How to Play: Translation of Video Game Tutorials in The Last of Us Part II
Lampinen, Jutta (2024)
2024
Monikielisen viestinnän ja käännöstieteen maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Multilingual Communication and Translation Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-12-02
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2024110810047
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2024110810047
Tiivistelmä
In this thesis, I examine the localization and translation of video game tutorials from English to Finnish from the video game The Last of Us Part II. I examine the possible differences between the tutorials in these languages and what could be the reasoning behind these possible differences. The point of this thesis is to establish research on tutorial localization in Translation Studies since no prior research exists on the topic.
I examine the localization and translation of tutorials from the point of view of user-centered translation. In my analysis, I specifically focus on pragmatic adaptation strategies which can be used to adapt a text to a new target audience. In addition, in my analysis I consider tutorial’s usability, user experience, positive reader orientation, delivering expertise, and other factors involved in translating video game texts.
The data consists of all the tutorial messages that appeared on the screen in my playthroughs and of all the tutorials that can be found in the menu. Therefore, in total I had 136 tutorials to analyze. In this thesis, I examine the differences between English and Finnish tutorials by conducting a comparative analysis to see if pragmatic adaptation strategies were used in the translation process to adapt the tutorials to another target audience and improve the tutorials comprehensibility in another language.
The results show that English and Finnish tutorials have much in common but can have differences. In both languages, the tutorials match the game’s graphics, are written in imperative mood, and were consistent with the game’s terminology. The biggest changes to the Finnish tutorials were seen in the information structure, but also some additions, omissions and rewritten tutorials were found in the analysis. Other noticeable observations were favoring language that preserves player’s freedom, different ways to address the readers, small inconsistencies in punctuation, small mistranslations and longer menu tutorials compared to the ones inside the game.
Localized tutorials can differ from the original ones without changing the tutorials’ original purpose. There can be many reasonings behind these changes, but overall the changes seem to improve the text’s comprehensibility and readability in another language and culture. This thesis can serve as a starting point for additional research to fully understand the language used in tutorials, what is required in their localization, and what role localizers have in video game production.
I examine the localization and translation of tutorials from the point of view of user-centered translation. In my analysis, I specifically focus on pragmatic adaptation strategies which can be used to adapt a text to a new target audience. In addition, in my analysis I consider tutorial’s usability, user experience, positive reader orientation, delivering expertise, and other factors involved in translating video game texts.
The data consists of all the tutorial messages that appeared on the screen in my playthroughs and of all the tutorials that can be found in the menu. Therefore, in total I had 136 tutorials to analyze. In this thesis, I examine the differences between English and Finnish tutorials by conducting a comparative analysis to see if pragmatic adaptation strategies were used in the translation process to adapt the tutorials to another target audience and improve the tutorials comprehensibility in another language.
The results show that English and Finnish tutorials have much in common but can have differences. In both languages, the tutorials match the game’s graphics, are written in imperative mood, and were consistent with the game’s terminology. The biggest changes to the Finnish tutorials were seen in the information structure, but also some additions, omissions and rewritten tutorials were found in the analysis. Other noticeable observations were favoring language that preserves player’s freedom, different ways to address the readers, small inconsistencies in punctuation, small mistranslations and longer menu tutorials compared to the ones inside the game.
Localized tutorials can differ from the original ones without changing the tutorials’ original purpose. There can be many reasonings behind these changes, but overall the changes seem to improve the text’s comprehensibility and readability in another language and culture. This thesis can serve as a starting point for additional research to fully understand the language used in tutorials, what is required in their localization, and what role localizers have in video game production.