The Role of Translation in Narrative Driven Video Games: An Evaluation of The Last of Us

Video game companies aiming to meet with the masses today also exist and compete in markets in various countries. In this process, especially in story-driven video games, it is necessary to provide the immersive experience which is intended to be presented in the visual, audio and linguistic framework in different cultures. At this point, language, which is a complement to visual and audio context, has an essential place in creating a narrative world. The processing of language data with the appropriate dynamics that will strengthen the fictional world increases the literary quality of the video game and also helps with sales and marketing aims of the companies. The study aims to emphasise the importance of subtitle translation, especially in story-driven video games. In this direction, samples selected from Turkish subtitles of the video game called The Last of Us, which has achieved high sales figures all over the world and which had been nominated and won awards in categories including story and narrative in particular. To lay the groundwork for the evaluation in this study, the translation action is discussed in two dimensions, economic and literary. Then, the internal and external contexts, which are thought to influence translation decisions, have been emphasised. Text types and features of video games are examined in the internal context while different approaches and processess are examined in the external context. In this context, the theoretical framework of the study is shaped in the audiovisual translation and in the light of the norms affecting translation process. The Turkish subtitle translation of the selected video game has been analysed by using a descriptive approach and the coupled pairs of Gideon Toury. As a result of the study, it is thought that translation decisions in the target text might be affected by the translation process as well as the translator’s decisions. Consequently, it is seen that texts in games are complement to the visual and audio elements. It is important that decisions taken as part of the translation process should be in compliance with this finding. In this research the importance of video game translation in terms of strengthening communication between the player and the game is underlined. In this process, the role of translators as a communication expert and the need for obtaining translation competence via academic translator training are emphasised. Thus, it is thought that this study will contribute to the visibility of video game translation and evaluation in the field of translation studies