Abstract
Variables and gender constitute game localization pitfalls due to the fact that games are interactive entertainment software and contain dynamically generated content. Variables pose a problem in languages (such as Polish) which use inflection (conjugation and declination). Gender is an issue as the player, the characters the player creates, and the characters the player encounters in the game world can be male or female. Gender neutrality is a requirement not only in all messages directed to the player but also in plot related texts such as dialogs and journals. The present article seeks to investigate the subject of variables and gender in order to determine some strategies for dealing with these pitfalls.
Highlights
Video games constitute interactive entertainment software which, more often than not, generates dynamic content for the player
The interactivity and dynamic character of games is the source of two major pitfalls in the area of game localization, namely variables and gender
Variable issues arise directly from the fact that the game contains placeholders, which will later be dynamically replaced with appropriate content
Summary
Video games constitute interactive entertainment software which, more often than not, generates dynamic content for the player. The interactivity and dynamic character of games is the source of two major pitfalls in the area of game localization, namely variables and gender. This is especially true for languages such as Polish, which have a rich morphological system with gender, number and declensions (Chandler and Deming 2012, Sajna 2013). In order to account for the obstacles posed by variables and gender the present article will seek to explain how these problems arise as well as aim at identifying certain possible solutions that can be employed by the translator as part of the game localization endeavour
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