Cover not available
Article published In:
Culture & Society issue
[Translation Spaces 4:2] 2015
► pp. 268–288

Auteurism and game localization — revisiting translational approaches

Film quotations in multimedia interactive entertainment

| Università degli Studi Roma Tre

In the fertile ground between cinema and video games, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid saga stands out for its auteur’s clear tendency to use film language and aesthetics and for his evident inspiration from pop culture and the American cinematic tradition. Moreover, the series is rich in quotations meant to pay tribute to cinema and communicate with movie-cultured players intertextually. With regard to the process of localization, auteurist references to film culture represent a constraint for translators rendering Kojima’s game into different languages for a Metal Gear Solid-educated audience. This paper presents a comparative analysis of some film quotations in their English into Italian and Spanish localizations of Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series in order to demonstrate the importance of loyalty to the game experience as a whole within a translational-cultural approach to localization.

Keywords: film culture, game translation, game localization, loyalty, auteurism
Published online: 28 January 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.4.2.05pet
References
Aarseth, Espen J
2004 “The Game and its Name: What is a Game Auteur? In Visual Authorship: Creativity and Intentionality in Media, edited by Torben K. Grodal, Bente Larsen, and Iben Thorving Laursen, 261–269. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.Google Scholar
Bartelt Krantz, Michaela
2011 “Game Localization Management: Balancing Linguistic Quality and Financial Efficiency. TRANS. Revista de Traductología 151: 83–88. Accessed April 3, 2014. [URL]. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Berger, Arthur Asa
2002 Video Games: A Popular Culture Phenomenon. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Bernal Merino, Miguel
2007 “Challenges in the Translation of Video Games. Revista Tradumática 51: 1–7. Accessed April 1, 2014. [URL].Google Scholar
2009 “Video Games and Children’s Books in Translation. The Journal of Specialised Translation 111: 234–247. Accessed April 1, 2014. [URL].Google Scholar
2011 “A Brief History of Game Localisation. TRANS . Revista de Traductología 151: 11–17. Accessed April 1, 2014. [URL]Google Scholar
Bittanti, Matteo
2003 “Hideo Kojima: L’enfant Terrible. In Metal Gear Solid: l’evoluzione del serpente, edited by Bruno Fraschini, 9–16. Milano: Edizioni Unicopli.Google Scholar
Burnett, Colin
2013 “Hidden Hands at Work: Authorship, the Intentional Flux, and the Dynamics of Collaboration. In A Companion to Media Authorship, edited by Jonathan Gray and Derek Johnson, 112–132. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Devoto, Giacomo, and Gian Carlo Oli
2004–2005 Dizionario della lingua italiana. Firenze: Felice Le Monnier.Google Scholar
Dietz, Frank
2006 “Issues in Localizing Computer Games. In Perspectives on Localization, edited by Keiran J. Dunne, 121–134. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fernández Costales, Alberto
2012 “Exploring Translation Strategies in Video Game Localization. Monographs in Translation and Interpreting (MONTI) 41: 385–408. Accessed April 3, 2014. [URL].Google Scholar
Frasca, Gonzalo
2003 “Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology. In The Video Game Theory Reader, edited by Mark J.P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, 221–235. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
IGN Channel
2014 “Metal Gear Creator Analyses Ground Zeroes Opening Scene. Accessed April 19, 2014. [URL].
Kent, Steven
1998 “Hideo Kojima: Game Guru, Movie Maniac. Interview for Gamers Today. Accessed February 1, 2014. [URL].Google Scholar
King, Geoff, and Tanya Krzywinska
2002 Screenplay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. London: Wallflower Press.Google Scholar
Kojima, Hideo
2012 “BAFTA Annual Games Lecture. September 28, 2012 at BAFTA 195 Picadilly. Accessed February 18, 2014. [URL].
Mangiron, Carmen, and Minako O’Hagan
2006 “Game Localisation: Unleashing Imagination with ‘Restricted’ Translation. The Journal of Specialised Translation 61: 10–21. Accessed March 23, 2014. [URL].Google Scholar
2013 Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Merriam Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
2008 Springfield: Merriam Webster Inc.Google Scholar
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
2003 Springfield: Merriam Webster Inc.Google Scholar
Metal Gear Planet
2014 “Iroquois Pliskin. Accessed March 20, 2014. [URL].
Metal Gear Solid: The Unofficial Site
2014 “Iroquois Pliskin. Accessed March 20, 2014. [URL].
2002a “Hideo Kojima at the Movies: The Great Escape. Series of articles written by Hideo Kojima for Official PlayStation 2 Magazine Official PlayStation 2 Magazine . October 4 2002 Accessed February 2, 2014. [URL].
2002b “Hideo Kojima at the Movies: The Guns of Navarone. Series of articles written by Hideo Kojima for Official PlayStation 2 Magazine Official PlayStation 2 Magazine . November 18 2002 Accessed February 2, 2014. [URL].
Moliner, María
1997 Diccionario de uso del español. Madrid: Editorial Gredos.Google Scholar
Murray, Jack
2012 “Auteurist Strategies in the Work of Hideo Kojima. Paper presented at the Marginalised Mainstream: Literature, Culture and Popularity Conference, Institute of English Studies, Senate House, London. Accessed February 20, 2014. [URL].
Murray, Janet
1997 Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
New Oxford American Dictionary
(Third Edition) 2010 New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Newman, James
2013 Videogames (Second Edition). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Noon, Derek, and Nick Dryer Whiteford
2010 “Sneaking Mission: Late Imperial America and Metal Gear Solid. In Utopic Dreams and Apocalyptic Fantasies: Critical Approaches to Researching Video Game Play, edited by Talmadge J. Wright, et al., 73–95. Lanham: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
O’Hagan, Minako
2006 “Teletranslation Revisited: Futurama for Screen Translators?. MuTra 2006 – Audiovisual Translation Scenarios: Conference Proceedings, 1–12. Accessed April 20, 2014. [URL].
Parkin, Simon
2012 “Hideo Kojima: Video Game Drop-out. The Guardian, May 23 2012 Accessed February 1, 2014. [URL].Google Scholar
Roux Girard, Guillaume
2012 “Metal Gear series. In Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming, Vol. 21, edited by Mark J.P. Wolf, 395–398. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.Google Scholar
Secchi Frau, Fabio, and Andrea Spiga
2013 Cinema & Videogame. I bit che non ti ho detto. Firenze: goWare.Google Scholar
Serón Ordóñez, Inmaculada
2011 “La localización de videojuegos de contenido histórico, o documentarse para traducir historia. TRANS. Revista de Traductología 151: 103–114. Accessed April 5, 2014. [URL]. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Uren, Lee
2003 “Computer and Video Game Design Issues. In Handbook of Computer Animation, edited by John Vince, 1–27. London: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar