Mapping the production stage of a video game localization project with actor network theory

What is it about?

This research focuses on the delineation of the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the production stage of video game localization projects, such as the translators, reviewers, project managers, and localization engineers. Actor network theory (ANT) has been used to map and trace the actions and relationships that evolve between the professionals, and the documents they create, in a Chinese-to-English video game localization project. This involved observing four professional translation teams working on the same text, and highlights how different roles require different skillsets.

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Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on Unsplash

Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The video game localization industry has undergone rapid development and expansion. This involves newly emerging roles, and technologies. However, academia has struggled to access many facets of authentic practice in this field, due to industry restrictions, and the limited experience most researchers have of working in the industry. This research however circumnavigated such restrictions, and for the first time, gained access to an authentic practice, as the researcher has worked extensively in the field, and collaborated with the global leader in video game localization. This offers a rare glimpse of the complex relationships and actions that occur within the production stage of a video game localisation project. Moreover, this research has clearly shown which roles are ascribed to which professionals.