Overwatch, Warcraft, WOW, StarCraft, Diablo...
Do you love online games?
StarCraft, Warcraft, Diablo, World of Warcraft These are names you may have heard at least once, even if you don't like games.
It's probably around the end of the century to the early 2000s. Do you remember? They appeared quite innovatively, explosively increasing the number of PC stores across Korea, and even now, these are games that make me remember and appreciate the nostalgia of that time.
All the games that have settled in the country like this A game by the American game company Blizzard (Blizzard)The fact is that it was!
Localization of foreign games
Localizing international games is something most game users want. One of the important things about localization versionThat's right. In game translation Most of them are literal translations of the original textHowever, if the user feels that the quality of the translation is “insufficient,” the result is not only user abandonment, but they are also likely to be ridiculed and criticized on the web. What kind of translation do games get a lot of attention from usersAre they doing a lot?
Blizzard's transcendental translation
Currently, Blizzard games have tons of ambassadors and items on the web Transcendental translationIt is famous for Frost mourne, which is one of Warcraft's skills, is named “frosty,” and even if you look at the example of Fireball being a “fireball” The translation that makes use of the original text is the keynote of the existing Blizzard game translationThat was it. However, thinking about “localization” (?) More than a blind literal translation when you think about it from the perspective of users who play games while going through Start translating according to translations that can provide a higher level of immersion and empathyI did.
Shown in games such as Warcraft, Diablo, and World of Warcraft Blizzard's localization and translation direction changed starting with OverwatchI will. I changed to a more bold transcendental translation, Actively use paraphrase that focuses more on play and fun without being bound by the original textThe number of such cases has increased. Currently, it is appreciated that the feel of the original text is more alive even though it is not bound by the original text.
For example, in an Overwatch game McCreaThere is a character called.
“Deadeye (Deadeye)”, the ultimate ability used by Macri As soon as you activate the skill, you shout “It's High Noon” to all opponent users.
However, in the game, McCree says”The sunset sets“I'm shouting. McCree in Overwatch is a cowboy character.
After shouting “The sunset is setting,” he shows off his Western Era gunslinger skills and unlocks the ultimate ability. The combination of the bleak atmosphere unique to the Western Era and the smirking lines unique to McCree made it an addictive line and won the hearts of users around the world.
In English, It's High Noon is described as “the sunset sets” in the Korean version of Overwatch.
Expressions vary from country to country.
In Germany, Die Stunde hat geschlagen (that time has come)
In France, Une dernière volonté (last mercy)
In China, it's translated as having arrived at noon (it's noon)It will be.
It can be said that the translation reflected the historical/cultural/social background of each country during this process.
Anyway, if you look at Overwatch's translation work, which recreated the original text through concerns about localization and parodied other characters in Korean style, you can see how important concerns about localization are.
Translation of the official website
But still Sentences from “Awkward translation”It can be found all over the official Blizzard website.
If you go to the official Blizzard Battlenet website, you'll notice that a lot of awkward phrases are still appearing.
👉 Blizzard official website
If you look at the homepage”World of Warcraft: Shadowlands - package” will appear.
The original title of this game is “World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Bundle,” and the original text translates Shadowlands and Bundle as “Shadowlands” and “Package,” respectively.
From my point of view, I think translating “Shadowlands” as “shadowlands” and “bundles” as “bundles” or “packages” is a bit more relevant.
I'm wondering how you would translate it.
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In addition to games, there are still many places where people confuse translation and interpretation, and struggle between literal translation and paraphrase.
It's a translator we rely on in many situations, but using a translator may not produce the results I intended, even in the cutting-edge digital age of 2021.
In this situation, it seems that the premise of a perfect translation may not be established for the time being. However, If it makes the user feel that the translation is 100% appropriate, then it is a successful translationI think this might be it.
Gicon Studio allows users to choose the desired translation between an accurate translation and an appropriate translation
I'm still thinking about it today.
See you in the next post~
Today too Wel-con!
*This content has been transferred from Gicon Studio to Letterworks.
