Cover not available
Article published In:
Localization around the globe
Edited by Minako O'Hagan and Julie McDonough Dolmaya
[The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 7:1/2] 2020
► pp. 28–48

Localization and culturalization for a history-based game

The case of Detention

| National Taiwan University
Released in 2017, the game Detention by the Taiwanese indie developer Red Candle Games gained great domestic success and made a name for itself among gamer communities worldwide. Providing an English-language localization upon its release, the 2D point-and-click horror game is set in the 1960s during Taiwan’s “White Terror” era. The story follows a ghost girl bound to the school she attended and unravels her tragic story. With such a specific temporal and spatial background, the game has a wide range of cultural references, potentially preventing non-Taiwanese players from being immersed in the game. This paper aims to examine industry practices within the theoretical framework of translation studies and understand, with the case of Detention, how culturalization operates at different levels. Through the lens of loss and gain, this paper also discusses how certain cultural connotations are lost in localization to retain the immersive game experience as an overall gain.
Keywords: game localization, video game, culturalization, white terror, history, Taiwan
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The historical background of Detention
  • 3.Cultural content and context of Detention
  • 4. Detention, localization and culturalization
    • 4.1Macro-level culturalization
    • 4.2Micro-level culturalization
    • 4.3Transcreation within the framework of culturalization
    • 4.4Loss of cultural connotations in localization
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 January 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.20007.hsu
References (16)
References
Carlson, Rebecca, and Jonathan Corliss. 2011. “Imagined Commodities: Video Game Localization and Mythologies of Cultural Difference.” Games and Culture 6 (1): 61–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chandler, Heather Maxwell, and Stephanie O’Malley Deming. 2012. The Game Localization Handbook. 2 ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.Google Scholar
Chen, Ketty W. 2008. “Disciplining Taiwan: The Kuomintang’s Methods of Control during the White Terror Era (1947–1987).” Taiwan International Studies Quarterly 4 (4): 185–210.Google Scholar
Di Marco, Francesca. 2007. “Cultural Localization: Orientation and Disorientation in Japanese Video Games.” Revista Tradumàtica: Traducció i Tecnologies de la Informació i la Comunicació (5). [URL]
Edwards, Kate. 2012. “Culturalization of Game Content.” In The Game Localization Handbook, edited by Heather Maxwell Chandler and Stephanie O’Malley Deming, 19–34. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.Google Scholar
. 2014. “Beyond Localization: An Overview of Game Culturalization.” In Fun for All: Translation and Accessibility Practices in Video Games, edited by Carmen Mangiron, Pilar Orero and Minako O’Hagan, 287–303. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Elsam, Sara. 2018. “Hungry Ghosts and Book Burning: Detention Explores Taiwan’s Dark Past.” Accessed July 25, 2020. [URL]
Liu, Tiff. 2017. “Detention Postmortem: Localizing a Taiwanese Game for Western Audiences.” Last Modified Aug 2. Accessed July 25, 2020. [URL]
Mangiron, Carmen, and Minako O’Hagan. 2006. “Game Localisation: Unleashing Imagination with ‘Restricted’ Translation.” The Journal of Specialised Translation 6 (1): 10–21.Google Scholar
Metacritic. 2017. “Detention for PC Reviews.” Accessed July 22, 2020. [URL]
O’Hagan, Minako, and Heather Chandler. 2016. “Game Localization Research and Translation Studies.” Border Crossings: Translation Studies and Other Disciplines 1261: 309–330. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako, and Carmen Mangiron. 2013. Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oh, Ashley. 2018. “Psychological Horror Game Detention Revisits 1960s Taiwan.” Accessed July 25, 2020. [URL]
Sajna, Mateusz. 2018. “Cultural Transfer in Video Games.” Linguistische Treffen in Wrocław 141: 175–186.Google Scholar
Smith, Adam. 2017. “Wot I Think: Detention.” Accessed July 25, 2020. [URL]
Gameography
Red Candle Games. 2017. Detention. Red Candle Games, AGM PLAYISM. Microsoft Windows.Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Hsu, Hao & Minako O’Hagan
2024. International players’ perceptions of localization in their gameplay experiences. Translation Spaces DOI logo
Moreno García, Luis Damián
2024. The Localisation, Transcreation and Adaptation of Cultural Realia in Video Games: The Case of Cultural (re)presentation in Arena of Valor. In New Perspectives in Media Translation, ► pp. 117 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 19 october 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.