Tradução e localização de jogos eletrônicos: o potencial criativo dos tradutores

Abstract

Electronic games are artistic products that are part of an expanding multi-billion dollar market that has surpassed the music and film industries. The growth and internationalization of this market have brought the need for localization, which represents a great opportunity for translators who are interested in the area of ​​video game translation. Based on the translation and localization of a game called Spelunky Classic HD in the English-Brazilian Portuguese language pair, we describe and analyze important challenges that translators may encounter in the localization of video games, and contribute with theoretical and practical input that can serve to support future translators. The technical and linguistic challenges have demonstrated how important it is for translators to develop creativity, problem-solving abilities, and other skills that help in understanding the specific characteristics of video game localization and in solving all types of linguistic, cultural, and technical problems.