Between audiovisual translation and localization: The case of Detroit: Become Human

Abstract

The concept of audiovisual translation (AVT) is changing continuously in the current technological landscape, in which localization has emerged as a key process to adapt different types of modern multimedia products. Whether AVT encompasses localization, or vice versa, or they can be conceived as different fields instead, re- mains unclear. It is not my intention to find a unique solution to this unanswered question, but rather to shed some light on the convergences of AVT and localization from the specific perspective of dubbing, in a product that, in turn, raises some questions about the genre it belongs to: the graphic adventure Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream, 2018). This chapter aims to highlight some of the differences and convergences between AVT and localization analyzing the dubbing synchronies applied in a video game belonging to a genre closer to traditional movies, compared to other adventure games, due to the strong presence of cinematic scenes and the lower level of interaction. The results will indicate that, even though clear differences can be found between the localization of a game and translation of non-interactive products, the convergences in terms of dubbing synchronies, particularly in the cinematographic scenes, are quite evident

    Similar works