A Comparative Analysis of Game Localization in Chinese Mainland and Taiwan: A Case Study of League of Legends

Abstract

Game localization refers to the changes and adjustments made to the original game to suit the target players. In the narrow sense, it is the translation of game texts. Games localization is an important factor that decides the game players’ experience. Therefore, conveying information with suitable translation methods based on the needs of target players is of great significance. This thesis, under the guidance of Peter Newmark’s theory of text functions, studies one of the most popular video games, League of Legends by comparing the versions from Mainland China and Taiwan to explore the approaches of game localization. 

This thesis includes three parts. The first part is the overall introduction to game localization, including concept of game localization, significance, and relative studies. The second part introduces Newmark’s theory of text functions, and classifies game texts into three types – expressive text, informative text, and vocative text – and further analyzes corresponding translation methods suitable for each text. The third part contrasts different translations of equipment, champions’ names and titles, and champions’ abilities in two different versions, and finds that Mainland version tends to be faithful without the confusion made to players., and Taiwan version tends to be more creative and intriguing.

This thesis concludes that texts in game localization are mainly informative texts and vocative texts. Therefore communicative translation should be adopted, and translations should base on the language and cultural preference of target players to convey information and intrigue players. This paper hopes to enrich and provide enlightenment for the further study of game localization.

Key words: League of Legends; game localization; comparative study