Videogame localisation: quality assessment from a storytelling perspective

Gao, Qipeng 2024. Videogame localisation: quality assessment from a storytelling perspective. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the assessment of videogame localisation quality and argues that understanding videogames as a storytelling medium can contribute to effective quality assessment practice. The value of a storytelling approach to videogame localisation quality assessment is demonstrated through comprehensive analyses of localised games primarily from English into Chinese, since early days of the videogame industry to titles published within the past five years. Drawing on scholarly works in the fields of videogame localisation, translation quality assessment, videogame studies, and narrative theory, practical insights are offered into practical localisation quality assessment. The methodology applied in this thesis combines comparative analysis with data from interviews with a wide range of practitioners in the videogame industry, including videogame players, localisers, videogame testers, and narrative designers. The games analysed were collected from various sources, including players’ online discussions and my personal work experience as a localisation quality assessor for both independent game developers and for international videogame companies. Complementing comparative analyses are interview data. They provide a comprehensive understanding of the current industrial practice in videogame storytelling, localisation and localisation quality assessment, which better situates the discussion of this thesis in a professional context. The proposed storytelling approach responds to the lack of a systematic localisation quality assessment methodology noted in previous scholarly works and observed in my own work. It aims to address this lack by exploring three key questions: 1) How do videogames enable the telling of stories? 2) In what ways does videogame storytelling manifest through localisation? and 3) How can understanding videogames as a storytelling medium inform the development of criteria for assessing localisation quality? The discussion of these three research questions leads to the proposal of a quality assessment model comprised of two main criteria: Clarity, with the sub-criteria of Terminological Consistency, Paratextual Clarity and Text Presentation; and Coherence, with the subcriteria of Character Coherence, Object Coherence, Intertextual Coherence and Assemblage Coherence. Ultimately, this research contributes to the field of videogame localisation by offering viable methodology to assess localisation quality. The theoretical lens of videogame storytelling provides a viable perspective to metricise the hitherto hazily-defined concept of “gameplay experience”. The proposed quality assessment model, with comprehensive criteria, further o?ers viable guidance to enhance future localisation practice, indicating aspects to consider for localisers to cater to players’ needs to enjoy videogame stories.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Modern Languages
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 February 2025
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2025 12:41
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/176067

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