2012. There is a wide array of academic studies focussing on subtitling and SDH in different media, such as TV, cinema, and DVD. However, despite the fact that many video games contain cinematic scenes, which are subtitled intralingually, interlingually or both, subtitling practices in game localization remain unexplored, and the existing standards widely applied to subtitling for TV, DVD and cinema are not applied. There is a need for standardisation of game subtitling practices, which will ultimately lead to an enhanced gameplay experience for all users. This paper presents a small-scale exploratory study about the reception of subtitles in video games by means of user tests through a questionnaire and eye tracking technology in order to determine what kind of subtitles users prefer, focusing on parameters such as presentation, position, character identification, and depiction of sound effects. The final objective is to contribute to the development of best practices and standards in subtitling for this emerging digital medium, which will enhance game accessibility not only for deaf and hard of hearing players but also for all players.
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