Localization plays a key role in ensuring an immersive experience for players around the world. One important element is the consistency of the virtual world: accurate localization ensures that the game’s characters, dialogue and setting are in tune with the target culture and language. To allow for an immersive experience, audiovisual localization plays a crucial role, as it aims to preserve the atmosphere and immersion even during adaptation. The choice of character voices, music and sound effects is a process that requires special care. Localization specialists must therefore work in synergy with the game developers to ensure that the audio adaptation maintains the same quality and consistency as the original.

The importance of dubbing

One of the most relevant aspects of audiovisual localization is dubbing, a process that involves replacing the original voices of game characters with voices in the target language. It’s performed to enable players to understand and follow dialogue in their own L1, contributing to a more immersive and accessible gaming experience for an international audience. After an initial selection phase, the time for recording the voices begins. The voice actors work in a studio and follow a translated version of the original game script. During the recording, they try to interpret the character and convey the required emotions, respecting the intonation and rhythm of the original conversation. The dialogue is adapted to ensure that it’s consistent with the action and movement of the characters in the game. The goal is to maintain consistency between the audio and visual actions in the game, therefore, it’s also important to ensure that the characters’ lips synchronise correctly with the voices in the target language. After recording the voices, a quality check is performed to ensure that the recordings are clear, clean and error-free. Finally, lip synchronisation is checked to ensure that everything is aligned correctly.

Accurate subtitles

In addition to dubbing, audiovisual localization also includes the creation of accurate subtitles. They provide visual support for players who prefer to hear the original dialogue and read the translation in their own language. It’s crucial that subtitles are well adapted, respect the timing of lines and clearly convey the sense of dialogue. This allows players to follow the story without missing important details. One aspect not to be underestimated is that subtitling allows players with hearing impairments to follow and understand the dialogue in the game. For those who are deaf, it represents an important source of information and involvement in the gaming experience, as well as a solution for not missing crucial dialogue and events in the video game. Finally, subtitles allow players to follow the speeches without having to turn down the volume, thus maintaining the atmosphere and immersion in the virtual world. This allows players to appreciate sound details such as music, special effects and environments.

In conclusion

Audiovisual video game localization is a critical component for the global success of video games. Through dubbing and subtitles, a wide variety of players are reached, offering them an authentic, engaging and accessible gaming experience, regardless of their language or culture. The course offered by GLOS, divided into three modules, aims to impart this knowledge and to train anyone who wants to become part of the Game Industry.