Preserving Cultural Authenticity: The Strategies of Localization in Indonesian Horror Video Game

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-321-4_11How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Video Game Localization; Cultural Adaptation; Video-Game Assets; Localization Strategies; Indonesian Folklore Horror Video Game

Abstract

Video games localization still poses numerous opportunities and challenges in terms of cultural and linguistic. While prior studies were mainly exploratory in nature and provided an overall view of localization experiences, certain changes required when translating Indonesian cultural elements so that they remain culturally relevant. When the cultural aspect can well-preserved, the target audience of the English-speaking countries would be interested in DreadOut 2 and Pamali. The primary objective is to address how distinctive cultural references are localized and changed to sustain culture-related practices and folklore. Using qualitative approach to the research, the study focused on types of dialogues, objects, interfaces, and gameplays mechanics by employing a set of localization strategies analysis. Strategies like domestication or foreignization, transcreation, literal translation, and no-translations were obtained. This research suggests that the localization strategy namely transcreation is the most effective approach to preserve the cultural identity while domestication and literal translation strategies improve accessibility. On the other hand, foreignization and no translation localization strategies keep the cultural aspects intact but require additional contextual information for players to understand the content. This study points to the importance of the need for a multifaceted approach in video game localization that balances cultural fidelity with accessibility, providing valuable for further localization initiatives.

Copyright

© 2024 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Agung Prasetyo Wibowo
AU  - Ichwan Suyudi
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/12/24
TI  - Preserving Cultural Authenticity: The Strategies of Localization in Indonesian Horror Video Game
BT  - Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Communication, Language, Literature, and Culture (ICCoLliC 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 131
EP  - 162
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-321-4_11
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-321-4_11
ID  - Wibowo2024
ER  -