This Element takes the initiative to highlight the nascent state of audiovisual translation research centring on users of video games. It proposes ways of advancing the research by integrating numerous related perspectives from relevant fields to guide studies in translated game reception into further fruition. The Element offers an accessible overview of possible relationships between translation and its experiencers, showcasing ways to design game reception studies. Examples, methods, tools, and practical concerns are discussed to ultimately develop a blueprint for game translation user research which aims to consolidate scientific user-centric inquiry into video game translation. To that end, the blueprint captures the three-pronged interplay between the parameters of localisation-reception research in facets of user experience, facets of translated games, and facets of game users.

This innovative collection makes the case for a push within the discipline to adopt user-centric perspectives on translated video games and their corresponding accessibility features. The volume demonstrates how audiovisual translation (AVT) and media accessibility (MA) involve decisions that can re-shape the gaming experience of players and other audiences. Contributions in the book outline this in two ways. First, they collectively provide an account of the prospects and challenges that come with user-centric scholarly inquiry in game translation and accessibility. Second, complementarily, they report on original studies and new, exciting findings while adopting the perspective of global users. Taken together, the collection serves as a call to action to systematically advance research eliciting variable types of input from users who take advantage of translation and accessibility services. Such research will facilitate a clearer understanding of how the particular decisions of translators and other relevant agents shape game reception. This book will be of interest to scholars in both translation studies and video game research, as well as those interested in media accessibility and media studies more broadly.

Video games are part of the growing digital entertainment industry for which game localization has become pivotal in serving international markets. As well as addressing the practical needs of the industry to facilitate translator and localizer training, this book seeks to conceptualize game localization in an attempt to locate it in Translation Studies in the context of the technologization of contemporary translation practices. Designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the topic of game localization the book draws on the literature in Game Studies as well as Translation Studies. The book’s readership is intended to be translation scholars, game localization practitioners and those in Game Studies developing research interest in the international dimensions of the digital entertainment industry. The book aims to provide a road map for the dynamic professional practices of game localization and to help readers visualize the expanding role of translation in one of the 21st century's key global industries.

Games live and die commercially on the player experience. Games User Research is collectively the way we optimise the quality of the user experience (UX) in games, working with all aspects of a game from the mechanics and interface, visuals and art, interaction and progression, making sure every element works in concert and supports the game UX. This means that Games User Research is essential and integral to the production of games and to shape the experience of players. Today, Games User Research stands as the primary pathway to understanding players and how to design, build, and launch games that provide the right game UX. Until now, the knowledge in Games User Research and Game UX has been fragmented and there were no comprehensive, authoritative resources available. This book bridges the current gap of knowledge in Games User Research, building the go-to resource for everyone working with players and games or other interactive entertainment products. It is accessible to those new to Games User Research, while being deeply comprehensive and insightful for even hardened veterans of the game industry. In this book, dozens of veterans share their wisdom and best practices on how to plan user research, obtain the actionable insights from users, conduct user-centred testing, which methods to use when, how platforms influence user research practices, and much, much more.

What happened when Sesame Street and Big Brother were adapted for African audiences? Or when video games Final Fantasy and Assassins’ Creed were localized for the Spanish market? Or when Sherlock Holmes was transformed into a talking dog for the Japanese animation Sherlock Hound? Bringing together leading international scholars working on localization in television, film and video games, Media Across Borders is a pioneering study of the myriad ways in which media content is adapted for different markets and across cultural borders. Contributors examine significant localization trends and practices such as: audiovisual translation and transcreation, dubbing and subtitling, international franchising, film remakes, TV format adaptation and video game localization. Drawing together insights from across the audiovisual sector, this volume provides a number of innovative models for interrogating the international flow of media. By paying specific attention to the diverse ways in which cultural products are adapted across markets, this collection offers important new perspectives and theoretical frameworks for studying localization processes in the audiovisual sector. For further resources, please see the Media Across Borders group website (www.mediaacrossborders.com), which hosts a ‘localization’ bibliography; links to relevant companies, institutions and publications, as well as conference papers and workshop summaries.

A definitive guide to contemporary video game studies, this second edition has been fully revised and updated to address the ongoing theoretical and methodological development of game studies. Expertly compiled by well-known video game scholars Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, the Companion includes comprehensive and interdisciplinary models and approaches for analyzing video games, new perspectives on video games both as an art form and cultural phenomenon, explorations of the technical and creative dimensions of video games, and accounts of the political, social, and cultural dynamics of video games. Brand new to this second edition are chapters examining topics such as preservation; augmented, mixed, and virtual reality; eSports; disability; diversity; and identity, as well as a new section that specifically examines the industrial aspects of video games including digital distribution, game labor, triple-A games, indie games, and globalization. Each essay provides a lively and succinct summary of its target area, quickly bringing the reader up-to-date on the pertinent issues surrounding each aspect of the field, including references for further reading. A comprehensive overview of the present state of video game studies that will undoubtedly prove invaluable to students, scholars, and game designers alike.

User research is global – yet despite its pervasiveness, practitioners are not all well equipped to work globally. What may have worked in Nigeria may not be accepted in Russia, may be done differently in Brazil, may partly work in China, and may completely fail in Kuwait. And what often goes less noticed, but can be equally vexing are technical, logistical and planning issues such as hiring qualified translators, payment procedures, travel issues, setting up facilities and finding test participants.The Handbook of Global User Research is the first book to focus on global user research. The book collects insight from UX professionals from nine countries and, following a typical project timeline, presents practical insights into the preparation, fieldwork, analysis and reporting, and overall project management for global user research projects. Any user experience professional that works on global projects -- including those new to the field, UX veterans who need information on this expanding aspect of user research, and students -- will need this book to do their job effectively. - Presents the definitive collection of hard won lessons from user research professionals around the world - Includes real-world examples of global user research challenges and provides approaches to these issues - Contains anecdotes and hard-won from the field that illustrate actionable tactics for practitioners

The coming of age of audiovisual translation studies has brought about a much-needed surge of studies focusing on the audience, their comprehension, appreciation or rejection of what reaches them through the medium of translation. Although complex to perform, studies on the reception of translated audiovisual texts offer a uniquely thorough picture of the life and afterlife of these texts. This volume provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of reception studies related to audiovisual translation and accessibility, from a diachronic and synchronic perspective. Focusing on all audiovisual translation techniques and encompassing theoretical and methodological approaches from translation, media and film studies, it aims to become a reference for students and scholars across these fields.

The Routledge Handbook of Audiovisual Translation provides an accessible, authoritative and comprehensive overview of the key modalities of audiovisual translation and the main theoretical frameworks, research methods and themes that are driving research in this rapidly developing field. Divided in four parts, this reference work consists of 32 state-of-the-art chapters from leading international scholars. The first part focuses on established and emerging audiovisual translation modalities, explores the changing contexts in which they have been and continue to be used, and examines how cultural and technological changes are directing their future trajectories. The second part delves into the interface between audiovisual translation and a range of theoretical models that have proved particularly productive in steering research in audiovisual translation studies. The third part surveys a selection of methodological approaches supporting traditional and innovative ways of interrogating audiovisual translation data. The final part addresses an array of themes pertaining to the place of audiovisual translation in society. This Handbook gives audiovisual translation studies the platform it needs to raise its profile within the Humanities research landscape and is key reading for all those engaged in the study and research of Audiovisual Translation within Translation studies.