Cover not available
Article published In:
Digital Translation
Vol. 10:1 (2023) ► pp.58–87

An analysis of the Spanish dubbing of the video game Iron Man 2

ORCID logo | University of Oviedo

Our study was motivated to investigate reasons why the Spanish localisation of the video game Iron Man 2 (Sega 2010) attracted extensive criticism. Scholars and gamers alike labelled it “abysmal” (Mejías-Climent 2021b, 134) and among the worst dubbing in Spanish of all time in the video game history. This article provides a descriptive and empirical analysis of the Spanish dubbing of the cinematic scenes of the game. We have focused our analysis, firstly, on the synchrony of the 50 cinematic scenes following Mejías-Climent’s (2021b) levels of restriction and types of dubbing synchronies, and, secondly, on the voice actors’ performance (acting, pronunciation and diction) and voice quality (character coherence) for the most relevant game characters by applying the methodology for voice quality analysis, drawing on Bosseaux (2015, 2018) and Rodríguez Fernández-Peña (2020). The results show that there has been a chain of oversights in the dubbing process, involving dubbing directors, voice actors and testers, which likely contributed to the negative reviews of the localised version in Spanish.

Keywords: video game, dubbing, localisation, voice quality, performance, synchrony, character coherence, Iron Man
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The voice recording process of a video game
    • 2.1The Spanish dubbing of Iron Man 2
    • 2.2Video game synchrony
    • 2.3Voice casting and character coherence
    • 2.4Performance
  • 3.The Spanish dubbing team
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Sound-sync analysis methodology
    • 4.2Voice quality analysis methodology
  • 5.Analysis of the Spanish dubbing
    • 5.1Synchrony analysis
    • 5.2Pronunciation of relevant words
    • 5.3Voice quality analysis
  • 6.Performance
  • 7.Results and conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Gameography
Published online: 24 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dt.22014.rod
References
Ashby, Patricia
2011 Understanding Phonetics. London: Hodder Education.Google Scholar
Ávila, Alejandro
1997 El doblaje [Dubbing]. Madrid: Cátedra.Google Scholar
Bosseaux, Charlotte
2015 Dubbing, Film and Performance: Uncanny Encounters. Bern: Peter Lang Publishing Group. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2018 “Voice in French dubbing: The Case of Julianne Moore.” Perspectives 27 (2): 218–234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bustamante, Carmen
2012 “El cantante lírico [Lyrical singing]”. In La voz: la técnica y la expresión, by Inés Sánchez Bustos, 76–97. Badalona, Buenos Aires, México DF: Paidotribo.Google Scholar
Chandler, Heather M.
2005 The Game Localization Handbook. Massachusetts: Charles River Media.Google Scholar
Chaume, Frederic
2007 “Quality Standards in Dubbing: A Proposal.” Tradterm 131: 71–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012 Audiovisual Translation: Dubbing. Manchester: St. Jerome Pub.Google Scholar
Dyer, Richard
1979 Stars. London: British Film Institute.Google Scholar
Fodor, Istvan
1969 “Linguistic and Psychological problems of film synchronization.” Acta Linguistica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 19 (2): 379–94.Google Scholar
Groensteen, Thierry
1998 “La transecriture: Pour une theorie de l’adaptation [Transwriting: towards a theory of adaptation]”. Colloque de Cerisy, 14–21. Quebec: Editions Nota Bene.Google Scholar
Hutcheon, Linda
2013 A Theory of Adaptation. Oxon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Loureiro Pernas, María
2007 “Paseo por la localización de un videojuego [A stroll through video game localization]”. Tradumática: tecnologies de la traducció 51: 1–6.Google Scholar
Mejías-Climent, Laura
2016 “Videojuegos y doblaje. La sincronización [Video games and dubbing. Synchronization]”. Fòrum de Recerca 211: 271–290. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2017 “Multimodality and Dubbing in Video Games: A Research Approach.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series: Themes in Translation Studies 171: 99–113.Google Scholar
2018 “El ajuste en videojuegos: el doblaje de Assassin’s Creed Syndicate [Adjusting video games: the dubbing of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate]”. TRANS. Revista de Traductología 221: 11–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2021a “Clasificaciones de videojuegos. Una propuesta práctica para estudios empíricos [Video game classification. A practical proposal for empirical studies]”. Tradumàtica: tecnologies de la traducció 191: 22–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2021b Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Minutella, Vincenza
2021 (Re)creating Language Identities in Animated Films: Dubbing Linguistic Variation. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako
2005 “Multidimensional Translation: A Game Plan for Audiovisual Translation in the Age of GILT.” In Proceedings of the Marie Curie Euroconferences MuTra 2005 Challenges of Multidimensional Translation, by Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast and Sandra Nauert, 76–87. Saarbrücken: Advanced Trasnlation Research Center (ATRC).Google Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako, and Carmen Mangiron
2013 Game Localization: Translating For The Global Digital Entertainment Industry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Orero, Pilar
2006 “Voice-over: A case of hyper-reality.” In Proceedings of the Marie Curie Euroconferences MuTra ’Audiovisual Translation Scenarios’ by Mary Carroll, Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast and Sandra Nauert, 173–181. Saarbrücken: Advanced Trasnlation Research Center (ATRC).Google Scholar
Palumbo, Arrigo, Barbara Calabrese, P. Vizza, Nicola Lombardo, Aldo Garozzo, Mario Cannataro, Francesco Amato, and Pierangelo Veltri
2010 “A Novel Portable Device for Laryngeal Pathologies Analysis and Classification.” In Advances in Biomedical Sensing, Measurements, Instrumentation and Systems, by Subhas Chandra Mukhopadahyay and Aimé Lay-Ekauakille, 335–352. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pratten, Robert
2015 Getting Started with Transmedia Storytelling. A Practical Guide for Beginners. London: CreateSpace.Google Scholar
Pujol Tubau, Miquel
2015 “La representació de personatges a través del doblatge en narratives transmèdia. Estudi descriptiu de pellícules i videojocs basats en El senyor dels anells [Character representation through dubbing in transmedia narratives. A descriptive study of the video games and movies based in The Lord of the Rings ]”. PhD dissertation. University of Vic.
Rodero Antón, Emma
2001 “El tono de la voz masculina y femenina en los informativos radiofónicos: un análisis comparativo [The masculine and feminine tone of voice in radio news broadcasts: a comparative analysis]”. Mujeres, hombres y medios de comunicación 21: 319–329.Google Scholar
Rodríguez Fernández-Peña, Alfonso Carlos
2020 “Translating Intonation and Prosody in English-Spanish Voice-Over: Strategies, Resources and Professional Practices.” PhD dissertation. University of Oviedo.
Rose, Philip
2002 Forensic Speaker Identification. London: cRc Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sánchez Mompeán, Sofía
2015 “Dubbing Animation into Spanish: Behind the Voices of Animated Characters.” JoSTrans, the Journal of Specialised Translation 231: 270–291.Google Scholar
2020 The Prosody of Dubbed Speech. Beyond the Character’s words. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Basingtoke: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schwarz, Barbara
2011 “Translation for Dubbing and Voice-Over.” In The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies, edited by Kirsten Malmkjaer and Kevin Windle, 394–409. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Setter, Jane
2019 Your Voice Speaks Volumes: It’s Not What You Say, but How You Say It. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sioli, Fluvio, Fabio Minazzi, and Andrea Ballista
2007 “Audio Localization for Language Service Providers.” In Multilingual Localization: Getting Started Guide (Supplement to Multilingual’s October/November issue), by Donna Parrish and Laurel Wagers, 18–23. Multilingual Media LLC.Google Scholar
Skolnick, Evan
2014 Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know About Narrative Techniques. Berkeley: Watson-Guptill Publications.Google Scholar
Soriano, David
2014 “10 doblajes desastrosos en castellano, cuando la tecla de mute se convierte en tu mejor amiga [10 appalling dubbings in Spanish, when the mute button becomes your best friend]”. IGN (online magazine Spain). [URL]
Spiteri Miggiani, Giselle
2021 “English-Language Dubbing: Challenges and Quality Standards of an Emerging Localisation Trend.” JoSTrans: the Journal of Specialised Translation 361: 2–25.Google Scholar
Tomasovic, Dick
2018 “From Marvel Comics to Marvel Studios: Adaptation, Intermediality, and Contemporary Hollywood Strategies.” In Comics and Adaptation, edited by Benoît Mitaine, David Roche and Isabelle Schmitt-Pitiot, 159–171. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississipi.Google Scholar
Van Leeuwen, Theo
1999 Speech, Music, Sound. London: Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Whittaker, Tom
2012 “Locating “la voz”: The Space and Sound of Spanish Dubbing”. Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 13 (3): 292–305. DOI logoGoogle Scholar

Gameography

Arizona Sunshine
(Vertigo Games 2016).Google Scholar
Captain America: Super Soldier
(Sega 2011).Google Scholar
Iron Man
(Sega 2008).Google Scholar
Iron Man 2
(Sega 2010).Google Scholar