The Paradigm Shift of Indirect Translation in Contemporary Video Game Development and Localization

Abstract

This article aims to introduce new insights into the utilization of indirect translation in video game localization by uncovering a new potential localization process unique to video games. It presents indirect translation as a pivotal way to spread language accessibility in smaller languages and markets, focusing on Japanese video games and their accessibility using English as a pivot language. It offers an overview of the Slovak gaming market and the state of Japanese-to-Slovak translation in Slovakia. It then leads to showcasing indirect translation in video game localization in the past and introduces a new way of integrating indirect translation based on the localization of Final Fantasy XVI.