L'ús del català en l'àmbit dels videojocs

Video games have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the 21st century. Their significance in society keeps increasing due to their important social functions, such as education and health, and their presence in an array of platforms: mobile phones, tablets, PCs, and consoles. The number of languages into which games are being localised is also increasing beyond the traditional French, Italian, German and Spanish to include Polish, Portuguese, and Russian. However, speakers of minority languages, such as Catalan, do not have access to a wide selection of games in their language and often have to play in a different one. This paperpresents an analysis of the position of the Catalan language in the video games industry and compares it to the situation of this language on the Internet and in the computer software industry. It describes the situation of the video game industry in Catalonia and analyses what kind of games are available in Catalan, outlining the paucity of electronic games available to Catalan players. The paper also examines the steps and measures that are being taken by the Catalan Government and the Catalan gaming community to redress this situation and provides a number of ideas about how to promote the presence of Catalan in this ever-growing area of interactive audiovisual entertainment.Els videojocs s'han convertit en una de les formes de lleure més populars del segle xxi. La seva presència a la societat és cada vegada més important a causa de les seves funcions socials rellevants, com ara l'educació i la sanitat, així com la seva presència a gran varietat de plataformes: telèfons mòbils, tauletes, ordinadors personals i consoles. El nombre de llengües a les quals es tradueixen els videojocs també ha augmentat més enllà del francès, l'italià, l'alemany i l'espanyol, les llengües de treball més habituals, i actualment es troben jocs traduïts a altres llengües com el polonès, el portuguès i el rus. Tanmateix, els parlants de llengües minoritàries, com el català, encara no poden gaudir d'una oferta de videojocs en la seva llengua i sovint es veuen obligats a jugar en un altre idioma. En aquest article s'analitza la situació de la llengua catalana dins la indústria dels videojocs i es compara amb la seva posició a Internet i la indústria de localització de programari. Es descriu quina és la situació de la indústria dels videojocs a Catalunya i s'analitza quina és la presència del català en aquest sector, i es destaca la manca de video- jocs en la nostra llengua. També s'examinen les mesures adoptades pel Govern i la comunitat de jugadors catalans per tal de fer front a aquesta situació. Per acabar, es fan algunes propostes per augmentar la presència del català en el món dels videojocs i contribuir a la normalització lingüística d'aquest sector de lleure interactiu

Games without borders: the cultural dimensión of game localisation.

La industria del software de entretenimiento se ha convertido en un fenómeno global. Su éxito se debe en buena parte a los procesos de localización, que ayudan a las empresas a maximizar su inversión al permitirles llegar a un público lo más amplio posible. El objetivo de la localización de videojuegos es reproducir la experiencia de juego del original y obtener un efecto similar en los jugadores meta, fomentando la creación de una conexión emocional entre ellos y el juego y facilitando su inmersión en él. Para producir una versión localizada de calidad, es crucial tener en cuenta no solo los aspectos lingüísticos y técnicos, sino también los aspectos culturales. Tras describir en qué consiste la localización de videojuegos y explorar los conceptos de localización emotiva y ludológica,este artículo se centra en la dimensión cultural de la traducción de videojuegos. Describe las prácticas de adaptación cultural; se exploran los factores socioculturales que influyen en esta modalidad emergente y se proporcionan diversos ejemplos para ilustrar los diferentes grados de adaptación cultural posibles, conocida también como culturalización y localización cultural. Por último, se reflexiona sobre la necesidad de encontrar el equilibrio entre la domesticación y la exotización, en función de la estrategia de traducción global, la audiencia meta y el género del juego

Accesibilidad a los videojuegos : estado actual y perspectivas futuras

Durante los últimos años la accesibilidad a los medios de comunicación ha adquirido gran relevancia, impulsada por el cambio de la televisión analógica a la digital programado en Europa para el año 2012. Sin embargo, a pesar del éxito creciente de los videojuegos como forma de ocio a nivel mundial, la accesibilidad a los videojuegos ha recibido escasa atención, tanto por parte de la industria como del mundo académico. En este artículo definimos el concepto de accesibilidad a los videojuegos, exploramos el estado de la cuestión y describimos las distintas barreras con las que se topan los jugadores con diversidad funcional. También presentamos los argumentos a favor de la accesibilidad y proponemos distintas estrategias para mejorar la accesibilidad universal a los videojuegos.Over the past years accessibility to the media has gathered much attention, triggered by the switch from analogue to digital TV scheduled in Europe for 2012. However, despite the worldwide growing popularity of video games as an entertainment option, game accessibility has received little attention by industry and academia. In this paper the concept of game accessibility is presented, together with an analysis of the current accessibility situation. The different barriers players with functional diversity have to face are mentioned, and some arguments in favour of accessibility are provided. Finally, the author proposes several strategies for improving universal accessibility to games

Ressenyes

Index de les obres ressenyades: Jorge DÍAZ-CINTAS ; Anna MATAMALA ; Josélia NEVES (eds.), New Insights into Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility : Media for All

Nous espais d'aprenentatge per a noves necessitats de formació. Els projectes europeus ACT i ADLAB PRO com a exemples d'innovació docent

El pòster resumeix els objectius i resultats principals dels projectes europeus de didàctica ACT i ADLAB PRO, centrats a definir perfils professionals relacionats amb l'accessibilitat i a generar materials didàctics per formar aquests nous perfils professional

Translated from English or created in Spanish? The reception of audio description for video games

Video gaming has gained immense popularity as a form of entertainment all around the world. However, most games are not fully accessible for players with visual disabilities. Audio description (AD) translates visual elements into spoken words, thus making games accessible to players with vision loss. The TransAD4games project aims to explore the creation and translation of audio descriptions for video games to improve game accessibility across languages and cultures. This article presents part of the research findings from the TransAD4games, reporting the outcomes of a reception study on players’ preferences and opinion about AD for the game Before I Forget (3-Fold Games, 2020) translated from English into Spanish and AD created from scratch in Spanish. Results show that while players preferred the original Spanish AD created from scratch, they also appreciated the translated version, suggesting that translating AD is a viable and acceptable option to improve visual game accessibility

Reception of game subtitles : an empirical study

Altres ajuts: European project Hbb4All from the FP7 CIP-ICTPSP.2013.5.1 # 621014.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

Found in translation : evolving approaches for the localization of japanese video games

Japanese video games have entertained players around the world and played an important role in the video game industry since its origins. In order to export Japanese games overseas, they need to be localized, i.e., they need to be technically, linguistically, and culturally adapted for the territories where they will be sold. This article hopes to shed light onto the current localization practices for Japanese games, their reception in North America, and how users' feedback can contribute to fine-tuning localization strategies. After briefly defining what game localization entails, an overview of the localization practices followed by Japanese developers and publishers is provided. Next, the paper presents three brief case studies of the strategies applied to the localization into English of three renowned Japanese video game sagas set in Japan: Persona (1996-present), Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2005-present), and Yakuza (2005-present). The objective of the paper is to analyze how localization practices for these series have evolved over time by looking at industry perspectives on localization, as well as the target market expectations, in order to examine how the dialogue between industry and consumers occurs. Special attention is given to how players' feedback impacted on localization practices. A descriptive, participant-oriented, and documentary approach was used to collect information from specialized websites, blogs, and forums regarding localization strategies and the reception of the localized English versions. The analysis indicates that localization strategies for Japanese games have evolved over time from a higher to a lower degree of cultural adaptation in order to meet target markets' expectations. However, it was also noted that despite the increasing tendency to preserve the sociocultural content of the original, the language used in the translations needs to be vivid and idiomatic in order to reach a wider audience and provide an enjoyable gameplay experienc

Games without borders : the cultural dimension of game localisation

Juegos sin fronteras : la dimensión cultural de la localización de videojuegosFrom its humble origins in the 1970s, the software entertainment industry has grown into a worldwide phenomenon and a multibillion-dollar industry. Its success is, to a great extent, attributable to localisation practices, which help game companies maximize their return on investment by reaching the widest possible audience. Game localisation strives to reproduce the gameplay experience of the original game and elicit a similar response on target players, fostering an emotional connection between them and the game, thus facilitating their immersion. In order to produce a good quality localised version, it is crucial to take into account not only technical and linguistic issues, but also cultural issues affecting game localisation practices. After describing what game localisation entails and exploring the concepts of emotional and ludological localisation, this paper discusses the cultural dimension of this emerging type of translation. It describes current cultural adaptation practices in games and explores the sociocultural factors affecting game localisation. By providing a number of examples, it analyses the wide scope of cultural adaptation, also known as culturalisation and cultural localisation, inherent to game localisation. Finally, this paper reflects on the need to strike a balance between domestication and foreignisation, depending on the global translation strategy, the intended target audience and the genre of the game.La industria del software de entretenimiento se ha convertido en un fenómeno global. Su éxito se debe en buena parte a los procesos de localización, que ayudan a las empresas a maximizar su inversión al permitirles llegar a un público lo más amplio posible. El objetivo de la localización de videojuegos es reproducir la experiencia de juego del original y obtener un efecto similar en los jugadores meta, fomentando la creación de una conexión emocional entre ellos y el juego y facilitando su inmersión en él. Para producir una versión localizada de calidad, es crucial tener en cuenta no solo los aspectos lingüísticos y técnicos, sino también los aspectos culturales. Tras describir en qué consiste la localización de videojuegos y explorar los conceptos de localización emotiva y ludológica, este artículo se centra en la dimensión cultural de la traducción de videojuegos. Describe las prácticas de adaptación cultural; se exploran los factores socioculturales que influyen en esta modalidad emergente y se proporcionan diversos ejemplos para ilustrar los diferentes grados de adaptación cultural posibles, conocida también como culturalización y localización cultural. Por último, se reflexiona sobre la necesidad de encontrar el equilibrio entre la domesticación y la exotización, en función de la estrategia de traducción global, la audiencia meta y el género del juego