Abstract (eng)
In video game localisation, a comparatively young translation studies discipline, research about translation problems and about video game translator competences seems to be lacking in depth analyses as well as clear and structured taxonomies. This paper aims to fill this gap by deducing the competences of video game translators from the translation problems video game translators face. Therefore, the research question is as follows: What competences do video game translators need?
Since video games are multimodal texts, a multimodal approach is adopted. However, not only multimodality, but also hybridity represents an important parameter of video game translation as it shares some similarities with other fields of translation constituting its hybrid character. Both hybridity and multimodality shape video games and conversely the practice of translating them, especially concerning translation problems.
As certain parallels between the translation problems in videogame localisation and in other fields of translation can be identified, the following can be discerned: non-linguistic, linguistic-cultural as well as multimodal and media-specific translation problems. Based on these findings, the following competences of video game translators are subsequently derived: linguistic and cultural competence, media and multimodal competence, IT competence, technical and research competence, transfer competence as well as personal and social competence. Finally, they are put to the test in a critical translation analysis of the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015).