Fun for All: 6th International Conference
on Video Game Translation and Accessibility – Programme
Venue: Faculty of Translation and Interpreting
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Download programme in pdf here
Updated 31/01/23

Day 1: Thursday 2nd February 2023

8.45-9.15    Registration – Welcome desk at the hall

9.15-9.30    Opening Proceedings by Olga Torres, Dean of the Faculty of                Translation and Interpreting – Room 4

9.30-10.30   Keynote Lecture – Room 4

Paul Cairns, University of York: Making Player Experiences Accessible

10.30-11.30 PANEL 1A: Game accessibility I – Chair: Anna Matamala –                     Room 4

  • María Eugenia Larreina-Morales, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Current Trends in Game Accessibility – Features and Reviews
  • Jared Téllez Quirós, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Accessibility in PC Action/Adventure Games

10.30-11.30 PANEL 1B: Game localisation:  Transmedia story-telling and creativity – Chair: Ester Torres – Room 5

  • Marco Pirrone, eCampus University (Italy). “The Game of Thrones”: from novel to film and video game. A case study of game localization through narrative universes and nonlinear transmedia storytelling
  • Jiaqi Liu, University of Manchester. Seeing it happen: How ethnographic workplace research can help explore creativity in game localisation

11.30 -12.00 Coffee break – Japanese Garden

12.00- 13.00 PANEL 2A: Game accessibility II  – Chair: Xiaochun Zhang – Room 4

  • Miguel Ángel Oliva-Zamora, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. An Exploratory Data Analysis of Recommendations for Players with Cognitive Disabilities
  • Hakim Boussejra, Université de Bourgogne. Making video games for children based on literature: an accessibility problem

12.00-13.30 PANEL 2B: Game localisation – Case studies and fan translation – Chair: Gokhan Dogru – Room 5

  • Mária Koscelníková, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Invisibility of Video Game Translators on the Example of Slovak Video Games
  • Marián Kabát. Comenius University in Bratislava. Video Games in Times of Crisis: Play for Ukraine
  • Amer Qobti. Kent State University. Game Over: The rise and fall of fan translation of video game magazines

13.30-14:30    LUNCH BREAK

14.30 -15:30  PANEL 3A:  Game accessibility III – Chair: Estel·la Oncins – Room 4

  • Mohammed Al-Batineh, United Arab Emirates University; Razan Alawneh, Yarmouk University. The Localization of non-verbal SDH in video games: the Arabic version of the Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) as a case study
  • Aaliyah Charbenny, University of Edinburgh. Interactive Game Sound in Translation: Accessible Games of Online Survivor Horror Game

14:30 – 16:00 PANEL 3B:  Game localisation:  Localisation of Chinese and Japanese Games – Chair: Pablo Muñoz – Room 5

  • Jemma Louise Stafford, University of Leeds. Jank or Agenda: Translator’s attitudes and approaches to Chinese-English videogame translation
  • Marcos Cardosa Benet, Universitat de València. From Domestication to Foreignization. An analysis of the localization of cultural elements in Atlus’ Persona 5 Royal from Japanese to English and Spanish.
  • Luis Damián Moreno García, Hong Kong Baptist University. A preliminary exploration of the perceptions of Chinese to foreign language mobile game localizers: processes, trends and areas of improvement

16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break

16.30 – 17.30 Keynote lecture – Room 4

José Ramón Calvo & José Ramón Belda, Universitat d’Alacant: What are the characteristics of a proficient video-game language tester?

17:30-18:30 PANEL 4: Game Localisation: Pivot translation and training – Chair: Ramón Calvo – Room 4

  • Xiaochun Zhang, University College London. Pivot Translation in Game Localisation
  • Francesca Pezzoli & Riccardo Lausdei, Maneki Commando SRL. A Bridge over a Burning Issue

18.30 – 19.30 Light dinner reception – Japanese Garden

Day 2: Friday, 3rd February 2023

9.00 – 10.30 PANEL 1: Game Localisation: Industry insights, machine translation and localisation into Basque – Chair: Pablo Muñoz – Room 4

  • Cristina Guzmán & Omid Saheb, Alpha. A practical insight on overcoming classic challenges in videogames localization
  • David Cooper & Michele Passaro. Keywords Studios plc. KeywordsStudios – MTPE in Video Game Localization
  • Itziar Zorrakin-Goikoetxea, LinguaVox; Maitane Junguitu Dronda, Indepent researcher. Video games in Basque. Who is behind the localisations?

10.30 – 11.00    Coffee break

11.00 – 13.00 PANEL 2: Game Localisation: Terminology, Gamer Speak, Humour and Cultural Representation – Chair: Anna Matamala – Room 4

  • Ugo Ellefsen, Concordia University. Dungeons and Dragons as a source of video game terminology.
  • Nadine Michelle Ducca Deharbe, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Gamer Speak: A Case Study of Gaming Terminology in Spain
  • Will Noonan, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté. Localising point-and-click humour across generations: Return to Monkey Island and the problem of translating for both fans and their children
  • Silvia Pettini, Roma Tre University. Mario and Beyond: The representation and localization of Italianness in video games

13.00 – 14.00 LUNCH BREAK

14.00 – 15.30 PANEL 3: Gender in game localisation – Chair: Estel·la Oncins – Room 4

  • María Isabel Rivas Ginel, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté & Universidad de Valladolid. Non-binary language use in video games and players’ immersion, a study
  • Natalia Jaén Diego, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The importance of gender characterisation during the localisation process
  • Mariazell Eugènia Bosch Fábregas, University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia. Sexual content in translation: Analyzing wordplay and the representation of female characters in “Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff”

15.30 – 17.00 PANEL 4: Game localisation: Empirical research and reception studies – Chair: Xiaochun Zhang – Room 4

  • Laura Mejías-Climent, Universitat Jaume I. Video game classifications and game situations: two tools for empirical research
  • Mikołaj Deckert; Krzysztof Hejduk, University of Lodz. Shaping player satisfaction through video game translation?
  • Dominik Kudła, University of Warsaw. How do gamers look at video game localization? An eye-tracking analysis of three language versions of “Shadow of the Tomb Raider”

17.00 – 17.30 Coffee Break

17.30 – 18.30 Game Localisation Round Table Discussion – Chair: Carme Mangiron – Room 4

  • Miguel Sepúlveda, Associate Globalization Director at King
  • Núria Paillissé, Freelance Game Localiser
  • Manuela Ceccoli, Keywords International Barcelona

18.30   Closing remarks – Room 4