電玩在地化策略對玩家體驗之影響：以遊戲《還願》為例

Abstract

電玩遊戲已為相當普及的娛樂形式，且係全球利潤最豐厚之娛樂產業，在此脈絡下，將遊戲內容本地化的需求亦日益增加，讓此類產品得以擴及全球市場。早在二十一世紀初，遊戲本地化就已引起翻譯學界之關注，並將「為玩家創造與原版產品對等的遊戲體驗」作為其最終目標。本案例研究將探討業界非主流文化遊戲之本地化過程如何有助於創造和影響目標玩家的遊戲體驗，同時探究「對等」的遊戲體驗是否為充分提高遊戲娛樂價值之必備條件。本文欲先在全球化（Globalization）、國際化（Internationalization）、本地化（Localization）和翻譯（Translation）（統稱GILT）產業之脈絡下說明本地化之概念，並尤其聚焦於遊戲本地化，後將探討背景設定於一九八○年代台灣台北之《還願》英譯的本地化策略。研究者將探討原版和英譯版本的比較分析，並將開發團隊之產品定位、本地化策略及玩家反饋納入討論，以確定其行銷目標和目標語玩家的遊戲偏好。研究結果顯示，雖「對等」的遊戲體驗為業界之共同目標，但保留原版之當地文化亦會是滿足玩家期望之要件。

Video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and has proven itself to be the most lucrative entertainment industry in the world, which leads to the increasing demand for localization of game content in order for such products to reach global markets. Game localization started to draw attention from the perspective of translation studies back in the 2000s, with relevant studies focused on creating a gaming experience equivalent to that of the original product for target players. This research will investigate how the localization process of a game, rooted in a relatively minor culture, contributes to creating and impacting target players’ gaming experience, while examining whether an equivalent gaming experience must be created to maximize a game’s entertainment value. After discussing the concept of localization in the context of Globalization, Internationalization, Localization and Translation (GILT) industry, in particular game localization, this thesis will examine the strategies applied to the localization of the Taiwanese game Huan Yuan (Devotion)—with its background set in the 1980s Taipei, Taiwan—for English markets. A comparative analysis of the original and English versions will be provided. The development team’s product positioning, localization approach, and feedback from the end users will also be included in the discussion in order to identify the marketing aim and target players’ preferences. The analysis indicates that, while an “equivalent” gaming experience is a common goal in the industry, it may also be important to retain the exoticness or foreignness in the original so as to meet target markets’ expectations.