Game Translation

[karkarinus]

I know there are loads of non-native English speakers on these forums, and I have a question for you all:

 

 

 

Do you think games are better if translated into your native language, or do they lose something?

 

 

 

Many of you will never have played a game in your own language (I don't think many are dubbed into Russian, Dutch or South African, for example. :P ) but would you like this to happen? Would it improve or spoil the overall experience?

 

 

 

Your comments, please. :)

[Stampede]

Heh heh ok good topic but I must just interject.

 

There is no such language as South African. :D

 

We actually have 11 official languages here, the most prominent being:

 

English

Afrikaans

Xhosa

Zulu

 

I can speak English and Afrikaans (though my accent is terrible, but I understand it pretty well.) and can say a couple of phrases in Xhosa.

 

So all our games here are released in english as is all our media (movies and such.) Perhaps you meant afrikaans? I would say almost all afrikaans speaking peoples here can understand english. They could play a dutch translated game very easily as the two languages are similar.

 

I would say that something is lost in the translation when a game is dependant on voice acting, only because the budget apparently allows them for one female and one male actor for all the voices in the game. Or at least that is what I have been lead to believe.

[karkarinus]

  Stampede said:

Perhaps you meant afrikaans?

 

 

 

It was actually a joke, hence the :P laughing symbol thing. Anyway, you raise a good point - that it does not necessarily depend on the translation itself, but also on the voice talent, and the budget is definitely a deciding factor there.

[Stampede]

Ah sorry, subtle humour is wasted on me I'm afraid.

[Morgoth]

Personally, I favour playing a game in the language it was originally created in, if possible. And since most games are fortunately developed in English, that desire can be satisfied in most cases.

Judging by my experience so far, any translation is in general detrimental to the quality of a game. I would never want to play Gothic in English, nor did I wish to play Morrowind in German. Especially in the games business, translations tend to be poorly made and can ruin an otherwise good or great game (Oblivion would be a prime example, and if you think that the voice overs in Baldur's Gate I are bad, you haven't played the German version; but similarly, the English translation of Aquanox was awful).

Of course, with more studios popping up in other countries, e.g. Russia, the Czech Republic, France or Spain, one would have to learn a few languages too many at a time to play all games in the language they were originally made in.

In my eyes, the only feasible way to still appeal to an international market lies in increasing the standards in relation to game translations, which is eventually the task of the publisher.

[karkarinus]

I actually found the original English version of Baldur's Gate quite good, although the narrator was awful - the Spanish version was bordering on pathetic, but the narrator was extremely convincing!

I agree with you, Morgoth, on 2 counts: that it is always better to play/read/watch games/books/films in their original language and that there is a limit to the chances of this due to people's knowledge of other languages. You obviously dominate German and English as I do English and Spanish, but would you rather play a Swahili game -1) in Swahili, 2) poorly dubbed, or 3) not bother because the experience would be sorely marred?

For example, I am reading Dostoievsky in English, and it's good, but I'm sure it's missing something.

 

 

P.S. you don't speak Swahili too, do you? :unsure:

[Morgoth]

Heh, no - despite a certain interest in the more exotic kind of languages, I haven't had the chance or time to learn Swahili yet ;)

Concerning Baldur's Gate: The voiceovers weren't bad per se, only became a bit enervating when they were repeated over and over again (maybe I had the wrong characters in my party, but Branwn and Imoen got on my nerves - and the German version was *much* worse).

 

And the question whether I would play a game in a language I don't understand is not that easy to answer - in case of some simple FPS where all dialogue fits onto a single page, I could live with a version I don't understand as much as with a poorly translated version.

If the game relies heavily on dialogue and other texts, playing the game in an (for me) unintelligible language is out of question - in case of a really exceptional game, a flawed translation may be bearable (I still enjoyed FF7 very much), an entirely messed up translation which ruins the game is unacceptable.

[karkarinus]

Prime example: Schizm in Spanish was so darned awful that I would have otherwise bothered to finish it. The Myst series (especially Riven) was extremely difficult, but I played on - or rather thought on - because it was enthralling. Schizm was SO badly translated that I was left devoid of any urge to carry on.

 

Can anyone tell me if it was any good in English? (Come to think of it, it may have been in Polish originally.)

 

 

 

Another example was Leisure Suit Larry. Imagine comments about a "stuffed beaver" in anything other than English! :huh:

[VladimIr V Y]

Not to dub. No why, I say.

 

Most translations from English to Russian - are just plain awful. Terrible voice-acting, wrong text translation.

Then I play Oblivion - I want to hear Sean Bean's voice and acting, not some unkown part-time actor.

Text translation - is a real bane. Sometimes they just use electronic translators, and don't even correct text after translation.

 

Same situation with films and books, by the way.

 

I play games only in English. Not only that is enjoyable, but useful too.

[karkarinus]

  VladimIr V Y said:

Not to dub. No why, I say.

 

Most translations from English to Russian - are just plain awful. Terrible voice-acting, wrong text translation.

Then I play Oblivion - I want to hear Sean Bean's voice and acting, not some unkown part-time actor.

Text translation - is a real bane. Sometimes they just use electronic translators, and don't even correct text after translation.

 

Same situation with films and books, by the way.

 

I play games only in English. Not only that is enjoyable, but useful too.

 

 

 

Hear, hear! That's what I think too. Just last night I was playing NwN, and after defeating one character (no spoilers here) he says "Take a bow" pronounced 'bau' as in what actors do after the show; but the text translated into Spanish said "Toma tu arco" which means "take your bow" (as in bow and arrows).

 

 

 

By the way, Vladimir (can I call you Vlad?) what's Dostoievsky like in Russian? I would love to read it in its original form!!!!