Gaming across language barriers | |
by Frances Moritz | |
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Have you ever looked at a game, thought
it looked fun, but walked away because it was in a different language?
Don’t let that stop you. Run out, learn the language, and buy the game
knowing that you’ll be able to play it some day. No, wait, the bit after "Don’t let that stop you" wasn’t the point. Even if you learn the language, what about the gamers you’re going to play with? One obvious way to divide the gaming community would be into English and non-English speakers. But I would rather divide based on the type of game. The categories in this case are not the standard definition of game type (card, board, RPG, etc.) – they’re based on the language level needed to play the game. While most role-playing games are language intensive for the Game Master, some can be explained in simple terms to players. Character sheets that are simple – such as Legend of the 5 Rings (or Leyenda de los 5 Anillos, for the Spanish players) or Toon, can be taught easily despite the language barrier. But games with more complicated starting knowledge, such as World of Darkness, take significantly more effort to teach new players. Non-English speakers frequently adapt by using English words for the game terms – "Ik gebruik mijn Presence om hem over te halen" instead of "I use Presence to convince him" 1, or "Mato al goblin porque el hechizo me ha dado un multiplier y con eso, ¡level up! instead of "I kill the trasgo because the spell gives me a multiplicador and with all of that, subo de nivel!" 2 And some just use English for the "Hollywood syndrome" - according to Paul, "English is better for dramatic (=bad) one-liners." But most role-playing games are very language intensive; I'll discuss them again in a bit. Likewise, many card and board games are surprisingly word-intensive, whereas others some can be played almost entirely based on the symbols on the cards. Can you imagine translating every single card for a non-English speaker while playing Chez Geek or Munchkin? Half the jokes are puns and won’t even translate well on the spot – why do you think game translations take so long? It takes a lot of work, with careful understanding of both languages. And there wouldn’t be much point in playing Apples to Apples or another word game if all the players aren’t equally familiar with the language it’s being played in. And Killer Bunnies is far too language intensive to translate as you play. But there are many language-independent – or close to it - card and board games, where at most you need a copy of the rules in your language. I say "at most" because we frequently bought games at garage sales when younger, and found that it didn’t matter if the rules weren’t included, as long as we came up with something that was fun. Assuming that you do want to play by the rules, I have been told that http://www.boardgamegeek.com is an excellent resource for translated rules, according to Alex, an English-speaking gamer who buys games in at least 5 other languages. Games like Settlers of Catan, an international hit, can be played without worrying about language barriers. Cloud Nine, a recent game from Out of the Box Games, or any other game that relies on colors and/or symbols, such as Nodwick: The Card Game or Blink, await only a rules translation. Even classics like Monopoly or Risk can be taught easily, as long as somebody’s willing to handle minimal translations during the game. Role-playing games have an added complication - size. Translating an entire book is a daunting task; translating a series even more so. And game books have the added complication of gaming terms, many of which are unique to the game. Do you translate them or leave them in the original language? And which languages have a large enough market to warrant finding a publisher for them? And that's just the publisher's viewpoint... what about the gamers? Sometimes it takes so long for the translation to come out that it's not worth the wait. And even if you do wait for it, there's no guarantee the translation effort will be worth it - like I said, it takes a lot of effort to do a good translation. Would we like to see games translated to our primary gaming language? Absolutely. And with many gaming companies releasing PDF versions of their games, that's certainly more likely. But when that’s not feasible – due to the size of the company producing that game, or games that just won't work in PDF format (mainly card and board games), or whatever other obstacle needs to be overcome – there are ways to overcome the language barrier for the sheer pleasure of gaming. With thanks to all the wonderful people who told me how they handle gaming across language barriers. You can read their responses here. | |
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Footnotes 1: At least according to Martin – after all, I don’t speak Dutch. 2: According to Raúl, and I do speak Spanish. |
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Copyright 2004-2005 The Lady Gamer. All rights reserved. |