The Art of Storytelling:: Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro

MASTER’S DEGREE
MULTIMEDIA – SPECIALISATION IN CULTURE AND ARTS
The Art of Storytelling: its

importance in video game immersion
when paired with localisation
Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro
M
2022
INVOLVED FACULTIES:
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF FINE ARTS
FACULTY OF SCIENCES
FACULTY OF ECONOMICS
FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES
©
Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro, 2022
THE ART OF STORYTELLING:

ITS IMPORTANCE IN VIDEO GAME IMMERSION
WHEN PAIRED WITH LOCALISATION
Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro
Master in Multimedia, University of Porto
Supervisor: Dr. Vanessa Quintal Cesário (Invited Assistant Professor)

Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho (Associate
Professor)
Approved in public defense by the jury:
President: Professor Dr. Bruno Sérgio Gonçalves Giesteira (Assistant Professor), Faculty
of Fine Arts of University of Porto
External Examiner: Professor Dr. Mara Sofia Gomes Dionísio (Invited Assistant
Professor), University of Madeira
Supervisor: Dr. Vanessa Quintal Cesário (Researcher), ITI/LARSyS
July 2022
Modded screenshots from The Witcher III:
Wild Hunt, by TheRagingAfro. (2016).
4
RESUMO
Esta dissertação pretende explorar e validar a importância do storytelling, influenciado pelo processo de localização,
e como este impacta a imersão dos jogadores, afetando assim a sua experiência no videojogo. Embora estas
sejam áreas de especialidade proeminentes que têm vindo a ser estudadas e desenvolvidas dentro do cosmos da
pesquisa, ainda existe uma ausência de informação que combine estes tópicos num estudo prático direcionado a
um género ou videojogo específico.
Através de um estudo cuidadosamente desenhado, desenvolvido, e aplicado, inspirado em teoria

fundamentada por autores com artigos ou estudos focados nos tópicos abordados, como McKee (1997), Mangiron
e O’Hagan (2006), Murray (1997), Aarseth (2012), Felizol (2017), Michailidis et. al (2018), e Vickery et. al (2018), os
participantes refletiram sobre o seu conhecimento do videojogo escolhido – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt – o seu
género de RPG/ARPG (role-playing game e action role-playing), bem como os seus próprios hábitos de gaming e
o seu entendimento do mundo dos videojogos. O primeiro passo foi um inquérito, ao qual responderam 283
participantes, que pretendia apurar os aspetos acima mencionados. Aqui apurou-se o número de pessoas que iria
seguir para a fase seguinte do estudo, mas também a diversidade de conhecimento sobre a área dos videojogos,
hábitos de jogo, e preferências linguísticas. O próximo passo, que esperava 126 participantes, foi o gameplay
do videojogo em duas versões localizadas diferentes (inglês e português do Brasil) e a conclusão do respetivo
questionário após cada experiência. Um total de 41 participantes, de entre os 126, terminou este passo e avançou
para o último das entrevistas semiestruturadas, onde foram discutidas questões mais elaboradas e aprofundadas
sobre os diferentes aspetos da sua experiência e os tópicos de pesquisa tratados.
Os resultados permitiram a criação de um conjunto de padrões (Localisation patterns to enhance video

game immersion) que pretende promover a consciencialização de certos aspetos que devem ser tidos em
consideração, de forma a realçar e intensificar ainda mais a imersão dos jogadores durante a sua experiência
de gameplay.
Esta pesquisa visa contribuir com informação adicional, feedback e perspetivas, anteriormente em falta,
sobre as áreas de storytelling, localização, imersão e videojogos, e como estas se influenciam mutuamente, dentro
de um estudo que envolve um género ou videojogo específico. Este estudo foi desenvolvido na esperança de
inspirar e orientar qualquer pessoa do ramo do gaming a criar ou desenvolver novas experiências de videojogos,
capazes de realçar e aperfeiçoar os padrões que foram desenvolvidos, bem como alimentar mais discussão ou
investigação dentro do âmbito dos tópicos, aplicados a outros videojogos, línguas ou géneros, incentivando assim
estudos futuros ou projetos sobre o assunto.
Palavras-chave
Storytelling, Localização, Imersão, Videojogos, Role-playing game

5
6
ABSTRACT
This dissertation intends to explore and validate the importance of storytelling, influenced by the localisation
process, and whether this has an impact on players’ immersion, thus affecting their experience in the video game.
Although these are very well-known areas of expertise that have been studied and developed within the research
cosmos, there is still an absence of information combining these topics in a practical study directed towards a
specific genre or video game.
Through the careful design, development, and application of a study, inspired by grounded theory from
various authors with articles or research focused on the addressed topics, such as McKee (1997), Mangiron and
O’Hagan (2006), Murray (1997), Aarseth (2012), Felizol (2017), Michailidis et. al (2018), and Vickery et. al (2018),
participants reflected on their knowledge of the chosen video game – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt – its genre of RPG/
ARPG (role-playing game & action role-playing game), as well as their own gaming habits and acquaintance with the
video game world. The first step was a survey, which gathered 283 answers, and ascertained the aforementioned
aspects. Here, it was possible to ascertain the number of people who would move on to the next stage of the study, as
well as the diversity in knowledge about the area of video games, gaming habits, and linguistic preferences. The next
stage, which awaited 126 participants, was the gameplay of the video game in two different localised versions (English
and Brazilian-Portuguese) and the completion of a respective questionnaire after each experience. A total of 41
participants, out of 126, finished this step and moved on to the final one of the semi-structured interviews, where
more developed and in-depth questions were discussed on different aspects of their experience and the research
topics at hand.
The results allowed for a set of patterns (Localisation patterns to enhance video game immersion) to be
created, which intends to raise awareness of certain aspects that should be taken into consideration in order to
enhance and further intensify players’ immersion during their gameplay experience.
This research aims to contribute with additional information, feedback, and perspective, previously missing,
regarding the areas of storytelling, localisation, immersion, and video games, and how they can influence each other,
within a study involving a specific genre or video game. This study was developed in the hopes of inspiring and guiding
anyone from the gaming business into creating or developing new video game experiences that highlight and perfect
the patterns that were developed, as well as fuel further discussion or investigation within the scope of the topics,
applied to other video games, languages, or genres, thus encouraging future studies or projects about it.
Keywords
Storytelling, Localisation, Immersion, Video games, Role-playing game
7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Caedmill, Gwynbleidd
You are reading this as a starting note but let me tell you that I wrote this last, as I sat by the warm, lonely fire of the
Seven Cats inn, sipping my last mug of fresh ale, with a tear of joy and accomplishment that marked the chapter I
am now closing with this dissertation.
I have always believed that, when one has never-ending support, one can achieve anything they set their
mind to. As such, I would like to grant the first medal of honour of the Northern Kingdoms, and the achievement
“Family Counselor”, to my loving parents, who have always encouraged me to move forward and follow my dreams,
without looking back, and without whom I would have never reached this moment and this feeling of pride for what
I have done so far.
Within my main pillars, the second medal of honour and achievement of “Can’t Touch this!” goes to my
sister, who has always been there for me and helped me create a design for this dissertation filled with pride. Thank
you for bringing my ideas to greater heights, breathing life into what I created, and helping me be endlessly proud
of this work.
Another special mention – this one warm at heart – goes to my boyfriend, who has been by my side
for many years and has seen me grow, break, win and lose, always with a hand stretched out and his heart and
patience open to my needs. To you, my love, I grant you a never-ending Witcher honour as well as the game’s
achievement of “Lilac and Gooseberries”.
As many more are to be awarded in this final ceremony, I would like to continue the celebrations now to
the great professors that have accompanied and supported me throughout this research. I now bestow a medal
of honour and achievement of “Kaer Morhen Trained” upon my dissertation’s advisor, Vanessa Cesário, and co-
advisor, António Coelho, for all the hard work, encouragement, and motivation they provided me with during the
development of this masterpiece.
Friends are the next closest thing we have to family and, as such, I have held onto special medals for those
who have been with me since the very beginning.
To my two, and unique best friends, the girls who have been my pillars, my strength when I needed them
the most, and my motivation throughout many years already, I give you a medal and the achievement “A Friend in
Need”, which I hope you will always carry by your side, and a warm hug, that may keep you both safe, as we move
on to the next step in our lives, together.
I want to thank all my other special friends, who are my second family. A special thanks and achievement
of “Geralt and Friends” to my Multimedia group, which has been one of the most fortunate findings I did in my
academic years. As we have laughed and cried together during these last two years, I am happy to have crossed
paths with you, and hope to continue being a part of your lives. A special toast and thanks are to be made as well,
8
Acknowledgements
with the achievement “Full Crew” to my long-time friends, with whom I have shared many moments and hope to
include many more, be it in long discord gaming hours, camping trips, or barbecues.

For this dissertation, especially, I have to elevate the love I feel for the work of The Witcher series, created
by CD Projekt RED and Andrzej Sapkowski, with the achievement “Passed the Trial”. Thank you for allowing the world
to see such a beautiful work of art and thank you for inspiring me and giving me hours of endless, unforgettable
feelings and stories.
As Geralt has its Roach, I have my Quinn. Even the little ones deserve to be remembered and honoured
during this journey, so I want to thank my little cat with a medal for all the times he kept me warm and filled me with
kisses and purrs, helping me regenerate all the endurance and vitality I was missing. I give you the achievement of
“Munchkin”.
Lastly, the final honour and achievement of “Hasta la Vista” are for you, dear reader. Thank you so much for
staying by my side until the end of this journey, accompanying me thus far, ever unwavering, without ever leaving
my side. May Dandelion forever write heroic ballads about this adventure, and may it be forever engraved in the
archives of great libraries and the annals of ancient history.
I know all of you will always be as close to my heart as my witcher medallion, forever protecting and
supporting me, so let us meet again, in our next lives, on the Isle of Avallach.
Va fail, Gwynbleidd

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
12 LIST OF FIGURES 20 INTRODUCTION
14 LIST OF TABLES 20 1.1 Motivation and Context
23 1.2 Dissertation Structure
14 ABBREVIATIONS & SYMBOLS
15 GLOSSARY
CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3
26 LITERATURE REVIEW 66 METHODOLOGY
26 2.1 The Art of Storytelling 66 3.1 Process and Design
29 2.2 (Immersive) Video Games
29 2.2.1 Brief History
34 Types and Genres
35 2.2.2 Storytelling in Video Games
37 What About Agency
and Interactive Storytelling?
42 2.2.3 Localisation
42 Within Video Games
44 2.2.4 Immersion
46 Diving into Video Games
47 2.3 Delving Further Into this Realm
54 2.4 The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
54 The RPG and ARPG Genre
56 Storytelling, Immersion, and Localisation in The
Witcher III: Wild Hunt
62 The Narrative in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
10
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5
72 THE STUDY: THE QUEST BEGINS! 114 CONCLUSION
72 4.1 Preparations for the Adventure: 114 5.1 Summary of Dissertation’s Chapters
The Gaming Party 115 5.2 The Combination of Storytelling,
74 4.2 The Survey: Gathering and Scanning the Immersion, and Localisation
First Quest Answers 118 5.2.1 Discussion
81 4.2.1 Considerations on the First Quest 121 5.3 Game Design Patterns to Enhance Video
Answers Game Immersion
81 4.3 The Gameplay Questionnaires 129 5.4 Limitations
82 4.3.1 The Questionnaires: Analysing 130 5.5 Guidelines for Future Research
the Mutagens
92 4.3.2 Considerations on the Mutagens
93 4.4 The Interviews: Interviewing our Witchers
93 4.4.1 Analysing the Interviews’ Scrolls
110 4.4.2 Considerations on the Interviews’
Feedback
ANNEXES &
BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES
134 REFERENCES 146 ANNEX 1
140 CITED WORKS 146 Game Experience Questionnaire - Core
140 Video Games Module
142 Movies 147 ANNEX 2
147 Transport Narrative Questionnaire
149 APPENDIX A
149 Initial Survey for The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Study
150 APPENDIX B
150 Gameplay Questionnaire Sample (EN)
150 APPENDIX C
150 Gameplay Questionnaire Sample (PT-BR)
151 APPENDIX D
151 Semi-structured Interview Script
11
LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
20 Fig. 1 –World of Warcraft Arena World Championship. (2016).
21 Fig. 2 –Bathtub scene sketch, and final artwork for the Witcher III: Wild Hunt. (2016).
27 Fig. 3 –Assembly of pictures from the original Star Wars film script by George Lucas. (1973, 1974).
27 Fig. 4 – “The Story triangle”, based on McKee’s (1997) model in Story: Substance, structure, style and the
principles of screenwriting.
28 Fig. 5 – The Archplot Story. Example: The Godfather, part II (USA) (1974).
28 Fig. 6 – The Miniplot Story. Example: Tender Mercies, (USA) (1983).
28 Fig. 7 – The Antiplot Story. Example: Persona, (Sweden) (1966).
30 Fig. 8 – Spacewar!. (1962).
30 Fig. 9 – Computer Space.
30 Fig. 10 – Space Invaders. (1978).
31 Fig. 11 – Super Mario Bros. (1983).
31 Fig. 12 – Castlevania. (1986).
31 Fig. 13 – Dragon Quest. (1986).
32 Fig. 14 – Tetris. (1985).
32 Fig. 15 – Bubble Bobble. (1986)
32 Fig. 16 – Shinobi. (1987)
33 Fig. 17 – Short timeline of video games.
34 Fig. 18 – Genres of video games.
37 Fig. 19 – NPC outfit for Vesemir from The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, by Marcin Blaszczak. (2016).
38 Fig. 20 – Linear Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
38 Fig. 21 – Branching Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
39 Fig. 22 – Fishbone Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
39 Fig. 23 – Parallel Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
39 Fig. 24 – Threaded Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
40 Fig. 25 – Concentric Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
42 Fig. 26 – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, in-game dialogue, in Portuguese. (2017).
45 Fig. 27 – Reasons for psychological immersion are classified as types of immersion. Syncretic perspective. Model-
based on the work of Agrawal et. al. (2020).
45 Fig. 28 – Main mental processes, according to Laure-Ryan. (2001).
48 Fig. 29 – Bioshock 2. (2016).
48 Fig. 30 – The Wolf Among Us. (2013).
48 Fig. 31 – Horizon Zero Dawn. (2017).
49 Fig. 32 – “Harvest or Save the Little Sister”. (2009).
49 Fig. 33 – The Walking Dead. “It’s exposition, followed by dialogue choice, followed by QTE. Lather, rinse, repeat”.
(2019).
50 Fig. 34 – Werewolf pun contrast between the English (2022) (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese (2016)(right) versions.
53 Fig. 35 - World of Warcraft gameplay - subtitled voice during a raid. (2018).
54 Fig. 36 - “Scan of the cover to the original Dungeons & Dragons set, by Gary Gygax” (TSR, Inc., 1974). (2021).
54 Fig. 37 – World of Warcraft. (2004).
54 Fig. 38 – Lord of the Rings Online. (2007).
54 Fig. 39 – Warhammer Online. (2008).
56 Fig. 40 – Slaying a monster sketch, and final artwork for the Witcher III: Wild Hunt. (2016).
58 Fig. 41 – Schrödinger’s cat easter egg in Spanish (2015) (left), and in English (2018) (right).
59 Fig. 42 – Uncensored (standard) Yennefer scene (left) and censored (Arabic) scene (right)(n.d.).
61 Fig. 43 – Computer render of Novigrad for the Witcher III: Wild Hunt. (2015).
62 Fig. 44 – The Witcher. Geralt. (2007).
62 Fig. 45 – The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Geralt. (2011).
62 Fig. 46 – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. Geralt. (2015).
12
List of Figures
67 Fig. 47 – First steps of the methodology process

68 Fig. 48 – Last steps of the methodology process.
74 Fig. 49 – Additional information question. Participants’ age.
74 Fig. 50 – Additional information question. Participants’ occupation.
75 Fig. 51 – Additional information question. Participants’ study institution.
75 Fig. 52 – Question 1. Knowledge of the video game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
76 Fig. 53 – Question 2. How many participants have played the video game?
76 Fig. 54 – Question 3. Language in which the players played the game.
77 Fig. 55 – Question 4. Additional language feature of the game.
77 Fig. 56 – Question 5. How frequently do the participants play video games.
78 Fig. 57 – Question 6. Knowledge and familiarity with the RPG and ARPG genre.
78 Fig. 58 – Question 7. General language chosen for video games.
79 Fig. 59 – Question 8. Ownership of the video game and platform.
80 Fig. 60 – Question 9. Participants’ possibility to use their own platform if provided with the game.
80 Fig. 61 – Question 10. Choosing to play at home or at FEUP.
81 Fig. 62 – The Manticore (2022b).
82 Fig. 63 – Game Experience Questionnaire scale.
87 Fig. 64 – Two humans talking in Novigrad, using the language known as Common Speech (2022a).
87 Fig. 65 – A menacing ghoul (2020).
89 Fig. 66 – Question 12, section II. English version questionnaire (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese version (right).
Opinion on Geralt.
Opinion on Yennefer.
Opinion on Vesemir.
Opinion on Ciri.
94 Fig. 70 – Immersion impact on players.
98 Fig. 71 – Players’ favourite version.
99 Fig. 72 – Examples of languages in which players have finished, or would like to continue/finish, the game.
116 Fig. 73 – Language preference per nationality.
120 Fig. 74 – The army of King Radovid V sketch and final artwork (2016).
124 Fig. 75 – The “Three T’s” of translation
125 Fig. 76 – Geralt and Roach (2021).
125 Fig. 77 – Variations for Geralt’s horse.
127 Fig. 78 – Screenshot of interaction between Geralt and Ciri (2015).
128 Fig. 79 – Screenshot of Willis’ accent in a secondary quest “Firestarter” (n.d.).
130 Fig. 80 – Bioshock 2007 (2007).
130 Fig. 81 – Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007).
130 Fig. 82 – Deponia (2012).
131 Fig. 83 – The Seven Cats Inn (2022c).
13
LIST OF TABLES
PAGE
94 Table 1. Qualitative analysis from the answer “Other” on Q1.
95 Table 2. Qualitative analysis from the answers “Other” on Q2.
104 Table 9. Qualitative analysis from the compilation of answers on Q10.
106 Table 11. Qualitative analysis from the compilation of answers on the follow up question from Q11.
121 Table 14. Localisation patterns to enhance video game immersion. Aspects to consider.
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

AI Artificial Intelligence
VR Virtual Reality
FPS Frames per Second
MOBA Multiplayer Online Battle Arena
FPS First Person Shooter
TPS Third Person Shooter
RPG Role-Playing game
ARPG Action Role-Playing game
MMORPG Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game
CRPG Computer Role-Playing game
TRPG Tactical Role-Playing game
NPC Non-Player Character
NFC Near Field Communication
D&D Dungeons & Dragons
SL Source Language
TL Target Language
MOD Modified (modded)
14
GLOSSARY
Isle of Avallach – Also known as Malus Island or Isle of Avalon, is the place where Ciri took Geralt and Yennefer after
the bloody events brought up by the riots in Rivia, in 1268.
Geralt of Rivia – The main character of The Witcher series, Geralt is a legendary witcher or monster hunter, of the
School of the Wolf, who is known for his unprecedented fighting skills, love of sorceresses, and kind heart towards his
friends and loved ones.
Dandelion – Also known as Julian Alfred Pankratz, Dandelion is a poet, minstrel, and close friend of Geralt of Rivia.
Both his troubadour and lover skills are known throughout the continent.
Achievements – Rewards, sometimes shown as trophies, badges, awards, medals or stamps, which are available
to players as they progress in-game and can be achieved by completing certain tasks or goals. They are meta-goals
outside a game’s parameters, conceived to increase users’ engagement within the video game. The ones mentioned in
this dissertation are a few of the ones available during the gameplay of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
Roach – Geralt’s horse companion.
Caedmill, Gwynbleidd – Elder Speech or Elvish for “Greetings, White Wolf”.
Va fail, Gwynbleidd – Elder Speech or Elvish for “Goodbye, White Wolf”.
Va fail, Vatt’ghern – Elder Speech or Elvish for “Goodbye, Witcher”.
Seven Cats Inn – Tavern located on one of the edges of Novigrad, known for its surroundings being roamed by
seven cats.
Rivia – Capital of the Rivia dominion, and connected to the Kingdom of Lyria, both ruled by Queen Meve.
Witcher – “Vedmak” in Slavic mythology, is a hexer who was exposed to extensive and arduous training, ruthless
mental and physical conditioning, and mysterious mutations and rituals in order to become a brutal monster slayer for
hire.
Royal Griffin – A sub-species of the common Griffin (combination of a ferocious cat and a giant bird), with longer
wings and a larger body.
Manticore – Also known as Mardyacore, is a giant monster with the body of a lion, bat wings, and a scorpion tail.
Villentretenmerth – One of the only two Golden dragons known to exist. One of its most well-known human
forms is that of Borch Three Jackdaws.
Thunderbolt – Potion that enhances a Witcher’s abilities, enabling them to inflict more powerful attacks, with higher
efficiency, but reducing their defence and reflexes.
Aerondight – Silver sword used in monster combat and relatively ineffective against humans.
Mutagen – Special items or upgrades, known as genetic material, obtained from monsters that can be used to
improve your character.
15
Glossary
Swallow – Potion with high vitality regeneration effects, used for healing purposes.
Ghoul – Common corpse-eaters, which usually roam in packs and attack any humans or livestock they may lay their
eyes upon. Sensitive to light, such as light or fire.
Tawny Owl – Potion that significantly increases endurance generation, which is spent frequently in combat with the
usage of Witcher signs.
Decoction – Type of alchemical product akin to potions. Decoctions require mutagens to be produced and increase
the toxicity levels in a Witcher’s body, although offering substantial and improved advantages as well.
Yennefer – Yennefer of Vengerberg is a powerful sorceress, Geralt’s true love, who he incessantly seeks, and Ciri’s
mother figure.
Vesemir – The oldest and most experienced witcher at Kaer Morhen, and a father figure to Geralt and the other
witchers.
Ciri – Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon is the sole princess of Cintra, the child of the prophecy and, due to unforeseen events,
Geralt’s adoptive daughter.
Meditate (in witcher context) – In The Witcher 3, a Witcher must either light a campfire, a fireplace or choose
to meditate via conversation or menu. Meditation resembles sleep for the Witchers and can regenerate health and
cleanse toxicity. It is possible to choose the amount of time a Witcher wishes to meditate for.
White Orchard – Region and village in Temeria, famous for its fruit orchards.
Fast travel – Mechanic introduced in The Witcher 3, used to travel or “teleport” between two known signposts.
Easter eggs – Unexpected or undocumented feature in a video game, which can be included as a joke or a bonus
for the player to find out.
Orens – Official unit of currency in Temeria, referred to as gold in-game as well, is the only currency used, besides
alcohol and gifts.
Zeugl’s Vigor – Mutagenic potion, which helps upgrading specific Witcher skills and acquire enhancements.
Temerian Rye – Considered an alchemy ingredient and used to replenish potions and bombs during meditation.
Kaer Morhen – Old keep where Witchers from the School of the Wolf used to train. While there are no longer trials
nor changes, Witchers still use the castle to rest in-between seasons.
Novigrad – A free city within Redania and is one of the major ports on the continent, making it one of the largest
cities in the north as well.
Mahakam – Mountain range and vassal state and inhabited by dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and werebbubbs. Is
known for its big exportations and quality of iron and steel, as well as its weapon crafting.
16
17
Introduction

18
Introduction
Chapter 1
19
INTRODUCTION
To start this gameplay on the right note, it’s essential to go through a quick tutorial and follow the given instructions in
detail. As such, this first chapter incorporates the motivation behind the making of this research, surrounding some
already well-known topics, as well as the context from where this idea blossomed. Here you will also find a short guide
for this dissertation’s structure and each of its intricate, defined, and developed sections.
1.1 MOTIVATION AND CONTEXT
We have witnessed games, especially video games,

attain greater dimensions (Fig. 1) and higher roles
of importance within our culture. In the last decade,
there has been an increasing burning desire towards
what the entertainment market has to offer. This
encompasses the recurrent need to milk out all the
narrative ideas, immersive gameplay, and alternative
reality potential that are possible to convey within our
current technological reach. That being said, the bigger
the market, the larger the pool of consumers and
players so, consequently, the necessity to improve and
explore the localisation process of video games, and the
features and stages it incorporates, increases as well.
Fig.1 - World of Warcraft Arena World Championship. (2016).
The increasing love and interest for the fields
of storytelling, localisation, and immersion, allied with a never-ending passion for video games are what motivated
this dissertation and the following study. Since this is an ever-growing field of study and entertainment, with an
inexhaustible source of knowledge and experts, it is only natural that the motivation towards this dissertation walks
hand-in-hand with the will to be a part of this fascinating and limitless cosmos.
The choice to explore and study these specific areas in the particular realm of video games and, in this
dissertation specifically, the RPG (role-playing game) genre, hangs with the fact that video games are one of the
biggest and boundless forms of journeying through all these components as a whole for they,
(…) are a medium of entertainment and present a variety of different forms of storytelling and
information. The stories within games come in the form of text, speech, activities and cinematic
narratives – cutscenes. (Domsch, 2013; Somerdin, 2016, p. 69)
Technological improvements now allow for a bigger interactivity and agency component between the player
and the gameplay they experience. Although already existent, a decade ago we saw a bigger rise in video games
with improved mechanics, narratives, and gameplay that revolutionised interactive storytelling and the immersion
it encapsulates. With this, in interactive storytelling, either in games or other platform or medium, the actions
performed by someone within the story will “customise” the rest of its development as it shapes to the needs and
interests of whoever interacts with the narrative, creating bigger emotional involvement (Crawford, 2013).
As I’ve stated before, these are all fields of great expansion and as far as localisation is concerned,
interactive digital entertainment demands new translation approaches and, although sharing some similarities with
screen translation and software localisation, game localisation distinguishes itself because of its goal at the end of
the process. Mangiron and O’Hagan (2006) describe the final result of the localisation of a video game as follows:
20
Motivation and Context
No oddities should be present to disturb the interactive game experience, and this is the reason why
game localisers are granted quasi absolute freedom to modify, omit, and even add any elements
which they deem necessary to bring the game closer to the players and to convey the original feel of
gameplay. And, in so doing, the traditional concept of fidelity to the original is discarded. (Mangiron &
O’Hagan, 2006, p. 20)
So, when touching the field of localisation, although an alien area of expertise to those who have never
come in contact with it before, there is an endless field of possibilities, alternatives, and techniques that are
imperative to any video game’s distribution, reach and, consequently, success.
Even so, as research has been conducted regarding narrative, immersion, and localisation, connected or
separately, this dissertation and study distinguish themselves as they will not only focus on all three elements within
the field of video games, but they will also do so by prioritising the RPG (role-playing game) genre, specifically a
study involving the acclaimed The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (Fig. 2).
Fig.2 - Bathtub scene sketch, and final artwork for the Witcher III: Wild Hunt. (2016).
21
Motivation and Context
In this research, the aim will be, with the help of a carefully designed study, and analysis of player’s feedback
to the gameplay, to validate the importance of the storytelling component, together with the influence of the
localisation process, and whether this has an impact on player’s immersion. The focus will be to ascertain the
opinion and reaction of the players to different moments of gameplay within the same video game, regarding their
feelings and feedback towards the combination of the three main elements present in this investigation.
In the beginning I also developed three research questions to help guide this investigation and study: “How
do we link storytelling development to a bigger immersion and enjoyment of a specific genre or video game?”, “Does
localisation affect the connection the users develop with the story and the video game?”, and “How do these areas
affect the transmission of the same story and overall video game in different cultural contexts/languages?”.
All of the acquired knowledge will be portrayed theoretically, and its practical reflection will be a plausible
conclusion, supported by the information gathered from the practical study. It is expected that this work will
encompass knowledge from different areas, such as storytelling, localisation, immersion, video games, literature,
and existing studies that helped set the foundation for what’s proposed here.
22
Dissertation Structure
1.2 DISSERTATION STRUCTURE
This dissertation is structured into five chapters. The first chapter encompasses a general introduction that includes
the motivation and context for the theme, as well as the proposed research. It is then followed by this brief guide of
the dissertation’s structure, which intends to compile a summary of each of the chapter’s contents.
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5
General Introduction Literature Review Methodology The Main Quest! Conclusion

Motivation Research Research Gap Witcher Study Discussion
Context Perspective Market Research Analysis Game Patterns
Proposed Research Concepts Proposed Study Limitations
Case Studies Guidelines
In the second chapter, I introduce the literature review and bibliographic research, which is divided into
several sections and subsections, allowing for a better organisation and clarification of each field that is explored.
In this chapter, there is, initially, a general perspective of works and concepts about each individual topic, but then
there is even further research on each section inserted into the field of video games, as well as practical case
studies conducted as investigations that posed relevance and inspiration for this research. It is important, however,
to mention that in section 2.4 of chapter two, where I approach the subject of the study – The Witcher III: Wild
Hunt – there is a diverse use of non-scientific documentation, such as interviews, websites, and forum information,
verified as official and trustworthy. It was important to have such a section since it tackles not only the realm of
the video game used in the study, but it also provides additional information regarding the fields of storytelling,
immersion, and localisation in the video game itself, with the help of first-hand details from professionals who
worked on the game’s development at the studios of CD Projekt RED.

Chapter three presents the methodology, which encompasses the research gap and design that
encouraged this dissertation’s investigation and study, as well as a small market research with non-scientific data
concerning the video game. Here, there is also a detailed, and as faithful as possible, description of the work
planned and developed during several months, which resulted in the study I will present next, as well as the deriving
results and conclusions that stemmed from the research.

Chapter four focuses on the actual study, or as I have called it – The Main Quest!. This chapter is divided into
multiple sections, encompassing everything related to each stage of the study – survey, gameplay, questionnaires,
and interviews. It also includes a short, but thorough, section with overall assessment and considerations regarding
the diverse results and possibilities extracted from each stage.

Lastly, chapter five encompasses the conclusion, with an introductory text to the overall section and a
summary of each relevant chapter’s findings. Within this same chapter, there is still an area for conclusions and
discussion on what was observed from the combination of storytelling, immersion, and localisation within the
cosmos of this research. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of the study’s limitations, as well as an intricate
and detailed section with guidelines for future research, which is accompanied by a newly created and developed
set of game patterns.
23
Introduction

24
Introduction
Chapter 2
25
LITERATURE REVIEW
As a means to set a foundation and guide the proposed research, a thorough literature review was made, benefitting
a variety of works, from different authors and time periods. This chapter dedicates itself to the presentation of
all relevant, and acquired, information regarding this dissertation’s research topics. It also comprises an additional
section, with non-academic articles and material, about the video game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. This last information
is, however, verified and from official or trustworthy sources.
2.1 THE ART OF STORYTELLING
Stories are equipment for living.

— Kenneth Burke, Literature as equipment for living (1973)
What are these almost self-driven means of narrative that connect generations throughout the ages and are
capable of encompassing millions of years of history?
In its most raw or narratological definition, narrative is “a story or a description of a series of events”
(Cambridge Dictionary, 2021b). It’s also defined as “a report of related events presented (…) in words arranged in a
logical sequence” (Literary Devices, 2013).
For Aristotle (1961), as he wrote in his works, all stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. Following
this thread of thought, a plot, which is the first and most essential part of storytelling – storing within itself the
essence of the story – is, according to his perception, action, or an arrangement of incidents. Without action there’s
no character development and there’s no development or implementation of any idea or concept. Hereupon, the
plot is also composed of these three elements.
In his work Poetics, dating back to 350 B.C., Aristotle stated the three main sections essential to a story
would envelop themselves with each other as follows:
A beginning is that which does not itself follow anything by causal necessity, but after which something
naturally is or comes to be. An end, on the contrary, is that which itself naturally follows some other
thing, either by necessity, or as a rule, but has nothing following it. A middle is that which follows
something as some other thing follows it. A well-constructed plot, therefore, must neither begin nor
end at haphazard, but conform to these principles. (Aristotle & Butcher, 1961, p. 31)
Jesper Juul (2005a) wrote in ‘A dictionary of Video Game Theory’, created for his Half-real book (2005b),
that narrative, in its classical nature, is the presentation of a story, or a sequence of events, by way of a discourse
(Chatman, 1978).
Nowadays, the narrative has reached a broader range of possibilities, thus the extended and detailed
variety of definitions as well. For Dansky (2007), in Introduction to Game Narrative, a story happens within a
narrative and is what gives the rhythm or “flow” to the narrative. In storytelling, the characters act as a connecting
thread or vehicle which inhabits a certain place or setting and have a certain role or purpose in that world.
26
The Art of Storytelling
The setting in which all of this happens defines the type of world in which the events of a story take place.
As we are introduced to Joseph Campbell’s (2014) theory in The Hero’s Journey also known as The Monomyth,
we learn that this has been a story creation method that has been implemented by many writers and storytellers in
the cinema and gaming industry. George Lucas was one of the most well-known people to have implemented these
teachings in his films Star Wars (1977) (Fig. 3), as he was a big advocate of the theory’s influences on the creation of
the saga at the time (Jacobs, 2007; Skolnick, 2014).
Joseph Campbell’s (2014) The Hero’s Journey combines the

concepts developed by Carl Jung (1969) of collective
unconsciousness and Campbell’s (1972) work from The Hero
with a Thousand Faces.
What separates ‘The Monomyth’s’ theory from

Aristotle’s principles is how Campbell’s theory works around
character archetypes and individual elements that compose
the story structure in more detail, but these elements are
common in many other ancient myths regarding this
matter (Jacobs, 2007; Skolnick, 2014).
For a pioneer, such as Robert McKee (1997), Fig.3 - Assembly of pictures from
the original Star Wars film script
in the storytelling and narrative field, a story is about by George Lucas. (1973, 1974).
more than rules, it’s about principles. The delicate
and intricate work within a story is made with the purpose to connect and excite audiences all over the world, while
enduring for years to come, as eternal works of art. So, “story”, for McKee is about “eternal, universal forms, not
formulas”.
A “good story” goes beyond all its bits and bots that make it what it is, as McKee details in his book Story:
Substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting - the love of story, of truth, sensation, humanity,
humour, language etc. - because for it to reach its pinnacle, reaching everyone it possibly can, a good story needs to
be well told (McKee, 1997).
It is the creation of a character, within your
imagination, that brings forth the never-ending story
Classical Design possibilities. As this core element is defined, then starts
Archplot
the meddling part of the process, when you poke and
Causality
Closed Ending
explore the structure, the events of its life, the story
Linear Time values and events, scenes, behavioural beats and the
External Conflict
Single Protagonist mood, acts and sequences, the setup of everything, and
Consistent Reality finally, the actual story behind that specific character
Active Protagonist
– nothing more than a series of acts merged, with a
conducting line. And for McKee (1997), all stories follow
the “story triangle” (Fig. 4) and the plot is what is built out
of it. The Plot is how the writer chooses to present the
story events and how they are portrayed in time.
Minimalism Anti-Structure
Miniplot Antiplot
This said, “story triangle” is made of “Archplot,
Open Ending Coincidence Miniplot, and Antiplot”, but there are innumerable
Internal Conflict Nonlinear Time
Multi-Protagonists Inconsistent Realities possibilities. For McKee, at the top of this triangle, there
Passive Protagonist are the principles of classical design. He presents them
as “classical” for they are timeless and fundamental to
Fig. 4 – “The Story triangle”, based on McKee’s (1997) model in Story: all societies, transcending even cultures and reaching
Substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting. millennia of oral storytelling.
27
The Art of Storytelling
Classical design, or Archplot, is a story that is built around a protagonist who has to struggle against
external factors or antagonists to reach or pursue their desire. This is made continuously in time, through a fictional
reality that’s both consistent and actively connected to a closed ending where no change is possible.
The triangle has yet two other edges, one for minimalism – or Miniplot – and another one for anti-structure
– or Antiplot. Miniplot takes the initial elements of the classical design, or Archplot, but compresses and reduces
its features into something more minimalistic. Miniplot focuses on simplicity and economy, while still requiring
a beautifully executed story as in the Archplot. The Archplot delivers a closed ending, where all questions are
answered and the audience’s expectations are met, leaving no room for confused or unsatisfied emotions. Miniplot,
however, can leave the ending open, as some questions find their answers, but the story lets a few of them slip out
unanswered, leaving the audience with their predictions. Most emotion evoked will be satisfied but the audience
may still be left craving for more. The Antiplot reverses the classical structure by contradicting all traditional forms of
story building, sometimes even ridiculing the main principles (McKee, 1997).
McKee provides an extended list of examples for each of these story types. Some of his examples for the
Archplot story type are The seven samurai (Japan 1954), The Godfather, part II (USA 1974) (Fig. 5), Thelma & Louise
(USA/1988), and Four weddings and a funeral (UK 1994). For Miniplot, La passion de Jeanne D’arc (France 1928),
Tender Mercies (USA 1983) (Fig. 6), and To live (China 1994). As for Antiplot, Monty Python and the holy grail (UK
1975), Last Year at Marienbad (France 1960), Persona (Sweden 1966) (Fig. 7), and After Hours (USA 1985).
Fig. 5 – The Archplot Story. Fig. 6 –The Miniplot Story. Fig. 7 – The Antiplot Story.
Example: The Godfather, part II (USA) (1974). Example: Tender Mercies, (USA) (1983). Example: Persona, (Sweden) (1966).
Regarding types of narrative within the story, the basic or classic ones are linear and nonlinear. A story with
or without any kind of flashbacks that are arranged into an order of events that the audience follows is told in linear
time. A story told in nonlinear time skips through time or makes time continuity seem fuzzy, so the audience cannot
sort out what happens before what (McKee, 1997).
For Miller (2019), as he describes in Digital Storytelling: A creator’s guide to interactive entertainment,
linear and nonlinear narrative distinguish themselves as such: the linear narratives is where the user reaches
predetermined sequential points and where there’s only one-story path, previously determined by the designer
or developer. The nonlinear narrative is where the user is given more than one choice or option and he is allowed
to choose what to do.
28
Immersive Video Games
2.2 (IMMERSIVE) VIDEO GAMES
The first question we must ask in this section is ‘What exactly is a video game?’.
The existing definitions tend to vary, despite sharing some nuances with one another. According to an entry
by Lowood in Encyclopedia Britannica (2021), the attempt at clarifying this broad term goes as follows: an electronic
game (computer or video game) is “any interactive game operated by computer circuitry, that can be enjoyed in
different platforms, such as personal computers, consoles, mobile devices or machines”. Video games can comprise
all of these formats, or they can especially refer to games that are played with video displays.
Some authors, such as Esposito (2005), define this term as a game, usually story-based and narrative-
driven, allowing for interactivity that we can experience and enjoy due to an audio-visual device or technological
apparatus. However, in the specific case of this dissertation, it is important to remember that a video game is, in its
most simple and pure form, a game, regardless of its further purpose (cultural, artistic, educational or entertaining)
(Esposito, 2005).
Diving deeper within the ocean of authors that provide some kind of clarification on this term, for Mangiron
(2004), video games are several multimedia texts that can combine different components or features such as image,
text, sound, and voice. These elements, besides being interactive, are also capable of saving data, providing help
messages and tutorials, as well as settings and menus, and are then stored within an electronic device or medium.
As for Zimmerman (2004), a game besides being a narrative system is an activity that someone engages willingly
and where a player follows certain rules that restrain their freedom and behaviour, following predetermined conflict
and actions that culminate in a quantifiable outcome. Zimmerman goes a bit further on this, drawing attention
to the paradox that involves games, which is the fact that rules and play exist and, more importantly, co-exist
within games. Although rules tend to be the opposite of fun and present themselves as fixed, rigid and closed or
unambiguous, in games, once the players learn the constraints of that world and its rules, the play emerges and
here we get the uncertainty, creativity and improvisational characteristic of games.
Lastly, Chandler and Deming (2011) add that a video game has a series of components that make up its
composition. They are denominated ‘assets’ and can categorise themselves into: ‘in-text assets’, ‘art assets’, ‘audio
assets’, ‘cinematic assets’ and ‘printed materials’ (Chandler & Deming, 2011).
2.2.1 Brief History
With all the whiz, bang, pop,

and shimmer of a glowing arcade.
— Steven L. Kent, The Ultimate History of Video Games
The history of video games goes back as far as fifty years, and although long and intricate, it is important to share a
brief glimpse of some of its most iconic and everlasting games and improvements made that pioneered the industry
into what we have today. So, before delving further into this never-ending world, let’s first dive into their beginnings
and essential history.
29
Brief History
According to Bernal-Merino (2006), the first game to be partly electronic was the pinball machine, but it only
became what it is known as today in 1931 (BMIgaming). However, electronic games in their more advanced format
only appeared in the late 1960s (Bernal-Merino, 2006).
The idea of playing games on computers was born almost at the same time we got to know the first
computer. Claude Shannon was the first to propose, in 1950, that computers could be programmed to ‘play chess’
and therefore ‘think’. His proposal encouraged and challenged many theories decades afterwards and further
motivated research on the field of artificial intelligence (AI)(Lowood, 2021).
Some of the most iconic games, known almost as pioneers in the gaming industry, started as prototypes
or university technology demonstrations, as is the case of the game Tennis for Two, developed in 1958, by William
A. Higinbotham of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, as a part of a public display for visitors of the
laboratory. A few years later, Spacewar! (1962) (Fig. 8) is born at the hands of Steve Russel, Alan Kotok, J. Martin
Graetz, and other associates at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
With the dream of filling arcades with games such as Spacewar!, and inspired by the gameplay he
experienced, Nolan Bushnell developed, in 1971, Computer Space (Fig. 9), a coin-operated version of Spacewar!
which, although proven to be a failure when it first came out, established a pattern and standard design for the
future of arcade consoles. In 1972, Bushnell, Dabney, and Al Alcorn, founded our beloved Atari Corporation and
the concept of a game based on Ping-Pong was first outlined. They created a simple, addicting game named Pong,
which soon became famous among many coin-operated arcade machines. By the end of the 1980s, in 1978, people
get to know and play Space Invaders (Fig. 10) (Editors, 2017; Lowood, 2021).
Fig. 8 – Spacewar! Fig. 9 – Computer Space. Fig. 10 – Space Invaders.

1962 1971 1978
It was around this time, in the 1980s, that the electronic game arcade became this decade’s source
of innovative electronic games, giving birth to the so-called “coin-op” game industry (Lowood, 2021). The 80s
brought us Namco’s Toru Iwatani creation – PAC-MAN – released in 1980. That same year, PAC-MAN was the first
arcade game to ever appear on a home console, which at the time was the Atari 2600. Two years later, a follower
to PAC-MAN – Ms. PAC-MAN – became the best-selling arcade game ever. Nintendo dropped their first hit in 1981
as they released Donkey Kong and its world-famous character: Jumpman. This peculiar character, Jumpman, as he
was originally named, was later named ‘Mario’ when his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, made him the star of other
Nintendo games.
Journeying further into the world of video games, in 1982 Disney released Tron, which was inspired by the
movie of the same name, and dabbed into the world of arcade (The Strong, 2021).
There was a crash named “Video Game Crash”, in 1983, where the North American video game industry
experienced a saturation in the market due to the competition and over-flow of computer gaming, and a “surplus
of over-hyped, low-quality games”, such as Atari’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, considered the worst game ever created.
This crash led to the bankruptcy of several computer and video game console companies and its recovery came
30
Brief History
only in 1985, when the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), Famicom in Japan, came to the US. The NES improved
8-bit graphics, colours, sounds and gameplay over previous consoles.
We saw then a rise of Japanese gaming companies making everlasting franchises such as Nintendo’s The
Legend of Zelda (1986), Super Mario Bros. (1983) (Fig. 11), and Metroid (1989) and many third-party games released
on its new system such as Capcom’s Mega Man (1987), Konami’s Castlevania (1986) (Fig. 12), Square’s Final Fantasy
(1987), and Enix’s Dragon Quest (1986) (Fig. 13). Square and Enix would later merge and create Square Enix in 2003
(Editors, 2017; Nintendo, 2022).
Fig. 11 – Super Mario Bros. Fig. 12 – Castlevania Fig. 13 – Dragon Quest

1983 1986 1986
Subsequent games and consoles appeared throughout the 80s and helped progress and development
in the gaming industry. Some familiar and popular names are Tetris (1984) by Alexey Pajitnov, the Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES) (1985), the role-playing game (RPG) Legend of Zelda (1986) and Nintendo’s Game Boy
(1989)(The Strong, 2021).The 90s came and with it came Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), which turned out
to be the most successful non-bundled game cartridge of all time. In 1991 the world takes its first glimpse at Sega’s
new mascot – Sonic The Hedgehog and Capcom releases Street Fighter II (Kent, 2010).
Although the majority of games and video game consoles were originally consumed and developed by and
for the US and Japan, they would sometimes reach other countries in their original language version (American
English or Japanese). It was only in the mid-1990s that entertainment companies started to consider the possibilities
and market needs to make fully translated versions for the rest of the world. This recurrent need and multilingual
effort have doubled the profit of the entertainment software industry into the billions (Bernal-Merino, 2006).
In 1994 the world is first introduced to Sony’s Playstation in Japan, subsequently released in other countries,
and Nintendo unveils the 64-bit Nintendo 64 game console in Japan (Kent, 2010). Come 1996 and we finally meet
one of the most beloved and iconic Sony characters – Crash Bandicoot – a fluffy mutant bandicoot, who still brings
us to an awe state of pure bliss with his fun adventures nowadays. By the end of the 90s, in 1997, Bandai presents
the Tamagotchi and SquareSoft publishes Final Fantasy VII for Playstation (Kent, 2010). It was by the end of the 90s
and early 2000s that Sony established itself as a dominant power within the video game industry, and although
Sega and Nintendo had released their fair share of highly-rated 3D titles, other established video game companies
couldn’t compete with its magnitude (Editors, 2017).
Jumping right to the 2000s, Playstation 2 makes its debut in Japan and the US, and Microsoft announces the
plans for the Xbox video game console. Microsoft’s Xbox officially arrives in 2001, along with Nintendo’s Game Boy
Advance and GameCube (Kent, 2010).
With the announcement of Playstation 2, in 2000, Sony got what would later be the best-selling console
of all time. It was also the first one to use DVDs. Later on, in 2005 and 2006, came into view the Modern Age of
Gaming, with the introduction of the Xbox 360, Sony’s Playstation 3, and Nintendo’s Wii, which changed and marked
this new transition in the world of gaming.
31
Brief History
It was by the end of the decade, and entrance in 2010, that video games spread to other platforms like
Facebook and general social media, and mobile devices like the iPhone, reaching a broader and more diversified
gaming audience. By this time, we met Rovio’s Angry Birds (2009), which was an astounding success at the time, and
subsequently with its movie in 2012.
In 2011, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure brought something new to the gaming world, with the insertion of
real-life objects (plastic toys) that were put onto an accessory and used NFC (near field communication) tags to
bring characters into the game.
Now, the 8th generation of video games began with the release of Nintendo’s Wii U in 2012, followed
by Sony’s Playstation 4, and the Xbox One in 2013. Wii U wasn’t a success like its predecessor and was later
discontinued in 2017, the same year Nintendo Switch was launched - the only system that allows both television
and handheld gaming. Late that year, Microsoft introduced Xbox One X (a 4k-ready console). In 2016, Sony released
Playstation Pro, which was the first console ever capable of 4k video output (Editors, 2017).
With their sights set on virtual gaming, and bigger technological improvements, in 2020, the world meets
the 9 , and current, generation of video game consoles, with the release of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, and series S,
th
and Sony’s Playstation 5.
From the industry’s pioneers and main genres, Esposito composes a list of what he believes are games with
“new powerful ideas” (Tetris, 1985) (Fig. 14), “deep gameplays” (Bubble Bobble, 1986, and Shinobi, 1987) (Figures 15
and 16), “genre crossings” (The Legend of Zelda, 1986), “innovative narrative elements” (fights in Battle Chess, 1988),
“complex system simulations” (Sim City, 1989), “multiplayer fun” (Bomberman, 1990, and Super Mario Kart, 1992),
“leading unintelligent animals” (Lemmings, 1990), “simple and strong ideas” (Pang, 1990) (Esposito, 2005).
Fig. 14 – Tetris. Fig. 15 – Bubble Bobble. Fig. 16 – Shinobi.

1985 1986 1987
From 2015 until the rise of this new generation of consoles, there have been multiple video games releases,
of outstanding graphic and gameplay quality and improvements worth mentioning, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(2015), Bloodborne (2015), Final Fantasy XV (2016), Uncharted 4. A Thief’s End (2016), Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), The
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), God of War (2018), Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), Sekiro: Shadows Die
Twice (2019), Death Stranding (2019), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019), The Last of Us Part II (2020), Cyberpunk
2077 (2020), Half-Life: Alyx (2020), and finally Hitman 3 (2021), Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021), Resident Evil Village
(2021), Guardians of the Galaxy (2021), and Monster Hunter Rise (2021).
These titles are but some examples of what propelled and encouraged the gaming industry to create
better consoles and videogame platforms or technological computer improvements, in order to keep up with the
demanding and ever-growing industry and its audience. From support to real-time ray tracing graphics, output for
4k resolution, and rendering speeds targeting 60 frames per second (fps) or even higher, to VR’s (virtual reality)
realistic video game environments that reached the status of killer app (meaning highly necessary and desirable,
proving the core value of some larger technology).
32
Brief History
BRIEF TIMELINE The Sims Mass Effect

of Video Games (2000) (2007)
Jak and Daxter Assassin’s Creed

1950 - 2021 (2001) (2007)
Tennis for Two World of Warcraft Naruto Shippuden:Ultimate

(1958) (2004) Ninja Storm (2008)
Half-Life 2 League of Legends

1950 (2004) (2009)
Spacewar! Psychonauts Dragon Age

(1962) (2005) (2009)
F.E.A.R Angry Birds

1960 (2005) (2009)
Computer Space Space Invaders Forza Motorsport Skylanders:

(1971) (1978) (2005) Spyro’s Adventure (2011)
1970 2000
PAC MAN Bubble Bobble Amnesia: Ori & The Blind Forest
(1980) (1986) The Dark Descent (2010) (2015)
Donkey Kong The Legend of Zelda Minecraft The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(1981) (1986) (2011) (2015)
Super Mario Bros. Shinobi The Binding of Isaac Horizon Zero Dawn
(1983) (1987) (2011) (2017)
Tetris Final Fantasy Bioshock Infinite God of War

(1985) (1987) (2013) (2018)
1980 XCOM
(2013)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
(2019)
Street Fighter II The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Elder Scrolls Online Star Wars Jedi:
(1991) (1994) (2014) Fallen Order (2019)
Sonic The Hedgehog

(1991)
Resident Evil
(1995)
2010
Mortal Kombat Tomb Raider The Last of Us Part II Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
(1992) (1996) (2020) (2021)
DOOM Age of Empires Cyberpunk 2077 Guardians of the Galaxy

(1993) (1997) (2020) (2021)
Crash Bandicoot StarCraft Half-Life: Alyx Monster Hunter Rise

(1994) (1998) (2020) (2021)
1990 Hitman 3 Resident Evil Village

(2021) (2021)
Fig. 17 – Short timeline of video games.

2020
33
Types and Genres
Types and Genres
The world of video games is immense, and as such so is the list of all existing genres within this cocoon of
entertainment (Fig. 18). Video games can go from Adventure-action, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA),
Shooters (FPS or TPS – First/Third-person shooter), Simulation and Sports, Fighting, Puzzlers, Sandbox, Real-time
strategy and RPGs (Role-playing games)(Mangiron, 2004).
Adventure-action MOBA Shooters MMORPG
Fighting Puzzler & Sandbox Real-time strategy RPG & TRPG
Horror & Survival Platformer Roguelike & Roguelite Simulation & Sports
Fig. 18 – Genres of video games.
The above are considered the top 10 most relevant and known video game categories to date, although
there are a few we can still add to the list. Within each genre we can associate one or more (well-known or not)
video games:
In the Adventure-action genre, some popular names are Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019), Sekiro: Shadows
Die Twice (2019), Tomb Raider (1996-), Assassin’s Creed (2007-), Legend of Zelda (1986), Middle Earth: Shadow of
Mordor (2014), and Psychonauts (2005).
For Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (commonly known as MOBAs), some examples include League of
Legends (2009), Dota 2 (2013), and Smite (2014).
In the genre of shooters (FPS or TPS), in the first-person shooter category we have Half-Life 2 (2004),
Bioshock Infinite (2013), F.E.A.R (2005) and DOOM (1993). In the third-person category, some examples are Gears of
War (2006), Resident Evil IV (2005), and Jak and Daxter (2001-).
34
Storytelling in Video Games
The Simulation and Sports genre have some popular names as well, such as Football Manager (1992-), Forza
Motorsport (2005-), and Farming Simulator (2018).
Video games in the Fighting genre include Tekken 7 (2015), Mortal Kombat (1992-), Street Fighter V: Arcade
Edition (2016), and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm (2008-).
The Puzzlers genre attaches titles such as Mario’s Picross (1995), Portal 2 (2011), and The Talos Principle
(2014), whereas within the spectre of the Sandbox genre, there’s Minecraft (2011), Grand Theft Auto (1997-), and The
Sims (2000-).
Games such as Warcraft (1994-), Age of Empires (1997-), StarCraft (1998), and Command & Conquer (1995)
fall into the section of Real-time strategy (RTS) genre.
Within Role-playing games (RPGs), this genre opens up into other different subgenres. As main examples for
the general RPG genre, there are Dragon Age (2009-), Mass Effect (2007-), Fallout 4 (2015), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
(1994-), and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015), the latter and former being considered an ARPG as well. Within the RPGs,
there are ARPGs (Action Role-Playing games), such as The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015), and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
(1994). There are CRPGs (Computer Role-Playing Games), typically describing western-developed RPGs for pc gamers,
like Fallout (1997) and Fallout 2 (1998). Tactical role-playing game (TRPG) encompasses games like the XCOM (2013)
series and Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus (2018).
Then comes MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing game), like the notable World of Warcraft
(2004), Elder Scrolls Online (2014), and RuneScape (2001). Next we have Roguelike, such as The Binding of Isaac
(2011), and the Roguelite genre, like Rogue Legacy (2013).
Still, on the topic of genres, there are two I may add, which are Survival and Horror, and Platformer. In
Survival and Horror, some games are purely on the horror side, like Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010), and Alien:
Isolation (2014), whereas on the survival side we have Don’t Starve (2013) and The Long Dark (2014). Resident Evil
(1996-) and Evil Within (2014) fall in the survival-horror mix.
Lastly, for the Platformer genre, some examples are Crash Bandicoot (1996-), Ori & The Blind Forest (2015),
and Cuphead (2017).
2.2.2 Storytelling in video games
Now, with the empowerment of knowledge of the basic history behind storytelling, it is time to dig a little deeper
into my focus – video games. So, what is exactly, and how does it present itself, storytelling in video games? And
what is exactly interactive storytelling, agency or interactivity, just some of the components considered inherent to
video games and their development?
Janet Murray (1997) stated in her book Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace
that computers are “a new medium for storytelling”, whereas Markku Eskelinen (2004) separates theory from
reality, saying “Luckily, outside theory, people are usually excellent at distinguishing between narrative situations
and gaming situations: if I throw a ball at you, I don’t expect you to drop it and wait until it starts telling stories.”
(Eskelinen, 2004; Juul, 2005a; Murray, 1997).
The storytelling component is presented with alternate gameplay segments and its presence depends on
what the developer or writer intends for the game. It requires a complex team of professionals that help bring a
virtual vision and idea to life, with astonishing narratives, some more focused on action than others.
35
The combination of a handpicked group of designers, artists, writers, programmers and musicians are
what is capable to create emotionally-complex stories that focus on one of the most essential aspects of gaming
– the relationship between player actions and video game aesthetics, while some may try to balance the narrative
component with the player’s agency and control over the events (Solarski, 2017; Somerdin, 2016).
Each component is single-handedly picked and developed to provide the utmost immersion and
narrative component for the player. These elements are part of a limitless range of possibilities that
involve “media-and-user interactivity”, allowing the player to have agency over what happens in the
story. From character-building, animations, and environment shapes, to pathways, framing and
transitions, they all connect to one another and the story being told, to create the most wholesome
fulfilling experience, thus enhancing the potential of the narrative component and adding a few new
ones. (Solarski, 2017; Somerdin, 2016)
Although video games can have many variations, some more leaning towards gameplay in its purest form
and others choosing gameplay as a medium to tell stories, the narrative-driven ones have defined goals and
objectives for the players to accomplish or overcome. As such, these two elements create the conflict – one that is
present in any type of medium – and in a video game puts the player as a central piece – not the protagonist – who
must deal with these through a set of “creative strategy, luck and endurance” (Solarski, 2017).
Just as emotional immersion plays a big part in this new type of narrative within video games, so does the
“Future Narrative genre” which lets the player experience different possible endings. The component of “gameplay”
helps differentiate what we know as traditional narrative from video games (Somerdin, 2016).
Sebastian Domsch (2013) argues in his book Storytelling: Agency and Narrative in Video Games about the
relationship between the creator and audience but also if, or not, the medium is nodal. The term “nodal” he borrows
from Bode and Dietrich’s (2013) text ‘Future Narratives’, which states that “a node is a situation that allows for more
than one continuation”. As such, “future narratives do not operate with ‘events’ as their minimal units. Rather, their
minimal unit is at least one situation that allows for more than one continuation and we call this a ‘nodal situation’,
or a ‘node’, for short.” (Bode & Dietrich, 2013; Domsch, 2013; Somerdin, 2016).
Media-wise, if something can be, or is, actively nodal, then it allows the audience to make choices, thus
altering the outcome of one or more situations. Passive nodal doesn’t allow any kind of interference and everything
is predetermined (Bode & Dietrich, 2013; Domsch, 2013; Somerdin, 2016).
For Bode and Dietrich (2013), who explored Future Narratives extensively in Future Narratives: Theory, Poetics,
and Media-Historical Moment, this new genre is defined as a new kind of narrative – one that prioritizes openness, the
undetermined, virtuality, and the “idea that every ‘now’ contains a multitude of possible continuations”. So, here, the
future becomes something with unidentified potentiality and the reader or player has the chance to enter different
paths and situations that branch out, allowing them to ‘see’ that all further consequences depend on ‘us’ sometimes,
and what we choose to do, what we believe in and what motivates us (Bode & Dietrich, 2013).
Domsch (2013) crosses the concepts of nodal with two categories: “static” and “dynamic” and claims that
the first depends on the user for temporality and movement (books or paintings, where the user has to interact
somehow and “work”). The second is entirely independent (movies and music can play without any user interacting
with them). Video games are categorised as “dynamic” for they require an active user or player to fulfil the gameplay
and accomplish the goals, while still including for example, NPCs (non-player characters), which are usually AI
(artificial intelligence) and act as dynamic elements (Fig. 19). In the category of “static”, we can insert tabletop games
and choose-your-own-adventure books. Being games considered dynamic, actively nodal media, this comes with
the implication of a special connection or interaction between the game and the players, giving the latter more
agency than any other medium. Within the limits of the game, a player can thus make decisions in what are called
“nodal situations” so he can create and pursue the path he desires. The nodal agency generates interactivity within
video games (Domsch, 2013; Somerdin, 2016).
36
Fig. 19 – NPC outfit for Vesemir from The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, by Marcin Blaszczak. (2016).
Furthermore, for Domsch (2013), games’ appealing factor relies on their agency bonus, since they imply
choice and, consequently, different outcomes. Games that Jesper Jull (2005b) categorises as “emergent” offer
openness and complexity of a higher level. The question remains on whether the FNs (future narratives) allow
a greater degree of openness within this range of definition, or not (Bode & Dietrich, 2013; Domsch, 2013; Juul,
2005b).
What about agency and interactive storytelling?

All these references to storytelling, agency and interactivity may seem confusing somehow when brought together.
However, this only happens if I do not provide some context to some of the essential terms brought forward, such
as agency and interactive storytelling.
According to Miller (2019), agency is the user’s ability to control and decide aspects of the narrative. This
way, you get the opportunity to make choices, observe the consequences and enjoy, or not, the result.
With agency, the user is also given additional freedom to navigate through the story space and world, create
their character, change perspectives and beliefs, and enjoy many other kinds of interactive experiences and contact in-
game. Even more, Miller presents us with basic types of interactivity: Stimulus and response, Navigation, Control
over objects, Communication, Exchange information, and Acquisition, which are very specific in their denominations.
The interface provided to the user or players for their exertion of interactivity must enable communication with the
material so they can easily make choices and navigate through the environment.
That being said, interactivity must also have a purpose and a meaning, so the choices that are offered to the
user have to be pondered and make sense, and so do their consequences and outcomes. What the user decided
upon must have a perceptible and true impact on the story, so that there’s a sense of purpose and satisfaction with
each interaction (Miller, 2019).
This introduces us to interactivity and, consequently, interactive storytelling, which is a field conceived in the
late 1980s, first experimented with in the 1990s and reached new heights of discussion in 2010.
37
For Crawford (2013), however, it is the introduction of interactive storytelling that introduces us to
interactivity. For if the story is to be truly interactive, then the player, in the case of games, must be able to change
the story. The storyteller retains full artistic control over the narrative it created, but it is now required that it
exercises that same control at a more abstract level.
Although within many fields such as games, cinema, storytelling, programming, and mathematics, this field
must be seen and treated as something new and unique. For Crawford, in 1983, games brought forth another
concept of artistic expression. Instead of being only about and related to people, making you interact with only
them, games allowed you to focus and obsess about things in general. In games, the focus wasn’t only on people.
Here you could chase, shoot, search, acquire, navigate or destroy things – or even have them do the same thing
to you. However, for him, there were never any significant interactions with people in games. He made an attempt
at exploring that with Gossip (1983), a game based on interpersonal interactions, but as Atari collapsed, the game
wasn’t a success (Crawford, 2013).
In the environments created within interactive storytelling narratives, agency divides into two aspects - the
own sense of control and the empowerment of the story characters and events. Within interactive storytelling, the
main source of agency may be the ability to freely navigate the world and its most remote places, influence your
surroundings as you make your way through, interact with characters or NPCs (non-player characters), or have any
kind of effect over the course of events and eventual ending of the narrative (Nakevska et al., 2014). Now, as stated
before, besides the classical linear and nonlinear narrative types, interactive storytelling has introduced us to some
new possibilities, as explained by Rob Munday (2016):
Linear Narrative
Follows the traditional and conventional form of storytelling. The player’s journey through the story is controlled
and directed or predetermined by sequential actions and scenes within the plot (Fig. 20). There’s but one beginning,
middle and end common to everyone (Munday, 2016).
Though without any explicit and active choices that have a direct
impact on the game, linear structures still allow for interactivity in, for
example, interactive poems or exploratory narrative games (Handwritten Fig. 20 – Linear Narrative model, based on
Munday’s. (2016).
Games, 2020).
Branching Narrative
It’s a relatively simple but very popular type of narrative structure, resembling branches of a tree, and where the
trunk represents the main storyline (Fig. 21). The branches represent the possible variations in choice and endings
that are made possible. In this structure, the player faces multiple decisions
and variations of the same, and each choice they make affects the path they
take through the story. This narrative branches out with different types of
endings depending on what you decided or chose at different moments
in-game – similar to the type of book or game of “choose your own
adventure” or “fighting fantasy” (Munday, 2016).
The complexity and length of a narrative with this structure depends

on how many branches it contains, but it’s the best choice for a game where
you want the player to feel like it really has control over the outcome of events
and the ending of the game (Dille & Zuur Platten, 2007; Munday, 2016).
Branching narratives are the best at simulating freedom of choice,

but it also has downsides, such as the fact that their immense amount
of content won’t be experienced in its entirety in just one playthrough
Fig. 21 – Branching Narrative model, based on
(Handwritten Games, 2020). Munday’s. (2016).
38
Fishbone Narrative
It employs a traditional linear structure at its very core, but as the player advances through the story it can explore
sub-stories or paths of the tale in question (Fig. 22), while always returning to the main thread of the story and,
eventually, one possible ending. It’s a structure that allows the linear narrative to go beyond its boundaries, adding
more immersion to the classical structure (Munday, 2016).
Fig. 22 – Fishbone Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
Parallel Narrative
It’s similar to a junction of linear structure with the branching one, and it presents players with multiple choices in
the story (Fig. 23). Also known as Limited Branching, it was commonly used in older game structures. It supports
the player’s desire to make meaningful choices as well as the developed story originally conceived. This way, the
player’s decisions can alter their route, but they end up returning to the main storyline for key moments. It’s more
complex and interactive than the fishbone structure but not as dispersed as the branching one. You get guidance
throughout your story, while still choosing your own path at key moments within the story. You get to switch paths
in between some decisions and that creates the illusion of freedom and agency (Dille & Zuur Platten, 2007; Ince,
2006; Munday, 2016).
Fig. 23 – Parallel Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
Threaded Narrative
It’s a structure used, for example, to tell a story from different perspectives or multiple points of view (Fig. 24). The
threads within the story can then connect to one another or remain separate throughout the narrative (Munday,
2016). It allows the players to experience the same story, perhaps, but with different characters, joining up at the
end for the common ending reveal.
Fig. 24 – Threaded Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
39
Concentric Narrative
As the name suggests, this is a structure that revolves around a single shared central core (Fig. 25). This core, or
hub, contains multiple entry and exit points to different threads of the story. Players choose the path they take,
regardless of the order, but then return to the main core. This structure provides a great deal of freedom and
interactivity but it may not give the player the “journey” and immersive experience that the other structures provide
(Munday, 2016).
Fig. 25 – Concentric Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).
These structures may vary or have even further variations, depending on each author. Marie Laure-Ryan (2001),
for example, presents us with additional structures such as: ‘The Complete graph’, ‘The Network’, ‘The tree’, ‘The vector
with side branches’, ‘The maze’, ‘The directed network’, ‘The hidden story’, ‘The braided plot’, and ‘The action space, epic
wandering and story-world’ (Laure-Ryan, 2001). Nevertheless, a compilation of the essential, basic models is organized
above, and this dissertation won’t call for further specification or explanation of all existing theories and models.
Now that I’ve established some context and shed some light on basic knowledge within interactive
storytelling, it is time to see what more information there is about this form of storytelling within video games.
Some academic investigation has been done around this topic of video game storytelling. The responses ended up
polarizing themselves into the Ludologists and the Narratologists.
Some Ludologists, mainly academics, like Espen Aarseth and Juul argue that video games albeit having
‘artistic ambitions’, are ‘fundamentally games’ (Aarseth, 2006; Mukherjee, 2015). As for Narratologists, such as Janet
Murray and Marie Laure-Ryan, they argue that video games are a storytelling medium because they “promise to
reshape the spectrum of narrative expression, not by replacing the novel or the movie but by continuing their
timeless bardic work within another framework” (Mukherjee, 2015; Murray, 1997).
Skolnick (2014) wrote that game narratives are created following the same core principles as those in
literature, theatre, cinema, or television:
One of the oldest and best-known story models is the Three-Act Structure. The word ‘act’ might seem to
imply that this paradigm only applies to plays, but don’t be fooled. – nearly all stories are built pretty
much the same way. And it is okay. (Skolnick, 2014, pt. 1)
Starting with Adams and Dorman’s (2012) book on Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, narrative in
videogames exists to help structure the game itself and guide the players through a compelling, immersive, and
enjoyable experience. Stories increase the meaning, emotion, and motivation in the player so they can achieve the
goals that are presented. Even if you have to slay different types of monsters in a game because that’s your goal at the
moment, eventually the player longs for some additional meaning to its task. Most video games have linear narratives,
40
but it’s very common as well that those same video games can happen to be branching, and maybe present another
type of narrative as well, that is essential to the construction of the narrative (Adams & Dormans, 2012).
For Green (2017), storytelling in video games is about how the game is constructed in order to convey a
story, connecting all elements that compose the narrative it tells. In other words, the balance between narrative
and game design. With storytelling and digital narrative, each task the player has to complete to advance further
in the game has additional weight, purpose or importance, since they are seen as meaningful and even personally
relevant, instead of onerous or wasteful because they add little to no extra information to that part of the story.
The possibility to “feel” and have a sense of accomplishment by completing an achievement is also
something that only interactive storytelling can transmit through the playthrough of a game. There’s a bigger depth
to this type of storytelling that allows the player’s engagement with the game to give feedback and consequently
move the story further, and sometimes in different directions, towards perhaps different outcomes. Green states
that “the narrative itself becomes the reward, not the scaffold” since it connects the player to the in-game world and
relates him as well to a sense of belonging (this can be made via scenarios or objects, for example, that are similar
to something they relate to) (Green, 2017).
Now, for a bit of questioning or contradiction in the sense of this “interactivity” in video games, Besmond
(2019) and Ince (2006) assert that it is true that several games have both significant and impactful narratives, but
that does not necessarily mean or imply that having a story in a game makes it an interactive narrative.
Games, in their essence, are interactive and usually designed to start by giving off a rush of excitement
and control/agency to the player, so that he can have power over some intense action right in the beginning, for
example. This makes Act I of games usually turn into a kind of cinematic or flashback that can be, or not, followed
or accompanied by a brief introduction to the gameplay of Act I. Normally we see this in action games, such as
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (2011) where the game starts right after a train crash and the player, controlling
Nathan Drake, has to make its way to safety as he is gripping outside of a train cart dangling over an icy ravine
(Besmond, 2019; Ince, 2006).
Although asserting the point that not all video games with a narrative have it as an interactive one, for
Ince (2006), the interactive narrative is an experience where the narrative unfolds according to the participant’s
actions, and in video games this is seen through the player’s choices or actions. The interactivity of these narratives
should try and convince the players into thinking they are in control of their experience, making their gameplay and
existence in that fantasy world more relevant (Heussner et al., 2015).
41
Localisation
2.2.3 Localisation
The essence of localisation

The term, in its essence, derives from locale, which can be associated with different definitions, but the prominent
ones, shared by more than one source, define locale as “all characteristics of the combination of a language and a
region or country” (Esselink, 2003). Within the range of the programming field, a locale “defines regional standards
supported by a software product, such as date/time formats, sorting standards, currencies, and character sets”
(Esselink, 2003).
According to the Globalization and Localization Association (2020), localisation is “the process of adapting
a product or content to a specific local or market. Translation is only one of several elements of the localization
process” (Language Services, 2020).
The Swiss Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA), which shut down in 2011, defined localisation
as such: “Localisation involves taking a product and making it linguistically, technically, and culturally appropriate to
the target locale where it will be used and sold” (Esselink, 2003).
Esselink (2003) also states that localisation is defined as a process that revolves around the customisation
of things like manuals for products (software), and the products themselves for a specific locale or target audience.
For O’Hagan (2005), the term localisation is but one of the integral elements of GILT, which stands for “Globalization,
Internationalization, Localization and Translation” and seeks to highlight specific processes necessary to deal
with electronic content. These GILT practices were brought forward as the world saw the multidimensionality of
translation arising with the evolution of gaming and interactive entertainment. More than translation, it can go from
audio-visual adaptation and translation, to software localisation (O’Hagan, 2005).
There is an association between localisation and translation of utility and entertainment software, and as
the former evolved, it brought and posed more challenges and needs than the classical business market, as the
ever-growing industry tries to accommodate different languages and cultures (Bernal-Merino, 2006).
Within video games

As the world changed and developed throughout the years, so did the gaming and translation industry together,
as they saw the growing spread and development of games around the world intensify, as well as a need to fully
translate and transmit these products into different languages and to different cultural contexts (Fig. 26).
Now, localisation is somewhat of a translation phenomenon, as studios and companies have a higher tendency to
localise their content, thus appealing and reaching a broader target audience, not only in their source language but
also worldwide, and this has increasingly grown (Bernal-Merino, 2008; Maziarz & Onik, 2019).
At the same time, the demand for video games

grew exponentially and their adaptation became a
stronger need, so the companies saw themselves being
forced into investing more time and money into the
localisation process. The language service providers
tried to distinguish themselves within this sector of
gaming by praising their capability of maintaining the
same immersion level and feel of the game in question
in the localised versions that were created.
The creative power and ability of the translator

or localisation expert were highlighted, as it was now
more important than the traditional and faithful form Fig. 26 – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, in-game dialogue, in Portuguese. (2017).
42
Localisation
of translation that they were used to. Localisation required a different kind of translation and adaptation that
didn’t follow the traditional patterns the language service providers were used to giving and were mostly known for
(Bernal-Merino, 2008). Mangiron and O’Hagan (2006) go even further, stating that “Sometimes, job specifications for
localisation specialists do not require previous experience in this field, only some previous translation experience,
experience as a gamer, and knowledge of the gaming world”, so it’s a necessity to present a study where the video
gamer’s needs are presented, in order to facilitate the translator’s job (Mangiron & O’Hagan, 2006).
Quality in the localized version of a game is paramount, just as quality is paramount in all other
aspects of the development of a game. The translations must be more akin to creative writing than to
literal translation while still conveying all the same information contained in the original. (Finegan,
2006, p. 58)
Many challenges and difficulties present themselves as the storytelling process of a video game evolves,
such as transmitting characters, graphics, storylines, soundtracks, literature and history as well as the problems that
arise when this content is the subject of changes during the adaptation stage of localisation (Bernal-Merino, 2008).
Hevia (2007) proposes a detailed description of the area of game localisation, specifically the translation side of
this larger process. Game localisation can be seen as a subset of software localisation because the translation
and transformation (if needed) of the game, need to conform and adapt to the local standards of the target
culture, while still incorporated into the game’s software. Publishers must keep this aspect of localisation in mind
throughout the early stages and further development of a game, to avoid or reduce the need for reengineering
work later on for the localised versions of the game.
One good example is the text and character encoding space each language requires and has to be
adapted. Chandler and Deming (2011) clarify this a little, as the Japanese language uses double-byte encoding but
English uses single-byte characters, and romance languages, such as Portuguese, require larger text boxes, or
expandable ones because they usually need more space than English. If localisers do not have to constantly worry
over character space restriction they can focus on their wording and creativity within the target language they’re
translating to (Chandler & Deming, 2011).
One big difference that distinguishes “common” software localisation (business applications) from game
localisation is the creativity factor. While business software must be effective, utilitarian and straightforward, video
games focus on entertainment and enjoyment, and their main goal is to provide the players with an immersive
experience and virtual reality environment. The players who experience the gameplay in the translated version
should feel the game as if it was the original one, specially designed for them, and not some cheap copy adaptation.
This way, any player can feel enjoyment, regardless of their origin or cultural background (Hevia, 2007; Mangiron &
O’Hagan, 2006).
A ‘good quality’ localisation is that which succeeds in maintaining the same gameplay experience and the
same aspect and feel of the source language throughout any target language localisation. This may require some
changes or adaptations to the target market and it is probably the only place where the translation is so “fluid” and
flexible, breaking the barriers of traditional translation because you can modify everything to the extent of images,
graphics, or storylines to fit another culture.
This way, the process known as localisation intends to provide any player, regardless of their origins, with
a faithful and immersive gaming experience and as many hours of enjoyment and entertainment as the original
version of that specific game they’re playing (Hevia, 2007).
43
Immersion
2.2.4 Immersion
Immersion, in the Cambridge dictionary, is defined as “the fact of becoming completely involved in something”
(Cambridge Dictionary, 2021a).
Murray (1997), in her book Hamlet on the Holodeck rearranges the symbolic meaning of immersion in the context of
media and how the user experiences interaction with it:
We seek the same feeling from a psychologically immersive experience that we do from a plunge in the
ocean or swimming pool: the sensation of being surrounded by a completely other reality, as different
as water is from air that takes over all of our attention, our whole perceptual apparatus. (Murray,
1997, pt. 2)
This definition enlightens the unique nature of immersive experience, by enhancing the psychological
factors within it, as well as the technological and sensorial aspects it brings forth.
Immersion is also capable of producing a sensation of presence to the person experiencing a certain
activity or environment and can be easily associated with VR (virtual reality) or VE (virtual environment), but it
can be present in other scenarios. By removing as many real-world sensations as possible and replacing them
with different sensations corresponding to a different set experienced by the person and/or user, their sense of
immersion increases (Mestre et al., 2006).
To enhance the human perception of immersion there are many aspects that can aid in a deepening of
senses, such as the visual field, the “surround” sound and the stereoscopic elements around it. This sensation,
called immersion, is what technology is able to deliver from a different and objective perspective. The more a
system is capable of displaying and transmitting (in the sensory aspects above) and tracking that resembles the
real-world senses, the more immersive it gets. With this, immersion intends to infuse the user with the belief that
one is outside the real world and “inside” an alternative one (Mestre et al., 2006).
Academics such as Bostwick (2004) and Fortune (2012) speak about immersion related to the learning of
a new language. They speak of educational immersion as a better way to transmit knowledge and help students
acquire a second language or deepen their understanding of their mother tongue or a language they are already
acquainted with. By placing the student in direct contact with the native people and culture of the foreign language
they study, students can become functionally proficient and communicate more efficiently according to their level
(Bostwick, 2004; Fortune, 2012).
Immersion is usually closely connected to emotional and psychological experiences, some very specific,
like the idea of being submerged in water. This creates the concept of mental absorption and we see it depicted in
many fictional, theatrical or artistic exposures and creations (Laure-Ryan, 2001).
Agrawal and colleagues (2020) (Fig. 27) have also created a well-established taxonomy on immersion, which
entails that the reasons that actually lead to psychological immersion can be often classified as different types of
immersion. For them, there are five factors capable of influencing immersion:
1) “the system (physical properties of the reproduction system and the content)”; 2) “narrative
(content)”; 3) “environment (physical environment and the contextual conditions”; 4) “individual factors
(affective states, mood, preference, skills, previous knowledge, expertise, goals, motivation, etc)”; and
5) “interaction between the individual and the experience (significance of the content to the individual,
acceptance of the task, and alignment of goal and motivation). (Agrawal et al., 2020, pp. 407–408)
44
Immersion
Immersion
Psychological state Property of the technology/system

of an individual which facilitates an experience
State of mental absorption Objective property which can be measured and
quantified based on technical specifications
Reasons which can lead

to psychological immersion
Subjective experience Absorption in Absorption when facing

of being surrounded the narrative or the depiction strategic and/or
or multisensory stimulation of the narrative tactical challenges
Preventing shift of attention Mental absorption in the story. Mental absorption when facing
away from the activity Classified as spatial, temporal, strategic (planning, operating,
to influence immersion and emotional immersion etc.) and/or tactical (fast paced
games, etc.) challenges
Fig. 27 – Reasons for psychological immersion are classified as types of immersion. Syncretic perspective. Model based on the work of Agrawal et. al. (2020).
Laure-Ryan (2001), in her book Narrative as virtual reality, identifies three main mental processes (Fig. 28)
as a part of narrative immersion, stating they pose a determinant role within a fictional world:
Spatial Immersion Temporal Immersion Emotional Immersion

Fig. 28 – Main mental processes’ model, based on Laure-Ryan’s work. (2001).
Spatial immersion is related to the design of the environment in question and should evoke the user’s
imagination and let it mentally recreate the setting, while indulging further exploration through the environment
(narrative, game, scenario). It is with spatial immersion that the user can imagine the surrounding environment,
although without any physical image to corroborate its idea, and see changing scenarios as if they’re there and
situate themselves deeply into the story.
Temporal immersion evokes the desire for knowledge and should create suspense in the user when choosing
among different paths of the story. This type of immersion is usually deployed in literature and films as it eases the
involvement of the audience with the narrative being told.
45
Immersion
Emotional immersion is related to the reader’s or user’s emotional involvement and connection to the character
and its journey. The user gains a deeper insight into the main character and develops a greater connection to it. The
user is thus forced to face the destiny of that character and cannot intervene in any way, but with interactivity the
user has a bigger control and importance over the choices it makes, for they will affect the character’s fate.
Laure-Ryan (2001) argues whether having any kind of interference, with interactivity, or none, with the
character, will affect emotional immersion. This could be a hindrance, but considering computer games, and RPGs
(role-playing games) in specific, these tend to offer a clear interaction with the story and the characters themselves,
thus allowing the players to create strong emotional connections with the virtual avatars, further supporting the
claim of emotional immersion (Albaek et al., 2011; Laure-Ryan, 2001).
Lastly, Csikszentmihalyi (2020), considered that flow is a mental state of consciousness or an inner
experience that is triggered when engaging in an activity that is perceived as pleasurable. In said activity or
experience, one is completely immersed, and everything around appears to fade away. Csikszentmihalyi considers
that flow occurs in moments and activities where people focus their attention on attaining realistic goals, making
flow a “desirable autotelic experience”. He also states that excellence, in life, stems from interacting and being
completely involved or engaged in flow, rather than being linked solely to the pursuit of happiness. Although the
human being can find happiness in pleasant activities and physical relaxation of good sensations, this state of
satisfaction is induced by external factors, whereas the happiness provided by the flow comes from our own energy,
helping us focus our attention and motivating us to act, leading to a “growth in consciousness”.
Diving into video games

Immersion is a big part of successful games and player experience. Presence is the term used to describe the feeling
that one feels inside a VE (virtual environment), as it is also explored in Immersion et presence (Mestre et al., 2006).
The feeling of presence felt by someone in a VE is a characteristic of them interacting with it. The level of presence
varies from participant to participant and their inherent characteristics – which are called “immersive tendency” – and
immersion is what is used to describe that feeling inside the field of video games (Christou, 2013; McMahan, 2013).
As a pioneer in this field, Murray (1997) worked her way around immersion and agency. In the fifth chapter
of her book Hamlet on the Holodeck, Murray links the reader’s/players’ agency to immersion and establishes a
distinction between digital narrative and traditional narrative with the statement “on the computer we encounter a
world that is dynamically altered by our participation”. Murray links agency and immersion to the satisfying power to
take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices and goes even further by saying that games
are “abstract storytelling”, “rituals”, and “rehearsals for life”, so they are separated from our everyday lives. There’s a
clear distinction between activity and agency as one impacts the players’ role in the story, since he has a palpable
“divine power” over that particular setting happening, and interactivity transcends this (Murray, 1997).
Nordin (2014) sees immersion as a cognitive sense of “being in the games”. For once, the players lose track
of time and, as Coleridge (1985) once stated, “there’s no immersion unless a player decides to take part in the
gameplay and engage in the process of willing suspension of disbelief” (Christou, 2013; Coleridge, 1985).
Immersion emerges when the players interact with the game. Brown and Cairns (2004) propose three levels of
possible player immersion - engagement, engrossment, and total immersion, and the successive passing of the player
by each of these levels means that it continuously loses touch with the real world as he adventures further into these
levels, becoming more involved, physically and psychologically, in the gaming environment. Each level requires that the
players invest themselves into the game, from choosing the game itself, to learning the controls and rules, and finally
the emotional investment they are willing to give to the game (Brown & Cairns, 2004; Christou, 2013).
Jennett and colleagues (2008) also describe immersion as having three features, distinctive from each
other: lack of awareness of time, loss of awareness of the real world, and involvement and a sense of being in
the task environment. The players that end up being deeply concentrated and immersed in the game experience
46
Delving Further Into This Realm
they’re doing end up returning to the real world a bit stunned and they take longer to re-adjust to worldly tasks and
environments (Christou, 2013; Jennett et al., 2008).
Ermi and Mäyrä (2005) propose a model that presents three distinct forms of immersion as well:
Sensory, challenge-based and imaginative immersion, each concerning a specific part of a game. Sensory related to the
audio-visual component and execution of games, challenge-based immersion concerning the balance created between the
game’s challenges and the player’s abilities. Imaginative immersion is related to the absorption of the players by the story
being told and the empathy the player creates towards the character it controls (Christou, 2013; Ermi & Mäyrä, 2005).
Michailidis and colleagues (2018) connect flow, immersion and presence as elements that coexist and
interplay with one another in a game. They state that immersion theories, such as the ones from McMahan (2013)
and Brown & Cairns (2004) have incorporated presence in a way that almost merges with immersion, becoming
indistinguishable. Brown and Cairns (2004) equated total immersion to presence and the “levels” they created
- engagement and engrossment (with “physical and emotional investment in the game; loss of self-awareness;
sustained attention”) - “prime the experience of presence”. For Michailidis et al. (2018), the model proposed and
presented by Brown and Cairns possibly yields an incomplete taxonomy.
As they challenge the dominant view that flow is different from immersion, the results vary and there is a
lack of evidence for them, that proves that a particular game design is “better at triggering flow than immersion or
vice versa”. They state that this requires further study and research, as we have not yet reached the point where
there are concrete evidence and progress towards the “measurement of flow and immersion as separate states”.
In their work, they conclude that flow and immersion do not appear as conceptually distinct, and their
“proposed diﬀerences are not compelling enough to set immersion apart as a diﬀerent mental state.” Presence
envelops itself in immersion but is in a different mental state. They also suggest that the terms of flow and
immersion can be used interchangeably until more evidence is given (Michailidis et al., 2018).
2.3 DELVING FURTHER INTO THIS REALM

Further within the realm of storytelling in video games, Felizol (2017) elaborates a pertinent and detailed research
regarding the influence of narrative in video games, player immersion, and its impact on the player as an
entertainment consumer. His investigation focuses on the specific game Heavy Rain (2010) and uses it as a case
study within a sample of individuals.
Although focusing mainly on the narrative component, Felizol touches gaming elements such as immersion
in players and uses a significant sample of participants to help him analyse, within the interactive genre Heavy
Rain gameplay, how the narrative influences the player’s immersion. The conclusion reached states that this type
of video games, within the interactive range, is far from turning obsolete and will probably continue to gather an
increasing number of interested players, as it explores a type of storytelling capable of being more immersive
and providing more participation and impact to the player. Felizol names narrative, sound effects, characters,
cyberspace, points of view, and the transmedia effect as the main elements that “create” and deepen immersion in
a video game (Felizol, 2017).
Still, on the topic of video games and storytelling, Masadi (2010) argues that the scaling and growth in
technological development made within a decade have broadened the discussion in the field of narrative game
theory, thus bringing veracity and reliability to story-based games as a legitimate form of narrative. The increase in
interactivity and agency in games such as Half-life 2 (2004) and Bioshock (2007) is, for Masadi, a breakthrough that
encourages further research on the role of the player within the gameplay and story of the video game, allowing
for different interpretations, assumptions, and construction of characters, events, and the general story events that
appear during the journey. This way, both the original developed game and the player exert some kind of influence
and detain a role within the narrative (Masadi, 2010).
47
As such, many authors further investigated and developed works on narrative and video games, and
interactive storytelling, as a successful medium to transmit a story and deeply immerse the player in the character
development, in-game world, and recurring events or scenes where they may, or may not, have some kind of
influence or impact. Aarseth (2012) explores the field of narrative theory in games and how software that combines
games and stories should be approached.
Computer games have emerged as a dominant cultural form in the sense that it influences other
forms such as cinema, TV, literature, theatre, painting and music. (Aarseth, 2012, Chapter 1)
In Directing narrative in gameplay: Player interaction in shaping the narrative in The Witcher 3 (Vickery et al.,
2018), the article explores how players interact with narrative in videogames, using the Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015)
as a specific example.
A study was made, analysing reactions and feedback of participants during a diary study (Games Experience
– GExp study) over two weeks, and the results show that participants described their interactions in three key ways:
“passive interaction, active interaction, and dialogue choices”. The authors also identified the combination of two
narrative structures within the game – linear and branching, and the study showed that the gameplay has narrative
as an element, as players stated that they interacted with the story even when performing other tasks and activities
outside the main quest.
The narrative element of a video game is essential to its composition. This component provides context and
background to the characters in-game and their actions, as well as their rules and goals, whether these are boosted
or propelled by the players’ agency/interaction with them or not (Vickery et al., 2018). Narratives also compel
different feelings or emotions onto the players regarding the story being told, making them question and ponder
over each decision they make during their journey.
There are many different video games where direct interaction of a player helps shape the story’s progress,
an NPC or character background or life, the in-game world, or even decide the story’s ending, such is the case of
Bioshock 2 (2010) (Fig. 29), The Witcher Series (2007-2015), Until Dawn (2015), The Wolf Among Us (2013-) (Fig. 30),
and Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) (Fig. 31) (Crawford, 2003, 2013; Jenkins, 2004; Vickery et al., 2018; Winn, 2009).
Fig. 29 – Bioshock 2. Fig. 30 – The Wolf Among Us. Fig. 31 – Horizon Zero Dawn.
2010 2013 2017
Games can present an interactive narrative by using linear and/or branching structures. Linear structures
have singular and isolated choices leading to the same ending, and the player has no power over the final outcome,
while branching structures allow the player to interact with the narrative along the way and engage with the story
directly, by completing quests, influencing dialogues, decide whether to do a certain task or not, which will later
shape the outcome of the game.
Computer games can take narrative and story and combine them with different forms of interactivity
that merge interaction with non-interactive elements. Video games evolved narrative into a kind of simulation
experience, allowing the user, or in this case – the player – to directly interact and influence events within the story.
Story construction in video games incorporates the interaction of time structure, created by the type of narrative
48
Fig. 32 – “Harvest or Save the Little Sister”. (2009).
chosen, in the gameplay experience, which originates from previously defined and developed narrative content,
story potential and the unfolding story events that are created by the player as it goes. Video game narrative is
described by Lindley (2005) as a representation of characters in chronological events connected with choices that
could change the events of the narrative (Lindley, 2005; Vickery et al., 2018).
A good example of this is Bioshock 2 (2010), where you can choose whether or not to harvest the little
sisters (Fig. 32), as well as spare or kill different characters throughout the story, and each player’s decision will
result in a different result at the end of the game. In Until Dawn (2015) the narrative also tests the player as he has
to make continuous choices over the fate of each character, thus influencing their future, be it with dialogue or
through simple choices (mundane or not), or by failing prompts and allowing someone to die (Vickery et al., 2018).
Brand and Knight (2005) developed what they refer to as the ‘Nexus of narratological and ludological factors’,
or ‘Nexus of Videogame Narrative’ (Vickery et al., 2018), where they divide narrative into four types: “embedded,
emergent, evoked and enacted” (Brand & Knight, 2005).
Embedded narratives have environmental elements that present the story to the player. A good example is
the game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015), as its grim scenery and set-up reflect the game’s story revolving around war
and conflict. An emergent narrative is created by the player itself. This is most commonly seen in sandbox type games,
such as Minecraft (2011). In Star Wars Battlefront (2015), players have the agency to control the existing structure of
the narrative in an evoked narrative. As for the enacted narratives type, these are created when the player’s interaction
with the world around him, in-game, through gameplay, cutscenes and cinematics, can determine the outcome and
development of the story. A good example of such is The Walking Dead (2012) (Fig. 33), where the players can decide
who lives and who dies, during quick-time events in the middle of cutscenes (Vickery et al., 2018).
Fig. 33 – The Walking Dead. “It’s exposition, followed by dialogue choice, followed by QTE. Lather, rinse, repeat”. (2019).
49
The field of video game localisation has been, over the years, further investigated and analysed, as a crucial
and essential component in the transmission of content, especially narratives or stories from one context to another.
In the work of Maziarz and Onik (2019) on the Cultural Barriers in Equivalence – The English localization of the
video game Wiedźmin 3: Dziki Gon, they identify the game in question – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015), as a video
game with a rich and compelling narrative that’s filled with many jokes, puns, songs, customs and plenty other cultural
references, both in the “original” Polish version, as in the subsequent multiple language localisations. Along with its
compelling and interactive narrative, the storytelling itself merges with elements such as humour and folklore so, as it
is transmitted into other languages or cultural contexts, this game proves to be an excellent case to further study both
these elements and how the players react and feel about its storytelling, even in another language.
The semantic layer of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, but any game really, may prove difficult for the translator to
localise into another idiom, as some idiomatic expressions, sayings, slang or jokes from the source language may not
always have a direct or literal equivalent in the target language (Fig. 34). In these cases, there’s the need to substitute or
adapt the source expression to the target context, but although proved effective in terms of translation, if we consider
a joke, for example, the desired comic effect may be lost and the player will either not pay attention as he does not
understand, or he will simply be puzzled with the chosen expression in that particular situation (Maziarz & Onik, 2019).
Fig. 34 – Werewolf pun contrast between the English (2022) (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese (2016) (right) versions.
Other works, such as the one from Riggin (2016), explores the embracing and broad field of non-literal
translation in the context of video game localisation and second language acquisition. Riggin states that games are
developing even more complex narratives with more written and spoken content, followed by singular or specific
expressions. More and more, the need to localise games into other languages increases and gaming companies see
themselves forced to find a way to translate the content to other markets where there is more than the language of
development (source language) being spoken (Riggin, 2016).
Localisation is a process that involves translation and other projects associated, but since it is a game, and
thus it is a different form of entertainment, the teams responsible for the localisation part are given certain creative
liberties while translating the video games, so that the entertainment factor is maximized for all players in the target
markets. These non-literal translation techniques, such as modulation, transposition, equivalence, and adaptation
are implemented to avoid any mistranslation in game language.
With the subsequent rise of the need for more freedom within the localisation of content for video games,
there’s also the rise of something Mangiron and O’Hagan (2006) denominate as “transcreation”, as they study the
50
translation techniques and the “transcreation” method used in the French localisation of Bioshock Infinite: Burial
at Sea (2013), and try to determine how these translation techniques may be used to improve entertainment and
create better and original gameplay experiences for this target audience. The transcreation technique may involve
the addition of linguistic variation, the re-naming of in-game terminology, re-creation of wordplay, contextualization
by “addition”, and the deliberate use of regional expressions, allowing the gameplay experience to be more original
and faithful and unique for the players in these markets. The study itself goes further as to analyse the impact or
implications these phenomena of translation and localisation may have on players that, in this specific case, are
francophone and played Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea (2013) (Mangiron & O’Hagan, 2006; Riggin, 2016).
Diving deeper into the detailed study of Mangiron and O’Hagan (2006) in Game Localisation: Unleashing
Imagination with ‘restricted’ Translation, it is possible to verify that they go beyond localisation by first introducing us
to a new field in translation - game localisation – which combines elements of audio-visual translation and software
localisation. They go through the process of introducing what they argue to be a new model – the aforementioned
transcreation – into the world of the RPG genre, when these are transferred to many different target languages,
thus granting more freedom to the translators while still carrying some restrictions.
In their analysis of the English localisation of Final Fantasy X (2001), they identify certain “transcreation”
techniques that are used by localisation teams and translators with the final purpose of making video games more
entertaining for players in other markets or cultural contexts, while still maintain the source idea and message.
For the result to be unique,
(…) it is crucial that the translators are familiar with the game domain. They must be aware of
common building blocks of games, elements such as the register and terminology, the kind of humour
present in the game, the use of puns, etc. They also need to be able to recognise allusions and
intertextual references to other genres of global popular culture, such as comics and films. (Mangiron
& O’Hagan, 2006, p. 15)
Role-Playing Games (RPGs) are but one of the many genres compiled within the world of gaming. They
are, however, one of the most story-driven and richly packed genres, that present the players with complex,
sometimes interactive, storylines and nuances that allow an ample scope in translation to grab. They are densely
packed with text (description, dialogues, main and secondary information, and content) so they are a great example
of translation and, in this particular case, localisation challenges since the translator is required to possess a
considerable amount of creativity, similar to that required when writing a story from the very start (Mangiron, 2004;
O’Hagan & Mangiron, 2004).
The works of both Mangiron and O’Hagan provide an incredible amount of in-depth information regarding
this field of localisation that’s relatively unknown to those who look at it from the outside – players and non-players
not accustomed to, or with little knowledge of, any terminology or practices within the video game industry and
video game development.
In their work presented at the New Zealand Game Developers Conference, O’Hagan and Mangiron (2004)
make the detailed statement that the skopos, or purpose, of game localisation is then to produce a target version
of the video game in question that maintains the same appeal and “transmits” the same feeling and gaming
experience as the original one, while still “pretending” to be or passing itself off as the original. In the area of game
localisation, preserving the feeling of the original “gameplay experience” created is key and essential, so that all
players, regardless of their origins or language, can share the same excitement and enjoyment for the story being
told (O’Hagan & Mangiron, 2004).
Simply put, game localisation, according to O’Hagan and Mangiron, can be deconstructed into the following
processes (taking into consideration that the time frame for each project varies according to their magnitude,
setting the minimum to six months):
51
Preparations
Where localisers make actual contact with the video game in question by playing it, allowing
themselves to get familiarised with the environment, storyline, dialogue, interactions etc. Then,
little by little, they build a glossary with key terms or expressions, as well as a style guide to help
them maintain and guarantee game consistency throughout their translations.
Localisation
The most important aspect is that the game feels as if it’s the original one, even though it’s
translated. All types of sayings, idioms, jokes, cultural references, and expressions must be
adapted to the target language, and tutorials, menus and hints must be easy to understand.
Localisers divide the work between themselves, which is the hardest and longest process here,
but essential for further work to be done. They use software for text such as word or excel, but
they also have access to even better tools, such as programs that check the length in pixels of
each line, so this helps them visualize how the text would appear on the screen and if it fits in
the given space for that cue/word etc. Subtitling and voices also require this special attention.
Cross-checking
Localisers revise and make suggestions for each other’s works. It’s an important QA (quality
assurance) step.
Review
Made internally by a QA group and/or by an external specialised agency in video game
localisation. They revise and send feedback, but the final decision resides with the original
localisation team.
Integration of the game

Carried out by the group of engineers on the game’s development team. They integrate all files
in the game and get it ready for debugging and testing.
They identified that game localisation will require new techniques, processes and methods with each new
creation that makes its debut in the market of gaming. As such, they urge that this field be further studied and
developed in order to aid the specialists involved in this hard-working process of adaptability and creativity that
conveys a story to all people and gamers out there. This is a field that needs translators who appreciate the gaming
culture as a whole. Only then is it possible for them to produce translations that “feel right” and fit into the players’
expectations (O’Hagan & Mangiron, 2004).
In the work of Bernal-Merino (2011), he identifies the recordings of voiceovers, in different languages, as
the most expensive part of any localisation project. It is called “full localisation” because it was when the localisation
of audio files began to be done that a step was taken into treating all players internationally, as one. As part of
the reckoning for the voiceover process, RPGs and MMOs, like World of Warcraft (WoW) (2004), with millions of
subscribers, allow developers to collect data about their game style, the language of interaction etc. (Fig. 35). Not all
games make use of voiceover, but full localisation is standard, especially in triple-A companies or titles.
Bernal-Merino shares the same opinion as most translation or localisation experts and researchers, that
publishers and localisers have to guarantee that game elements that could be misinterpreted or lost in translation
are deleted or adapted.
Such examples go from adding all major ethnicities for players’ avatars, or local brands and celebrities
that fans/players relate to, to even changing storylines and locations or traditions so as to not alienate consumers
52
Fig. 35 – World of Warcraft gameplay - subtitled voice during a raid. (2018).
in particular locales or regions. Full, enhanced, localisation is the bigger goal in the game industry because it’s a
way of guaranteeing consumer satisfaction and, consequently, an increase in revenues, as well as popularity and
strengthening of the brand itself and/or franchise (Bernal-Merino, 2011).
Regarding immersion and video games, combined, or not, with the element of narratives, we have the
works of Luz, Nordin and Jennett and colleagues. Luz (2009) connects narratives and immersion, the latter having
three categories from which a game’s attractiveness and appeal are dependent: physical, temporal, and emotional
immersion. The first one inserts the user in a virtual space, through interactivity and object manipulation in space,
realistically represented through the aid of sound, animation, gravity or graphic realism. Temporal immersion occurs
within the action, which is the immediate event that has to be solved through direct manipulation or interaction, so
that the players can continue their journey towards the resolution of the general game objectives. Lastly, emotional
immersion is generated by reflecting the pleasure and feeling of experiencing the development of the story through
one or more avatars.
This way, the author defines immersion in space, immersion in intrigue (temporal) and immersion in the
story (emotional) as the three main characteristics of the feeling of presence in a video game (Luz, 2009).
Nordin (2014) presents us with a study that investigates immersion as a cognitive sense of “being in the games”
and focuses on experimenting with players’ perception of time during a game session. Both immersion and player’s time
perception are rather sensitive. Players often seem to be aware of the time they are in-game, although immersed in the
story, but they choose to ignore the amount of time they spend during the gaming session (Nordin, 2014).

Adding to Nordin’s conclusions, Jennett and colleagues (2008) also developed a study exploring what they stated
were three different features of immersion: lack of awareness of time, loss of awareness of the real world, and
involvement and a sense of being in the task environment. The study showed that players that were more intensely
immersed in a game, when they returned to their real-world tasks, their performance would take a toll, indicating
that a certain amount of time was needed for them to adjust to reality once again (Jennett et al., 2008).
53
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
2.4 THE WITCHER III: WILD HUNT
The RPG and ARPG genre

According to Encylopedia Brittanica, RPG is classically known as a genre that lets players experience play through a story
quest, and many side quests, gaining experience and rewards that improve their, or their parties’, abilities and attributes.
The game genre is rooted in Inc’s Dungeons & Dragons (D&D, 1974) (Fig. 36), a role-playing game (RPG) created for small
groups, where each player chooses a role (healer, warrior, or wizard) to battle
the evil that’s sent by the Dungeon Master, aka the assigned storyteller.
Early RPGs kept some or all aspects of their forefather D&D, such
as the different species in-game (elves, dwarfs, trolls, goblins, and dragons)
and the character’s possible developing attributes (constitution, strength,
dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma). The first D&D style games
were Origin Systems, Inc’s Ultima (1980) and Inc’s Wizardry (1981), both
originally meant for Apple Inc’s Apple II home computer.
Some popular RPG franchises include Square Enix’s Final Fantasy

(1987-) and Nintendo’s Pokémon (1995), the later being the most successful
RPG franchise in terms of total sales (games, books, cards, figurines).
Most recent RPGs include support for playing against other players over
the internet, as is the case of World of Warcraft (2004-). Soon after the
beginning of the 2000s came in some big names in the RPG genre, such
as BioWare Corporation’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003),
the Mass Effect (2007-) and Dragon Age (2009-) franchises, and Bethesda
Softwork’s The Elder Scrolls (1994-) and Fallout (1997-) series.
Fig. 36 – “Scan of the cover to the original

Regarding broader terms of RPGs, we have Multiplayer RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons set, by Gary Gygax”
characterised by their multiplayer game worlds, and known as MMORPGs (TSR, Inc., 1974). (2021).
(massively multiplayer online role-playing games). Initially, most RPGs
focused on the small world limited to a few players, but later on with the faster development of the internet speed,
PC advancements etc, came the MMORPGs. A good example is Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo (1997), which
included the ability to connect several players through the company’s Battle.net game-hosting service, allowing for
bigger access of more than a few players to the in-game world, at the same time.
What composed the list of the most popular early MMORPGs, or “first generation”, were Electronic Arts’
Ultima Online (1997-) and Sony’s Everquest I & II (1999 and 2004). In Japan, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XI (2002)
(Final Fantasy XI Online) holds the largest user base for this MMORPG in particular. The leaders in what is known as
the “second generation” of MMORPGs include Blizzard’s World of Warcraft (2004-) (Fig. 37), Inc’s Lord of the Rings
Online (2007-) (Fig. 38) and Electronic Arts’ Warhammer Online (2008-) (Fig. 39) (Hosch, 2021).
Fig. 37 – World of Warcraft. Fig. 38 – Lord of the Rings Online. Fig. 39 – Warhammer Online.
2004 2007 2008
54
Inside the genre of RPG, as stated above, sometimes we can have some differences that compose a video
game in particular, such as the action component that turns it into an ARPG (action role-playing game). Although the
“amount” of ‘action’ may vary from game to game within this genre, making it a connection between RPG and ARPG,
the latter is described by Shuller (2017) as a genre that although it allows the player to act some control over the
character it plays, this is usually mostly noticed in movement or combat sequences.
ARPG is commonly used when mentioning console games, but on the computer, it is a genre that overlaps
with the “hack and slash” category of gaming.
When comparing ARPGs to RPGs, although they have common characteristics inherent to both, ARPGs
can also have combat with more fluidity and freedom of choice or movement. Some RPG elements may not be as
pronounced as in a typical RPG and it’s likely to have more obstacles in the game environment, while also being
more single player driven.
In the basic RPG examples, Shuller gives us Final Fantasy VI (1996), where the player experiences combat
but has no real time control over its party members. Contrasting Final Fantasy VI (1996) is Terranigma (1995), where
combat happens in the same space as the map exploration, allowing the player to run around and swing attacks
whenever he feels like it. Although different, these two games still shared similarities like a tile-based map, varied
enemies, special skills and a linear storyline.
However, for Shuller, genres aren’t as ‘black and white’ as they used to be, and now we have ARPGs that
are considered RPGs as well, since they have inherited and absorbed some of the original genre’s exclusive traits,
and applied them differently, so it’s not ‘by the book’. For him, genres are like genes, and they can be swapped and
inserted into other games, creating new mechanics and ideas for gameplay.
A great example for what Shuller states above is the fact that, on PC, games such as Skyrim (2011), Deus Ex
(2000) or The Witcher (2007-) are rarely referred to as action RPGs (ARPGs), even though they have the component
of real-time combat and movement of characters. These games are usually referred to as RPGs within the gaming
community, whereas the term “action RPG” seems to be mostly applied to games like Zelda (1986-) or Secret of
Mana (1993) from the SNES-era - a time where turn-based and real-time combat were more distinct from one
another (Shuller, 2017).
Now on the RPG genre technical side, for Mangiron (2004) RPG is indeed the biggest challenge, but also
the biggest fun for a translator. RPGs, such as the Witcher Series (2007-), Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), Dark Souls
(2011), Skyrim (2011), Genshin Impact (2020) or Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) are the ones where the translator
can have the biggest ‘freedom’ while translating and localising content since they usually have a packed world and
storyline. These games also tend to include an incredible amount of text, whether in quests, dialogue or simply
basic interaction with the world and NPCs, and therefore they are an excellent example to be used when discussing
the challenges involved in the localisation process.
In RPGs, the player tends to identify itself or create a connection with the main character, which then
has to progress within the story through a series of tasks and/or quests, or by obtaining certain artefacts, which
then will enable him to increase its ability and skills and further succeed in the challenges ahead, such as bosses,
boobytraps, plot-twists, trials or unexpected dangers that the mission offers (Mangiron, 2004).
55
Storytelling, immersion, and localisation in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

It is possible to confirm, through the carefully planned literature review and concept clarification, and through
the works of essential authors, such as McKee, Laure-Ryan, Mangiron, O’Hagan, Bernal-Merino, Crawford, and
Luz, in each field studied and presented, within the scientific academic field, that there has been a great number
of research done on all the concepts presented, separately. There have also been some great examples of work
combining some of these terms of “storytelling”, “immersion”, “localisation”, and “video games”, with one another,
and their implications alone, or as a whole, to the player.
However, it’s crucial to develop thorough research and find out what CD Projekt RED developers, directors,
writers, and involved specialists have to say about the theme explored in this dissertation regarding the game they
developed - The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (Fig. 40).
As it may have been cleared and pointed out previously in the introduction of this research, the main
Fig. 40 – Slaying a monster sketch, and final artwork for the Witcher III: Wild Hunt. (2016).
56
character, or subject to help conduct what’s intended, is The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015), an acclaimed video game,
developed by CD Projekt RED, and known for its immersive, story-driven, and entertainment-packed, massive open-
world interactive narrative. If the latter, simple but detailed, description of the game does not convince you of the
potential of this game as an aid for this investigation, then let its story, gameplay, challenges, and details of creation,
captivate you.
Before revealing any further information about the intended research and study, as well as methods used
to achieve the desired results, let’s take a quick tour through the video game market, especially the threads, articles,
and interviews about The Witcher game, and let’s see what was discovered.
Starting with one of the crucial components in a video game such as The Witcher 3, which is localisation
(due to its high commercialisation and adaptation worldwide), while still enhancing the involvement it has with
storytelling and immersion, we get an inside and close perspective from Senior Localisation Project Manager Ainara
Echaniz and Senior Localisation Producer Mikołaj Szwed, in their interview to NoClip – Video Game Documentaries
‘Translating & Adapting The Witcher 3’ (Noclip - Video Game Documentaries, 2017a), as they start by explaining what
the process of localisation is to them:
“Localisation is to make sure the game is playable in all possible languages. So we take care of
translation, adaptation, voice-over recordings and localisation QA.” (Mikołaj Szwed)
Ainara Echaniz adds that,
“Localisation is more than translation and dubbing. The main objective of localisation is that every
player will feel the game as if it were developed in their language. So, for example, no one will feel
the game was first developed in Polish. They will feel it was made in Spanish exclusively for them.”
(Ainara Echaniz)
Regarding the importance of the localisation process in The Witcher 3, there was also the component
of books, and “if in that specific country the books had already been released, then we would have a particular
translation we would want to follow” and “where there was no book, we had to make the decision to pick the English
or posteriorly translated versions of that terminology” (Mikołaj Szwed).
The importance of this particular part is immense, for example, as Echaniz states, “names have a purpose,
so for example if in English we have White Orchard, it’s called that for a reason, so we find something that makes
sense in the language we’re translating to.” (Ainara Echaniz).
It is essential to show some of the expert developers’ opinions and feedback about the localisation
process, as it will further help with understanding the importance of a study such as the one that is being proposed
here. All content has a purpose and can be interpreted differently in each language if it’s not culturally adapted.
Consequently, this will affect the player’s interpretation of the narrative and its level of immersion in the gameplay.
The translators have the creative freedom to take the content in a source language and after being explained why
it’s called that way in that language they have to find something that works just as well in their target language.
For example, Szwed states that the localisation process goes beyond place and location naming, and as far
as the translation of Slavic monsters, or characters, giving the example of the “Pellar” who is a very important person
in Polish culture, based on some of the biggest literature works in Poland – “Dziadi”. It evokes something in the
Polish language so they tried to find something with the same feeling and meaning, or role, in the other languages.
These cultural aspects and nuances, inherent to each culture individually, are important because The Witcher is,
“(…) a very European game in content and flavour, and it’s also a very Slavic game, so there are a lot
of regions that are not familiar with the folklore in The Witcher, and there are regions that are totally
oblivious to that, like Arabic or Asia.” (Ainara Echaniz)
57
The English Adaptation Director of all three Witcher games, Boryz Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz, also provides
some clarification regarding the dialogues and all written content, as their source material (books),
“(…) is thoroughly Polish, and we have to make it just as thoroughly resonate for the English language
audience, which entails taking place names in Polish, and finding equivalence that will resonate
in a specific way in English. It entails a story that some NPC tells in Polish and tells it in a way that
resonates against the canon of Polish fairy tales or legends, and retelling it in English, in a way that
has the same effect against the canon of English language, fairy tales or legends” (Boryz Pugacz-
Muraszkiewicz)
This goes as far as slang translation, which can be a challenge when translating the same intended effect
and idea to another language, without losing the same impact during the process. In terms of slang, there’s the
need to explain everything, so Bartosz Von Ochman, responsible for living world design, shares with us a moment
where he had to explain the meaning of a Polish expression, for the translation to be possible in the best way
possible. The phrase in question was “Would you like to buy a brick?”, and although it’s nonsense in English, in Polish
there’s meaning. It goes back to the aftermath of the war when Warsaw was completely destroyed, and there were
some guys from Prague that, according to Bartosz, “when they saw someone with a nice coat or something, they
would drop a brick and ask, “would you like to buy a brick?”. If the person said no, he would get smacked on the
head with the brick” (Bartosz Von Ochman).
For Boryz “nothing can sound strange to the English players, but that’s also true for all other languages
downstream of Polish” because, for example, “the Spaniards, adapting Witcher 1,2 or 3, in Spanish, wouldn’t just
retell it in English, they would retell it in a way that resonates in the Spanish language.” (Fig. 41).
This particular genre of games offers an incredible amount of information that needs to be conveyed to the
player, and for Boryz one of the main ways to do it is through dialogue and NPCs. However, he does warn that to do
so, you don’t do it in an obvious way, you “engage exposition, effectively concealed by theatrical rouses, like extreme
characterization, hiding things in dialects and accents, and emotion”. After this is mastered, you work your way into
making it as entertaining as possible to the gamer, so the adaptation entails “very dialogue by character, specific
ways of speaking, and even assigning characters strange habits, that distinguish them from other NPCs”.
It’s a process that involves basically, “taking the source and then rewriting it in a way where the exposition is
completely hidden behind emotion, characterization, accent, and dialogue.” (Boryz Pugacz- Muraszkiewicz).
Fig. 41 – Schrödinger’s cat easter egg in Spanish (2015) (left), and in English (2018) (right).
58
Echaniz and Szwed refer that, out of all fifteen languages that the game was translated into, Arabic and
Japanese were very challenging (Fig. 42). For the Arabic culture, the high level of content referring to “prostitution
and alcohol” was unacceptable and not allowed in their country, and the process took longer than expected, as
the Arabic publishers were expecting what they thought was “a normal game” and not something with as big a
dimension and content as The Witcher 3.
As the team tried to balance the adaptations to all markets, while still maintaining the “Witcher” feeling, one
example was the matter of the entities in the game, and how they would transfer that information into the Arabic
culture, for example. Since they don’t have many gods, as is depicted in the original story of The Witcher, they had
to adapt all the “gods” to that “one” god, but then they encountered problems in the transcription of the name and
saw themselves forced to find another solution, which was changing “god” to destiny, fortune or the stars.
On the other hand, the Japanese language allowed severed limbs to be shown in-game, but gore content such
as insides and intestines were off-limits, so the team had to cover all these animations in the game, for that market.
Also, still on the topic of localisation, one very time-consuming process is the voice-over one, especially
with a game that’s been developed in so many different languages. Borisz affirms that “on the first Witcher game
the team only had fifteen days to record over twenty thousand lines of dialogue, so the ability to create or design
proper accents, for each race and region, was limited.”
This is to say that, in The Witcher 3 they made sure the game had a broad palette of accents that mirrored
the scale of the game’s world. So now, they had specific accents established for Temeria, and even deeper occupied
rural areas, such as Velen, had accent changes. Welsh was well established for everything that was sentient
supernatural beings. “So, if it was not an elf, dwarf but was weird in some way, like a gnome, goblin, troll, or the
three crones, then it was Welsh” (Boryz Pugacz- Muraszkiewicz).
Fig. 42 – Uncensored (standard) Yennefer scene (left) and censored (Arabic) scene (right)(n.d.).
59
The archipelago of islands - Skellige - off the coast of the continents made use of an English accent inspired
in Liam Neeson and James Nebitt, but for Borisz, if viable, he would’ve made the Skelligers speak Norwegian with
English subtitles. They wanted to move away from the major known European accents in English that have been
parodied (Italian, French, German, and Spanish). So instead of having a place or wine names in French or some
other romance languages, they chose the Danish language.
The process of voice-over also varies for each country, and with a pool of accents this diverse, the range of
actors the game required eventually was so broad that in markets such as the Chinese they exhausted the pool of
actresses and actors available for this task. For characters that sang, some countries also had the problem that not
all actors and actresses were singers or with that background, so they needed to spend more money on singers for
some languages, like the Brazilian-Portuguese one. The children voice-overs are also tricky because in Poland there
are actual kids portraying other kids’ voices, but this isn’t standard for the other countries, where usually a woman
gives voice to children’s characters and is more experienced with the process than a child.
Borisz tells us that this process happens with thorough, constant communication as well, and is done
anywhere. So, writers, quest designers and so forth have communication through various channels, and it flows
between all departments involved.
“The idea that winds up in the game, it’s not a straight pipeline, it’s the product that comes
from a very winding path, with a lot of scribbling, confusing squiggly drawings, and then you have a
box”, which is the final product, and “to my mind, that’s what game development is” (Boryz Pugacz-
Muraszkiewicz).
Moving a little more to the narrative and immersion component, the Witcher’s level designer Miles Tost and
quest designer Nikolas Kolm classified the game of the Witcher III: Wild Hunt as a dark fantasy action role-playing
game (ARPG), while they made a presentation called ‘The Witcher 3: Crafting a compelling narrative in a believable
open world’, at the Big Techday 8 of TNG Technology Consulting on June 12th, 2015, in Munich / Germany. For both,
“RPG and immersion go hand in hand, so there’s the assumption that the more immersive an RPG is, the better”
(Miles Tost), (TNG Technology Consulting GmbH, 2015).
For these two artists, you can “create and break immersion”, and the game of The Witcher 3 was “planned”
to avoid breaking this element (which can happen, for example, with the player not liking the story or not
understanding it, finding the character’s motives unreasonable or unplausible, or bugs in-game). This way, the
teams strived to minimize the possibility of these factors affecting the gameplay and, consequently,
player immersion.
It’s necessary to “maximise enjoyment by allowing players to immerse themselves in the experience” and
this comes attached to the metaphor of “a great RPG is like a perfectly composed dish”, so you have all these
combinations and flavours that balance each other out to create one fantastic unique dish (Miles Tost).
For this to be accomplished they showed us some of their goals to help with this question on maintaining
immersion and a cohesive “dish”. One of the things they did was to “remove the game from the game”, for example,
by taking loading screens off, which helped create a more believable, open, alive, rich and vast world, without any
breaks of enjoyment of immersion as the player waits for the loading screen in each sequence or interaction.
One thing that’s also part of their core design principles is that the players must have the “freedom to follow their
own path”, so they minimised artificial barriers (invisible walls), and hid them, as well as taking out loading screens as
much as possible and maximising player’s movements (Miles Tost).
Another way they enhanced immersion and the storytelling component was by creating what they call
“fluff” interiors for the player to explore, and reward said exploration. Choices are also the core component in all
of this, being inaction a choice as well, allowing the player to have freedom over any decisions he makes. The story
is as non-linear as possible without losing the narrative focus because they have to balance the open-world factor
60
Fig. 43 – Computer render of Novigrad for the Witcher III: Wild Hunt. (2015).
inserted in the game. As freedom is given to the player in an open-world game, there’s the need to create working
infrastructures, to help tell a multitude of stories, that require said space. For example, in Novigrad (Fig. 43), which
is the biggest city in-game, they made the background believable, with a magnitude of crops and vegetation that
would fit into such a big city. Witcher 1 and 2, however, according to them had completely different paths after one
major choice in the plotline.
“Simulating a world that you can get immersed in requires a few anchor points for the player to relate
experiences to”. One of the developer’s goals is to simulate the world as real but feasible, maintaining unrealism at
bay. This way, the world still works even if the player doesn’t notice, so an NPC is “alive” and has its own schedule, its
own reaction to the weather, worldly occurrences and (by proxy) the player’s actions. The “actions cause reactions,
and choices have consequences”, same way inaction is a choice for action and threats may become real, which
makes so that Geralt isn’t the centre of the world, creating consistency. Then the player observes results without
breaking off immersion (Nikolas Kolm).
For Miles and Nikolas, The Witcher’s 3 “main dish is the interactive narrative”, which is all about the single-
player experience.
Given the fact that The Witcher 3 was made to have as high a non-linear story as possible, both the narrative
and location design encourage non-linear player exploration (TNG Technology Consulting GmbH, 2015).
In an interview for Polygon, writer Jakub Szamalek explained that the order in which the in-game areas are visited,
and in which the story is experienced, is up to the player.
“If you become tired, or bored, you can always go to a different place,” said Szamalek. “What’s exciting
about the Witcher 3 main storyline is that it’s not linear structure branching, it’s actually a collection
of elements which you have to find, combine and then get a full picture in your head” (Sarkar, 2013,
para. 3).
So, the order in which the players go through their gameplay in The Witcher 3 matters, because it has an
impact on what they see and in which situation or time. If a player chooses to go for a second playthrough and does
it differently from its first, then the game will offer “a slightly different angle on things”, said Szamalek (Sarkar, 2013).
61
The narrative in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

Now, reaching the main character, or object of study in this dissertation, it’s time to share a little bit of context of the
video game chosen and its basic narrative in-game.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (Fig. 46) was created by the Polish studio CD Projekt RED and published in 2015.
It’s considered an action role-playing game (ARPG), but it’s also commonly placed within the role-playing game (RPG)
genre as a whole. It’s the third game of the series, as a sequel to the previous one The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
(2011) (Fig. 45), and the former The Witcher (2007) (Fig. 44), and it’s set in an open world seen from a third-person
perspective. The games in the series are based on The Witcher series fantasy novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski
(The Complete Witcher, 2020).
The game takes place in a fantasy world, deeply based on Slavonic mythology and the main quest storyline
focuses on the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher (for some, a monster), commonly known as a mutant or a
monster hunter who will slay ‘any’ monsters in exchange for coin. In a war-torn world, with the Wild Hunt on his
back, he’ll take on “his most important contract – the tracking of the child of the prophecy, a key and a weapon
which can save or destroy all” - also known as his adoptive daughter, Cirilla (Ciri) (CD Projeckt RED, 2015).
Fig. 44 – The Witcher. Geralt. Fig. 45 – The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Fig. 46 – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. Geralt.
2007 Geralt. 2015
2011
The game encompasses a powerful story, filled with mystery, tension, war, and magic. However, the player
can also enjoy romance and the wonderfully designed system of choice and consequence that carries Geralt
throughout the story and its events.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt evokes narrative elements from the previous games in the series: The Witcher,
and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, as well as the books that the games were originally based on (The Complete
Witcher, 2020). This Witcher tale contains enacted narrative elements, where the player can complete quests,
engage in dialogue choices with multiple characters and NPCs (non-player characters), and watch cinematic
cutscenes.
It’s a game with a very detailed and intricate open-world environment, subject to a carefully planned world-
building, making it a great example of an embedded narrative. One such example is when the player sees the
country experiencing war and famine, and the game conveys this mood and scenery through NPCs’ gossip and
background noise between the inhabitants, as well as the bloody battlefield that fills the environment and sets the
mood (Vickery et al., 2018).
The game provides a small presence of emergent narrative since the player can shape the outcome of the
story in terms of Geralt’s love interest, political alignment, life or death of various NPCs, and the fate of Ciri. As the
players are given the possibility to control and choose different options at different times and events of the game,
these can be considered emergent, but since they are made during active interaction with the game, they are closer
to enacted narrative (CD Projeckt RED, 2015; Vickery et al., 2018).
62
As Music Director for The Witcher 3, Martin Przybyiowicz said in his interview for NoClip – Video Game
Documentaries, ‘The Details of The Witcher (Music, Combat, Gwent & More)’, this game has a more personal, intimate
story of Geralt. It’s “not as much about kings and politics like the second game” in the franchise, for example (Noclip
- Video Game Documentaries, 2017b).
The Witcher 3 is a massive video game, with several storylines connected with one another, and between
power struggles, love triangles and a myriad of non-humans, the game offers 36 possible endings. However, the most
important aspect, which is the fate of Ciri, only affects three of the game’s conclusions. The video game has a huge
open world to explore, and a whole lot of stuff going on at the same time the player browses through its surroundings
(IGN staff, 2015). “There are also decisions to be made on what gets translated and what gets transliterated, especially
when it comes to proper nouns and names.” Translating is changing the word from English to Arabic, for example.
Transliterating is keeping the English word but spelling it out phonetically in Arabic (IGN staff, 2015).
The game is a great example and object of research, not only because of its multiple accomplishments in
the gaming industry with all its humour, folklore, and cultural references, awarding it 79 various awards, but also
because the game has been localised and adapted into fifteen different languages.
Senior Localisation Project Manager Ainara Echaniz and Senior Localisation Producer Mikołaj Szwed
enumerated each one of the languages, in their interview for NoClip – Video Game Documentaries on ‘Translating
& Adapting The Witcher 3’, as “every language it has been translated to is Polish, English, German, French, Brazilian
- Portuguese, Russian, Japanese - which were dubbed as well. And then Spanish, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Czech,
Hungarian, Arabic, Turkish.” (Noclip - Video Game Documentaries, 2017a).
63
Introduction

64
Introduction
Chapter 3
65
Methodology
METHODOLOGY
As any prized adventurer would say, ‘you cannot venture through an unknown world without a proper plan and map’,
so roll up your sleeves, get your inky feather and a nice scroll, and start taking the notes for the preparations
necessary. In order to better clarify the methods used throughout this research, this chapter presents a detailed
description of each of the developed, and applied, processes and methodologies. It also encompasses official
data retrieved from a market research, regarding the video game in question, that sustains certain decisions and
changes deemed necessary during the development and design of the study.
3.1 PROCESS AND DESIGN
It is possible to verify that there is much storytelling or narrative, immersion, and localisation research done that is
connected to video games and, in some cases, linking more than one of the areas together and how they work with
one another or complement each other.
However, there is no visible work or analysis that joins these areas together as a bundle, using a specific
game as a case study, and then through means of a sample of users analyse their feedback or review regarding the
quality and depth of immersion felt, embedded in the storytelling and, in this specific case, transmitted through the
localisation of a given game into two different languages. All of this gathered through a short gameplay walkthrough
of the game.
Therefore, I reach the main research focus in this dissertation, which intends to verify if storytelling, paired
and adapted through localisation, impacts the player’s immersion in video games (with the specificity that the game
used is in the RPG category), and in this specific case The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
With the goal of achieving the designated objectives that motivated this dissertation, the methodological
approach that will be used will be a quasi-experimental one (check Figures 47 and 48), since the focus of the study
is to interpret, analyse, and understand some phenomena inside the scope of the research statement and, possibly,
arrive to even further conclusions or implications.
If possible, the conclusions will allow a grounded answer to the following research questions: “How do
we link storytelling development to a bigger immersion and enjoyment of a specific genre or video game?”, “Does
localisation affect the connection the users develop with the story and the video game?”, and “How do these areas
affect the transmission of the same story and overall video game in different cultural contexts/languages?”, or even
enable the creation and clarification of new ones.
All of the variables necessary and relevant to the study are gathered without any manipulation from the
researcher and posteriorly analysed.
After understanding concepts such as storytelling, localisation, and immersion in video games and how they
connect to, and influence, each other, there comes step one of the research methodology. Contact was established
with several groups of possible participants for the study (friends, colleagues, video game associations), all within
general student population, in order to ascertain where and when the study would take place, and how big a
sample there would be to work with. In order to facilitate the gathering of such a varied volume of information, an
online survey was created “Witcher III: Wild Hunt - A study on storytelling, immersion, and localisation” (Appendix
A), that helped filter every participant’s answer and preference. Two questionnaires were also prepared, on “Game
Experience” (Appendix B) and “Transport Narrative” (Appendix C), based on pre-approved and verified models (check
Annexes 1 and 2), to be sent later on, with further instructions on how each person should proceed with the study.
66
Methodology
Methodology Timeline
STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4
Prepare initial survey Gather survey answers Contact each participant Conduct study
with written consent, and filter participants and explain the study with two groups
and questionnaires (A and B)
QUESTIONNAIRES GROUP A GROUP B

Game Experience Playing the game in English Playing the game in
Transport Narrative (audio, interface, subtitles), Portuguese (audio,
answer a questionnaire, interface, subtitles), answer
repeat process in a questionnaire, repeat
Portuguese and schedule process in English and
an interview schedule an interview
Fig. 47 – First steps of the methodology process.
Step two of this process helped organise the information from the initial survey, and categorise the
high number of entries, thus allowing an understanding of which of the participants had, or not, the video game
acquired, which had the necessary platform to run it, which had none of the requirements, and those who would
participate from home, or at FEUP, depending on their previous answers.

Initially, the study was expected to be conducted both at FEUP (Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto)
or at home (depending on each participant’s choice), but due to problems related to video game licensing, and
obstacles with FEUP’s logistics, it was decided that only the applicants able to participate from home with their own
platform, and video game, would be able to start the study. I was sure to contact everyone who didn’t specify on
the form whether they would have both access to a computer or the game. The remaining people who had chosen
to participate from FEUP, and had neither of the requirements, were contacted once again and informed of the
problem at hand and asked if they would like to be emailed if the situation changed and their participation were to
be possible.
After step two was completed, the focus was on step three, where the sample of participants at hand was
randomly divided, into two groups (A and B), and given detailed instructions as to how they should proceed with
the study. Each group played, approximately, a total of two hours of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, where one of the
gameplay hours was done completely in English, and the other one in Portuguese, and after each playthrough a
specific questionnaire (prepared in step one) was filled, before proceeding.
In step four I awaited the response of each group of participants. Group A was given instructions to start
with the English localised version of the game, and they were asked to have all game settings following this condition
(audio, text, subtitles), before starting the video game. After this was set, the player started a new game and played it
67
Methodology
for an hour, approximately. Afterwards, and before moving on to the next phase, they filled in the provided “EN Game
Experience Questionnaire” and submitted it. Once this was completed, the player moved on to the next part of the
study and played the Portuguese localised version of the game. They set all the video game settings to Portuguese
(audio, text, subtitles), and then started a new game. After the completion of this step, they played, approximately, one
hour of the game, and then filled in the provided “PT Game Experience Questionnaire” and submitted it.
Group B received the same instructions as group A, but instead of starting with the English localised version of
the game, and then going to the Portuguese one, they started with the Portuguese version and then finished with the
English gameplay version. As opposed to group A, group B tested the Portuguese version first, and then the English
one because I randomly divided participants into two groups (A and B), and this will allowed me to have two groups of
people testing the same conditions, but in a different order from one another, thus avoiding biased results.
This followed a within-subjects study design, where the same people test all the conditions. The research
itself had its main character set on the game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, specifically with its English and Portuguese
localised versions. The decision behind this choice came from the fact that Portuguese is my mother-tongue, and
that English is one of the, if not the biggest, most known, and popular, localised languages worldwide, for the video
game in question, and for the video game industry.
Also, as Mikołaj Szwed stated in the interview made for NoClip - Video game Documentaries called
‘Translating & Adapting The Witcher 3’, it may be seen in some player forums that people refer to the Polish version
of the game as the “original” one, but as localisation responsible, Szwed states in the interview, “there is no original
language, which is something not very common in other projects, as we do all languages simultaneously. So we make each
version as if it were the original language” and “Polish and English are probably the richest on easter eggs” (Noclip - Video
Game Documentaries, 2017a).
The study resorted to inquiry methods, such as interviews and questionnaires. In the quantitative field,
there were two questionnaires (check Figure 47), pre-approved and verified, that the players/participants answered
after the designated gameplay of The Witcher 3, in both localised versions. In order to better ascertain the results,
half of the participants were randomly selected and played the game in English at first, and then Portuguese,
whereas the other half started with the Portuguese version and finished with the English one. The gameplay
encompassed an average of one hour, from the very beginning of the game, per localised version, as it allowed
the player to experience the cinematic introduction, tutorial and some of the first quests, allowing for a bigger
interaction with many elements in the small, allotted time.
Methodology Timeline
STEP 5 STEP 6 STEP 7 STEP 8
Conduct semi-structured Organize Compile and Writing of dissertation’s

interviews and information summarize findings conclusions
questionnaires
Fig. 48 – Last steps of the methodology process.
68
Methodology
Here, I approached some general questions regarding gameplay, the feeling of immersion and
entertainment, and the aim was to gather quantitative information regarding the level of immersion felt by the
player within the brief interaction with the narrative of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
Moving into step five, and now browsing the qualitative domain, after the gameplay and questionnaire
part of the study was concluded, small semi-structured interviews (individual) were conducted, on the same day
or scheduled as soon as possible so the results were still fresh. To facilitate the process of contacting each person
that ended the study, they inserted their e-mail at the end of the questionnaires. All interviews were recorded,
which is something the participants consented to, right from the beginning of the study (in the initial survey), and
then again before the actual recording, and the interviews were held both in person and online, something that
depended on each person’s availability. The interviews followed a script (check Appendix D) and sought to deepen
other questions specifically related to the game itself, as well as the three main areas of investigation (storytelling,
localisation, and immersion).
Afterwards, following step six, which is ongoing since step three, but is the next main focus by this stage,
a thorough analysis was made regarding the statistics gathered from the survey, the study, and questionnaires,
as well as from the overall information recorded in each interview. The data is confidential and only seen by me
throughout the analysis or whoever reads this dissertation and its findings, and the participant was informed of
this aspect right from the start. After the organisation was complete, I moved to step seven, where I transcribed
and summarised the interviews (something ongoing from step five), and the information gathered was compiled
categorically so I could easily review it later on. The focus was to search for patterns and connections or consensual
conclusions between the different questions. Simultaneously, a possible statement or pattern began being
developed based on the information gathered, while trying to fill the initial gap of information identified in the
introduction of this research paper and even answer some problems or questions that arose during the interviews
and questionnaires. A thorough reflection on the relevance and implications of this research was also developed.
Lastly, with step eight, this investigation now presented the final results, and the development of a conclusion and
discussion regarding the main statement posed from the beginning. It was also possible to outline and guide an
idea for future work and possbilities of further research on these subjects.
The final document you are reading now is expected to present enough data and information that can provide
bigger insight into the topics addressed, the statement, and research questions presented, as well as a detailed
introduction and deep investigation or identified pattern on the importance of storytelling, together with localisation,
and how it can further enhance or impact player immersion inside a video game.
69
Introduction

70
Introduction
Chapter 4
71
The Study: The Quest Begins!
THE STUDY: THE QUEST BEGINS!

In order to better understand and assess who would be part of the study, their preferences, and background, a
thorough analysis was made using an online inquiry (survey) that allowed an assessment of the target audience
involved. With this survey, it was also possible to verify the extent of knowledge each individual possessed regarding
the video game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015), the video game world in general, as well as their gaming habits.
This chapter, therefore, intends to present the initial survey results and analysis, while also providing a section
entirely dedicated to final considerations of the results that preceded the next stage of the research – gameplay,
questionnaires, and interviews.
4.1 PREPARATIONS FOR THE ADVENTURE: THE GAMING PARTY
Now advancing further into the journey, it is time to get to know the audience sample or, in order to maintain a
certain magic in the name, the gaming party.
The first step was creating a simple online survey using Google Forms, easy to both understand and fill
out. The range of participants was defined to be focused on the general student population, specifically the higher
education branch, and on 11th January 2022 the form was sent, via e-mail, to several University of Porto colleges and
their associated students, including FEUP (Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto), FBAUP (Faculty of Fine Arts
of University of Porto), FCUP (Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto), and FLUP (Faculty of Arts and Humanities
of University of Porto). However, further contact was attempted through other institutions, such as ISEP (Higher
Institute of Engineering of Porto), and ESAD (College of Arts and Design), while also reaching for individual contact
and spread of the survey’s form through friends, colleagues, and social networks (Instagram and Facebook).
Initially, the survey was created with the purpose of asserting where and how the study would take place,
how many people would be interested in participating, as well as their acquaintance with the chosen video game.
The survey compiled a total of 15 questions (including personal information), and a written consent. The questions
were mainly closed and direct, for quantitative data analysis, but in some options, the participant (exceptionally)
could add a short different option, if it was relevant. The target was set to a minimum of 100 participants, but
283 answers were gathered within the first week. While the following information will encompass a thorough
quantitative analysis of all 283 entries gathered, it is important to highlight the fact that the study changed its
initial design (some of the available options in the form), following some video game licensing and space logistics
problems. It is important to clarify this change before proceeding.
Initially, the study had two options in the survey’s form that would allow the player to participate either
from home or from FEUP’s facilities. The latter was considered due to the number of students that did not have
the required computer specifications to run the game, nor did they manage to acquire it in the first place, or simply
the ones who preferred to play at college. The availability of platforms at FEUP was scarce, for there were only two
available computers capable of running the game, hence the main logistics problem at hand (added to pandemic
restrictions). In the former situation, for the ones who chose to participate from home, there was another change,
since the distribution of the video game files was no longer viable (even for the purpose of the study only) and I
didn’t want to complicate matters with video game licensing. Contact was made with the studio itself – CD Projekt
RED – which was very understanding and helpful but could not legally give permission for the distribution of their
game the way it was planned. They gave some suggestions, but they were deemed as not viable for the study, in the
context that was required.
For these reasons, all 283 participants were filtered into different groups (based on their answers). The
sorting process divided them into groups of people who “have both computer and the game, and can play it
at home”, “have the computer but don’t have the game”, “don’t have the computer nor the game, and will play
72
Preparations for the Adventure: The Gaming Party
at FEUP”, “have both, but want to play at FEUP”, “have the game but in other platforms”. Once the sorting was
completed, all groups were contacted, except the one where people could play the game at home with their own
computer, because those were the ones who would be sure to participate. Each of the remaining participants, from
each group, received an individual e-mail explaining the sudden change in the study’s conditions. For the group that
“didn’t have the game nor the computer” was stated that unfortunately, they would not be able to participate as the
conditions necessary were not met, but they were allowed to express interest in participating still, were conditions
to change, and their participation made possible, so contact could be made.
For the group which “did have the computer but not the game” the e-mail asked for them to confirm
whether they could acquire the game themselves, thus allowing the participation, or if they wished to withdraw from
the study. Finally, for the group which “had both but wanted to play at FEUP” the e-mail asked whether they would
be able to participate from home, if they wished to use FEUP’s computers, because the college’s equipment was no
longer an option. Otherwise, they would withdraw from participating. The feedback to the e-mails was received until
24th/25th January 2022. After the estimated dates, the data was gathered and organised into two groups of people (A
and B), totalling 126 participants (63 for each group).
73
The Survey: Gathering and Scanning the FIrst Quest Answers
4.2 THE SURVEY: GATHERING AND SCANNING THE FIRST QUEST ANSWERS
Main quest explained and introductions done, it is time to move on to the actual analysis of the answers. A messenger
was sent to gather all replies from the quest board next to the local inn. The survey handled 15 questions, having
the ones related to the participants’ personal information at the very end (11 to 15). These final five questions
wanted to gather additional details on each participant, crucial for me, so I could identify (question 11) and contact
them (question 15) (name and e-mail), as well as organise the next steps of the study. Although these two particular
questions remain confidential as they are not required for the assessment of results, it is important to present the
answers to the remaining three (12, 13, and 14). Since I will be presenting the results in a different order from that of
the survey, the following questions will not be numbered, and will then be followed by the numbered, and remaining,
questions from 1 to 10.
The first personal information related question handled the participants’ ‘Age’ (check Figure 49) and
showed a range covering all available age groups. A total of 101 participants (35.7%) was inserted into ‘17-20’ age
group. 36.7% were in the ‘21-25’ age group, and about 48 people (17%) were in the ‘26-30’ age gap. Only 3.9% of
participants were in ‘30-35’, and the smallest percentage (2.1%) was in the ‘36-39’ gap. The ‘+40’ option gathered
4.6% of the total sample of 283 entries.
Age
283 Answers
35.7% 36.7%
17-20
21-25
17% 26-30
30-35
4.6%
3.9% 36-39
2.1%
40+
Fig. 49 – Additional information question. Participants’ age.
The next personal question ‘What are you currently doing?’ gathered the current occupation of all 283
participants (check Figure 50).
What are you currently doing?

283 Answers
Bachelor 50.9%
Master’s Degree 36%
Doctorate 8.1%
Other answers (please
refer to the text in the 5%
following page)
Fig. 50 – Additional information question. Participants’ occupation.
Results show that 50.9% of the sample is currently doing their ‘Bachelor’, whereas 36% is attending a
‘Master’s degree’, and only 23 (8.1%) is currently on their ‘Doctorate’. The remaining 5% divide themselves into
other possibilities such as ‘Working’, ‘Graduates’, ‘Researcher’, ‘Pause before Master enrolment’, and ‘High School’.
74
This proves that the sample is very diversified, and although the focus is to be set on higher education students,
and some options range beyond that, it will only be possible to assess who belongs in this specified sample in the
interview component of the study.
The question ‘In which institution’ assesses where the participants, especially the ones currently pursuing
higher education, study (check Figure 51).
In which institution?
283 Answers
257 90.8%
University of Porto
2.8%
Private Institution
1.4% P. Porto
Other answers (please refer to the

5% text below)
Fig. 51 – Additional information question. Participants’ study institution.
In this question, there is a myriad of answers, and it was possible to verify that out of the 283 participants,
257 (90.8%) are studying at ‘University of Porto’, 2.8% are from a ‘Private Institution’, and 1.4% study in ‘P.Porto’.
The remaining 5% are spread into other 14 answers, some within the aforementioned categories, while others
go beyond those options, and others are very specific or abroad, such as ‘Marseille Université’, ‘Kyoto University’,
‘Universidade de Aveiro’, ‘Company’, ‘Papeleira Portuguesa’, and ‘CFPIC’.
Having completed the first analysis, it is time to assess and analyse questions 1 to 10 that succeeded the
personal information once. For the first question ‘Do you know the game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt?’ (check Figure 52)
the answers were as follows:
Do you know the game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt?
90.5% 9.5%
283 Answers
No
Yes
Fig. 52 – Question 1. Knowledge of the video game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
It is possible to verify that out of the 283 participants, the great majority (90.5%) was already acquainted with the
video game in question, whereas only 9.5 % of the participants didn’t know the game. The fact that almost everyone
knows the game gives the sample a more significative and positive relevance since they will be handling a known
source (even if just by name) instead of something completely new.
75
For the second question ‘Have you ever played this video game?’ the graphic (check Figure 53) shows that
over 50% of the participants had already played the game, regardless of it being with a short or complete gameplay.
The percentage of people who had not played the game at all stood in 41%, a value relatively high, but the balance
between both values of each answer shows that the final results may present unexpected feedback.
Have you ever played this video game?
59% 41%
283 Answers
No
Yes
Fig. 53 – Question 2. How many participants have played the video game?
The third question was available to those who had answered ‘Yes’ in the previous one. So, to those who had
already played The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, the next step was ‘If you’ve answered yes in the previous question, in which
language have you played The Witcher III?’ (check Figure 54).
If you’ve answered yes in the previous question, in which language have you played The Witcher III
English
92.2%
Portuguese
6.6%
- Brazil
Russian
0.6%
French
0.6%
Chinese TR
Spanish-ES
Hungarian
Chinese Si
Japanese
German
Turkish
Korean
Arabic
Czech
Italian
Polish
0.0%
167 Answers
Fig. 54 – Question 3. Language in which the players played the game.
The answers show that, out of the total 283 entries, only 167 had this question available and, although the
game has fifteen languages available, most participants played the game in English (92.2%), and there were only
three more languages chosen. Among the remaining three, there’s some highlight for the Brazilian-Portuguese
option (6.6%), and the French and Russian languages both have a percentage of 0.6%. Even with lower diversity in
languages, there’s still a lot of potential to work with from the identified four, especially since the focus of the study
will be the contrast between the English and Portuguese languages.
76
The following question, number four, was available to those who had answered the previous one as well. It
stated ‘If you’ve played the game in one of the languages stated above, please indicate if you’ve also played with any
of the following features’ (check Figure 55).
If you’ve played the game in one of the languages stated above, please indicate if you’ve also played with
any of the following features
87.3% 166 Answers
Selected language with subtitles
Selected language without subtitles
Selected language with dubbing
I played the game in English, with English

subtitles and in Portuguese without subtitles
Selected language without dubbing
7.2% English audio with Portuguese subtitles
2.4% Subtitles in the same language as audio
0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% English with English subtitles
Fig. 55 – Question 4. Additional language feature of the game.
The graphic shows that out of the eight available options, all eight were selected by at least one participant.
The highest percentage (87.3%) of participants chose the option ‘Selected language with subtitles’, and the remaining
are divided into the other seven options, being the most prominent the 7.2% of ‘Selected language without subtitles’
and the 2.4% of ‘Selected language with dubbing’. The other five alternatives have but one participant associated to
each one of them (0.6%).

Question number five, available to all 283 entries, approached a relevant matter of “gaming habits” of
the gaming party. This proved important because it showed if the investigation was handling people relatively
comfortable and accustomed to the gaming “environment” and routine, or not. The results proved to be something
in-between, although falling more towards the “gamer” side of the sample as people answered to ‘How often do you
play any video games?’ (check Figure 56).
How often do you play any video games?
283 Answers
122
Daily
Often
67
Frequently
46
39
Sometimes
9
43.1% 23.7% 16.3% 13.8% 3.2% Rarely
Fig. 56 – Question 5. How frequently do the participants play video games.
77
It is verified that more than half of the original sample of 283 people have habits of gaming ranging from what
would be considered “daily” and “often” (43.1% and 23.7%), respectively. Other participants insert their habits in the
“frequently” (16.3%) or “sometimes” (13.8%) range. Only 3.2% of the participants inserted their habits in what could be
determined as a “rarely” or “never” option. This shows that the investigation is handling a majority of individuals prone
to the gaming industry, environment, habits, and preferences, which can be highly beneficial regarding “experienced”
feedback. Nevertheless, it may also prove fruitful to have such a high variety with the remaining sample, since different
habits and familiarity with the area can also result in different, or richer, comments and perspectives.
Taking the previous question into consideration, it is also important to verify how comfortable or
knowledgeable the participants are with the specific genres I am tackling in this investigation, which are the RPG
(role-playing game) and ARPG (action role-playing game) genres (check Figure 57). So, question six wants to verify
‘How frequently do you play RPGs (Role-Playing games) or ARPGs (Action Role-Playing games)?’
How frequently do you play RPGs (Role-Playing games) or ARPGs (Action Role-Playing games)
283 Answers
99 35%
Frequently
80 28.3%
Sometimes
80 28.3% Rarely
Never
24 8.5%
Fig. 57 – Question 6. Knowledge and familiarity with the RPG and ARPG genre.
Here the results were very diverse as well, but balanced. On a scale from 1 to 4, where 1 meant “never” and
4 meant “frequently”, 35% of the participants, the equivalent to 99 people, admitted to frequently play these genres.
The in-between options of 2 and 3, in the range of “rarely” and “sometimes”, respectively, had the same percentage
of 28.3%. Only 8.5%, which corresponds to 24 participants, said they “never” played the specified genres. This
proves that the majority of the sample has high or fairly high experience and acquaintance with the chosen genres
for the study.
Reaching question seven, it is now time to analyse how diverse is the overall language pool in which the
participants usually play any video game (check Figure 58).
In which language do you play video games?
English 62.9%
Whatever the game’s source
language is, with subtitles 29.5%
Portuguese 4.2%
Whatever the game’s source
language is, without subtitles, 3.4%
French, Russian, Japanese, etc 283 Answers
Fig.58 – Question 7. General language chosen for video games.
78
By analysing the answers to ‘In which language do you usually play video games?’ it is possible to see that
out of the nine originally available options I gave, some participants decided on six additional and different ones. No
one chose the options of ‘German’, ‘Spanish’, and ‘Whatever the game’s source language is, without dubbing’.
Most people (62.9%) chose the option ‘English’, and 29.5% chose ‘Whatever the game’s source language is,
with subtitles’. Only 4.2% said they usually play in ‘Portuguese’, and the remaining 3.4% had their answers divided
into other language preferences like ‘French’ (0.7%), ‘Whatever the game’s source language is, without subtitles’
(0.7%), ‘Whatever the game’s source language is, with dubbing’ (0.4%), ‘Russian’ (0.4%), ‘Japanese’ (0.4%), or ‘English/
Portuguese with either English or Portuguese subtitles’ (0.4) depending on availability and context for the video game
in question. This shows a dominant option with the English, which is a paramount language within the gaming
community, but also presents different possibilities and changes within this preference and other ones involving
other languages.
Question eight wanted now to assess the actual access the participants had to the investigation’s video
game of choice and a way to play it – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. The question ‘Do you own the game The Witcher III:
Wild Hunt for PC or any other platform, and can play it?’ (check Figure 59) received a multitude of answers besides
the available options.
Do you own the game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt for PC or any other platform, and can play it?
51.9% 283 Answers
44.5% Yes
3.6% No
Other answers (please refer to the text

on the following page)
Fig. 59 – Question 8. Ownership of the video game and platform.
The majority of answers compile themselves in ‘Yes’ (51.9%) and ‘No’ (44.5%). The remaining 3.6%,
equivalent to eleven people, varied from having the game on ‘Playstation 4’, ‘Xbox’, or ‘Borrowed’, to ‘not having it but
can’t acquire it’. Some of these repeated themselves, as is the case of the Playstation 4. This showed that, although
having approximately half the sample with the means to participate in the study, the remaining half would have to
be assisted with this aspect (in terms of video game or platform to run it). This proved to be impossible afterwards,
as different problems appeared, preventing the participants without both the game and the platform to play it from
participating, as well as those who only had access to one of these requirements.
Despite this posterior decision, at the time of the filling of the survey, participants who said ‘No’ in the
previous question, were asked to fill out another question, so I could consider how to proceed later on. When
asked, in question nine, ‘If we arrange the game, for PC, will you need a computer to run the game, or does yours run
it?’ (check Figure 60), the answers, which were now only of 136 participants, branched out as follows:
79
If we arrange the game, for PC, will you need a computer to run the game, or does yours run it?
68.4% 136 Answers
27.2% I will NOT NEED a computer
4.4% I will NEED a computer
Other answers (please refer to the text

below)
Fig. 60 – Question 9. Participant’s possibility to use their own platform if provided with the game.
The results showed that, were it possible to provide people with the game, then 68.4% of participants, out
of 136 answers, would not need a computer to run it. A total of 27.2% would need a computer to run the game, and
the remaining 4.4% divided themselves into answers such as ‘Having Mac and Switch’, ‘Unsure about PC specs for the
task’, and ‘Can run it at low FPS’. The players who did not own a capable computer, unfortunately, had to be let go
later on. Some of the individuals who had the computer but were lacking the video game chose to withdraw from
the study, but a fair number of them still chose to participate and acquired the video game themselves.
Lastly, question ten confirmed those who would want to conduct the study at home or at FEUP. As
explained before, the college option became unavailable afterwards, and everyone participating ended up doing it
from home. It is, however, important to show what were the answers to ‘After reading the notice above, what option
do you prefer?’ (check Figure 61).
The notice referred to in the question was presented as a header and said ‘Taking into consideration
the previous answers, we still offer you the possibility to participate in the study at FEUP (Faculty of Engineering of
University of Porto), with their set of computers. But, if you desire, you can do it from home.
Please notice that, should you choose to participate in the study from home, you’ll still need to fulfil the designated
questionnaires after each playthrough, and then do the interview, or schedule a day for it (however more convenient).’
After reading the notice above, what option do you prefer?
283 Answers
32.2%
I want to participate in the study
from home
I want to participate in the study

at FEUP
67.8%
Fig. 61 – Question 10. Choosing to play at home or at FEUP.
The majority of participants still showed signs of preferring to conduct the study ‘From home’ (67.8%),
and only 32.2% preferred, at the time, to participate ‘At FEUP’. The study ended up losing some participants as
the possibility to provide the game and play it at FEUP disappeared, but the remaining sample was still more than
enough to proceed with the study.
80
Considerations on the First Quest Answers
4.2.1 Considerations on the First Quest Answers
As the quest’s initial answers have been analysed, it is possible to attest as the initial sample is very diverse and
full of potential for the study proposed here. The sample to be worked with in this investigation has a far-reaching
knowledge of the video game cosmos and the chosen subject – The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
Although the initial 283 participants shrunk down to 126 active players in the study, it is still possible to say
that I hold at hand a broad spectrum of participants that will allow for concrete and diverse results, and hopefully
a cohesive assessment and development of results and conclusions. It is also expected that further feedback or
considerations can be retrieved from the sample at hand since the final checkpoint in the study will be an interview,
which has the potential of broadening the qualitative analysis initially prospected.
This becomes the launching ramp, or slipway, for this study, and the next checkpoint in sight – the
questionnaires after each gameplay.
4.3 THE GAMEPLAY QUESTIONNAIRES
Our Witchers bravely set out into the wilderness looking

for the adventure of a lifetime. Maybe they would have
the great opportunity to slay a Royal Griffin, a dangerous
Manticore (Fig. 62), or to even lay eyes upon the rare
Golden Dragon, Villentretenmerth, be it in his human or
original form. The possibilities are infinite as I set out to
the action part of the quest. Gobble down a Thunderbolt
potion and grab your trusty swords, Aerondight for
monsters, and of course, a steel one for any humans or
non-monster creature who dares to cross or harm you.
The following analysis will be made by

comparing the average values obtained in each variable
of evaluation of each of the questionnaires, contrasting
the English gameplay questionnaire results with the
ones from the Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay. Since
I applied pre-approved and verified questionnaire
models (Game Experience and Transport Narrative)
(M. C. Green & Brock, 2013; IJsselsteijn et al., 2013),
I will be using their specific designed scale, existent
in literature, to calculate the values. For the Game
Experience Questionnaire (Core Module) I will be following
the guidelines present in the article of IJsselsteijn
and colleagues (2013) (check Annex 2). In order to
compute the values gathered in the Transport Narrative
section, I will use Jarrier’s and colleagues’ paper on
Narrative Transportation Scale. Measure Development for
Fig. 62 – The Manticore (2022).
Transmedia Experience (2018) (check Annex 4), where
they give a scale of categorisation and measurement of
the results as well. It is important to state that, although using the overall structure and design of the questionnaire
models chosen, I had to make some changes in certain questions concerning formulation and terminology, so as to
adapt them to my study and my dissertation topics.
81
The Questionnaires: Analysing the Mutagens
The explanation of how the information is organised and accounted for will be given next, after the
summarising of the sample used and before the actual revelation of results, before I present the mutagen analysis.
Now, before moving forward, it is important to add that, in terms of player participation, the sample decreased
significantly from the initial 126 players who originally showed a predisposition to enter this adventure. By the
time the study was closed I had gathered 45 answers in the Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay questionnaire, and
46 answers in the English gameplay one. Since out of these numbers not all people completed or participated in
everything (gameplay and, consequently, the respective questionnaire, and the interview) until the final stage, it was
established that these people would be deleted from the analysis, so I will only scrutinise the values and feedback of
the 41 people who completed everything until the very closing of the study.
4.3.1 The Questionnaires: Analysing the mutagens
Although I bundled up both questionnaires’ structures into a bigger one with two sections, the following assessment
of results will start with the Game Experience questionnaire and its feedback. This first questionnaire has its
own scoring guidelines based on what IJsselsteijn et al. (2013) refer to as the ‘Core GEQ Module’, which consists of
seven components or variables, with specific ‘items’ or questions associated to each of them. To each of the seven
components “Immersion, Flow, Competence, Positive and Negative Affect, Tension, and Challenge” was associated a
specific set of items, from the 33 available.
To find out each component’s score, I developed an Excel chart from the one created by Google Forms
during the filling out of each questionnaire, and “computed the average value of its items”, so for example, for the first
variable of ‘Competence’ they associate items, or questions, 2, 10, 15, 17, and 21. So I will gather all 41 answers to
each of these questions and compile them under this topic and then compute the average score obtained between
all of this section’s values. Once I have done this for the English and Brazilian-Portuguese version questionnaires I
compare the results obtained (the average).
This questionnaire of Game Experience had 33 questions, rated from 0 to 4, and to each value a quantifier
had been pre-determined (0 - not at all; 1 – slightly; 2 – moderately; 3 – fairly; 4 – extremely) (Fig. 63) so the average
result, and consequent analysis, will also land between these values.
33 Questions 0 1 2 3 4
Questionnaire Not at all Slightly Moderately Fairly Extremely
Game Experience
Fig. 63 – Game Experience Questionnaire scale.
As stated above, I started with ‘Competence’ and its designated items of 2,10,15,17, and 21, which
correspond to the following questions, respectively:
Q2: “I felt skilful”

Q10: “I felt competent”
Q15: “I was good at it”
Q17: “I felt successful”
Q21: “I was fast at reaching the game’s targets”
82
Taking into consideration that the maximum value would be 4 since there are only quantifiers that range
between 0 and 4, the feedback retrieved from the English gameplay questionnaires, specifically from these items as
a whole, revealed a combined average of 3.18 between the answers of all 41 participants within the component of
‘Competence’. As for the Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay questionnaire, the average is set at 3.11.

It is possible to verify that the average value of the ‘Competence’ component of the English version is above
that of the Brazilian-Portuguese version. There is an oscillation, although small, between versions, so there may be
room for some debate regarding, for example, what made players feel more competent in one version than the other.
We could be dealing with a matter of language and how instructions or cues were laid out to the player,
or maybe it could be due to personal experience or skills each person has within a multi-faced video game such
as this ARPG (action role-playing game), which has a stronger component of “fighting”. The importance I see in
this statement and possible interrogative to further analyse in the interviews hangs with the fact that, regardless
of the genre, there are players who are more inclined and proficient with the combat and fast interactive
components of video games, whereas there are those who prefer the narrative or interactive but flowy and
smooth part of games, so simply put there are certain limitations regarding what a person is considered good at.
There are also those who, like me, are amazed by every component bundled up together and are highly proficient
in these. Is there a specific aspect that weighs more within the spectre of competence: is it skill, interpretation, or
preference? The plot thickens.
There is also the aggravating factor, of course, that competence can be linked to success here so, as I stated
above, this “feeling” of success and accomplishment can vary from player to player. Generally speaking, the so said
“success”, or lack of it, they felt can be related to a language barrier or misunderstanding, but also to the narrative
progress, the controls, the interactions, the game objectives and quests, or the combat proficiency, for example.
Consequently, all the items and doubts stated above can have an impact on the speed with which each participant
reached the objectives of the game. It is a broad field to explore and perhaps the interviews will help us reach some
conclusions regarding all items within the field of ‘Competence’.
The next component was ‘Sensory and Imaginative Immersion’ to which were associated the items 3, 12,
18, 19, 27, and 30.
Q3: “I was interested in the game’s story”

Q12: “It was aesthetically pleasing”
Q18: “I felt imaginative”
Q19: “I felt that I could explore things”
Q27: “I found it impressive”
Q30: “It felt like a rich experience”
The variable of ‘Sensory and Imaginative Immersion’ showed an average of 3.54 within the total answers
from the items above in the English gameplay questionnaire. The Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay questionnaire
results presented an average of 2.84.
The feedback to this variable retrieved a higher value from the English version questionnaire in comparison
to the Brazilian-Portuguese version, which has a lower value.
Given the fact that the items within the spectre of this component are directly linked to the feeling of
immersion through means of imagination, sensation or impressions, I believe that for the purpose of this study, the
higher the value and connection between the players and these questions, the better, because it is desirable that
their immersion levels were high throughout the entire experience. As such, there’s a discrepancy between both
localised versions, where English takes the top preference for our Witchers.
83
It is interesting to raise certain doubts, since I also have access to the Google Forms graphs, thus enhancing
my overview of the general feedback to each question. That being said, what made the average rise for the English
gameplay version? Is it the storytelling component which comes out stronger in this version, increasing player
interest, related to the language alone? Are opinions torn between both versions? How can the aesthetic appeal,
which in this case does not differ between versions have an impact and receive different ratings between players
within the same version, but also between the two versions dealt with. Is this linked to the ‘sense of belonging’ that
is affected by the one component that applies changes between versions – localisation?
As to where imagination stands, or in-game boundaries, the access to the world does not vary in any of the
versions, but the players still begged to differ from each other. Perhaps it is imagination, with its boundless form,
that feels more constricted when playing one of the versions. What affects players as they are trying to get into the
game’s world and story?
Lastly, are both versions impressive, resulting in a rich experience? All of these aspects somehow detained
more ‘positive’ feedback to the variable of ‘Sensory and Imaginative Immersion’ in one of the localised versions and
that much is possible to attest to since the average value fluctuates between questionnaires, but it is not clear yet
what provokes this oscillation in reaction.
The third variable from the scoring guidelines was ‘Flow’ and it encompassed items 5, 13, 25, 28, and 31,
corresponding to the following questions, respectively:
Q5: “I was fully occupied with the game”

Q13: “I forgot everything around me”
Q25: “I lost track of time”
Q28: “I was deeply concentrated in the game”
Q31: “I lost connection with the outside world”
From what has been seen so far, even based on certain authors such as Nordin (2014) and Jennett et al.
(2008), players can either lose track of time while immersed in a certain task, or they can also choose to deliberately
ignore time and dive completely into the task at hands, ignoring time as it passes by. The category of ‘Flow’ ends up
connecting itself to immersion as well, with the added component of one’s attention span. Usually, the bigger the
sense of immersion, the easier it is for someone to lose track of time and forget about everything around them,
losing themselves in a fantasy world, for example, because there’s more depth and focus involved in what they are
doing. In this case, I am talking about a video game walkthrough, specifically The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.

The flow values for the English gameplay were of 2.77 and for the Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay the average
was of 2.02. It is apparent that the average is of higher value in English than in the Brazilian-Portuguese version.
Again, there is a variation between both versions, with the higher average tilting towards the English localisation
of the game. The difference, not only here but in the previous components as well, shows a clear and relatively
higher preference for the English localised version of The Witcher 3 by the participants. Concerning this variable
specifically, the difference may have come from environment distractions around the player, or the focus one
usually gives to a video game. If one is prone to distraction, and if their surroundings further encourage this, then
the players will tend to get distracted more easily, regardless of the video game, task, or language dealt.
As everything that is hung on a player’s perspective, sometimes it is not about the ability of a game to attract
and maintain our attention but rather the player’s preferences towards language (in this case because they had to
play two different versions of the same game part, in two different languages) or desire/tendency towards playing the
game with specific settings and how deeply they usually concentrate in such a task. This last part ends up connecting
to the factor of time perception because, just as I stated above, although linked to the game immersion felt, it is also
connected to a natural predisposition, or lack of it, to get deeply immersed in the gameplay environment, depending
on where they are experiencing the gameplay as well, the equipment and surroundings.
84
Be it concentration or space perception and immersion, which can be influenced by game factors but also
individual ones, inherent to one’s personality, I believe that the next section in line – the interviews – will provide us
with a lot more fuel to add to the fire, and I hope this will generate some interesting thoughts and discussions later
on. Following up is the fourth component, ‘Tension/Annoyance’ with the items 22, 24, and 29.
Q22: “I felt annoyed”

Q24: “I felt irritable”
Q29: “I felt frustrated”
The results from the accounting of all answers to the aforementioned questions revealed an average of 0.37
for the English localised version of the video game and 0.80 for the Brazilian-Portuguese version. There’s a disparity
between localised versions, and the Brazilian-Portuguese value appears as higher than that of the English one.
Since the questions in this component deal with ‘negative’ feedback or feelings, I can attest that there is
more satisfaction towards the English version and a little less of this enjoyment or fulfilment regarding the Brazilian-
Portuguese one, resulting in the rise of more ‘negative’ reactions from our Witchers.
Feeling more or less irritable throughout the gameplay may have been a factor in the difference of values
as well, perhaps even due to the language component, since it may evoke different reactions depending on the
player’s receptivity or knowledge of the language. It appears to be a balanced average between versions but with
visible differences that come from what I believe could be language, and therefore, localisation interpretation,
knowledge, preference, or quality.
Nevertheless, I do not wish to conclude anything yet, but rather conduct a thorough analysis and
introspection that will guide me further ahead during the interviews and conclusion section. As such, expect a scroll,
via delivery crow, with more information on this.
The fifth component of the GEQ Core Module for scoring guidelines is ‘Challenge’, with the items 11, 23, 26,
32, and 33 appointed to it.
Q11: “I thought it was hard”

Q23: “I felt pressured”
Q26: “I felt challenged”
Q32: “I felt time pressure”
Q33: “I had to put a lot of effort into it”
The results to the component of ‘Challenge’, encompassing all of its items, show an average of 1.12 in the
answers from the English questionnaire, and 0.93 from the Brazilian-Portuguese questionnaire. The value of the
latter appears as slightly lower than that of the former version.

What may be behind the difference in values, you may ask? I can only speculate at this stage before gathering
the remaining information. Language may have posed itself as an obstacle to some players, whether they were native
Brazilian-Portuguese, European-Portuguese speakers, or not. Since there was a diverse sample of participants, there
is a high chance of people feeling more comfortable with one language than the other, and therefore having less
difficulty understanding everything in that given language. Feeling pressure is relative to one’s perception as well, so
for these two points I can only try and conclude anything once I gather more individual feedback.
Taking from the context of the study and the previous questions on the questionnaire it’s possible, perhaps,
to speculate that this “feeling challenged” is about feeling that our abilities and skills are being “tested” and we are
encouraged to take on a challenge and overcome it somehow. However, once again, that is completely connected to
what each player feels individually, so I cannot attest if there was a difference here that tilted the difference in averages.
85
Lastly, time pressure can be a factor, when you think that the study only asked for one hour of gameplay,
so this may have been felt if players were doing the experience in an outside environment, like college, where
there are bigger constraints. However, when you think everyone got the opportunity to play the game at home,
or wherever they felt comfortable, then this does not seem a relevant factor for the change in values anymore,
unless, perhaps, it’s about individual pressure each person puts on themselves, or each of their own schedules and
responsibilities. The effort invested by each player, just like the time pressure, can depend on themselves or on
their will to play and understand each language played in and the game itself.
The sixth component is the ‘Negative affect’, which intends to gather the values regarding the dimension of
the negative effect felt by the players. Its items are 7, 8, 9, and 16.
Q7: “It gave me a bad mood”

Q8: “I thought about other things”
Q9: “I found it tiresome”
Q16: “I felt bored”
Within the spectre of this variable, in the English gameplay questionnaire, there was an average of 0.74 and
in the Brazilian-Portuguese it was verified a 1.32. As these are the values of the ‘negative’ impact felt, I believe that
the lower the number, the better, but the results obtained in the Brazilian-Portuguese version are higher than the
ones in the English one.
These questions may pose a great impact on the results, since I am dealing with a video game that tests
many different aspects, skills, and feelings of a player but also makes him experience everything twice, in two
different languages. Because of this, not only the order in which the player experienced the game but also the
language can somehow negatively affect their perception of the experience, thus resulting in the different values
above. The language preference, knowledge, interpretation, and quality of localisation are prominent factors that
can affect the whole gameplay of a game, so perhaps that was the biggest reason behind the higher value obtained
in the Brazilian-Portuguese version. This is purely speculative for now, but it can be discussed that, although an
enjoyable experience, one of these questions touched the players’ trigger and evoked their less ‘positive’ feedback
regarding their experience in one of the given languages.
Lastly, for the Game Experience questionnaire, is the variable of ‘Positive affect’ which, contrary to the
previous one, intends to gather the values regarding the dimension of the positive effect felt by the players during
their gameplay in both versions. Here, the items were the final ones of 1, 4, 6, 14, and 20.
Q1: “I felt content”

Q4: “I thought it was fun”
Q6: “I felt happy”
Q14: “I felt good”
Q20: “I enjoyed it”
The English Game Experience questionnaire for this localised version got an average value of 3.60, whereas
the Brazilian-Portuguese questionnaire received a 2.85. Here, and considering that I am handling ‘positive’ aspects
of their experience, the higher the value, the bigger the satisfaction during the study. As the value in English is
superior to that in the Brazilian-Portuguese version, one can debate that the English gameplay was more pleasant
and, consequently, players may have enjoyed it more.
Once again, I am faced with questions that depend greatly on the players’ mood, preference of language,
knowledge, gaming skill and comfort etc. However, the average values do differ between both versions so there must
be some distinction in levels of enjoyment between the English and the Brazilian-Portuguese version. First, as before, it
is possible that this change hangs with localisation or language itself, for example, of the Brazilian-Portuguese version,
86
which can influence how much fun the player had as

well. Perhaps the fun was present in both versions, and
I am dealing only with overall satisfaction and enjoyment
within each specific language and its interactions.
Enjoyment is very relative, however, so what

made our Witchers give more ‘positive’ ratings to their
gameplay of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt in English and not
Brazilian-Portuguese is something worth exploring and
analysing in the next stage, since I could be handling
a matter of language (Fig. 64), immersion, connection,
interpretation, skill, or even taste, and I will only find that
out more clearly as we progress in this research.

As we are finally wrapping up this first
questionnaire section, it is time to tame the other
Ghoul (Fig. 65) within the gameplay questionnaire each
participant filled out after the respective gameplay,
which corresponded to the topic of Transport
Narrative. This questionnaire, as stated in the
beginning, also has a pre-approved and verified design
and structure and, therefore, its own measurement
guidelines (Jarrier et al., 2018). Within the ‘transportation’
scale section, the questionnaire questions were
divided between three topics “Cognitive, Emotional, and
Imaginative”(M. C. Green & Brock, 2000).
Fig. 64 – Two humans talking in Novigrad, using the language known as
Common Speech (2022a).
Originally, the questionnaire dealt with twelve questions.
However, since the last one was directed to just one character, I decided to adapt it to my study. With this, I
changed the question to “I sympathised with [character name]” and added three more for other relevant
characters, resulting in a total of fifteen questions in the Transport Narrative section. There were also other small
vocabulary changes done to some questions, so that they would fit more perfectly into the context of this study
with a video game.
Fig. 65 – A menacing ghoul (2020).
87
For reference, this questionnaire has 11 questions, rated from 1 to 7, and only to each opposing values a
quantifier had been pre-determined (1 - not at all; 7 – very much), leaving the other values in-between without any
denomination. The average result, and consequent analysis of these questions, will also land between these values.
The remaining four questions, for a total of 15, since I had to adapt them to the study’s purpose, had their options
changed as well (not at all; a little; very much; I don’t remember the character). During the following analysis, once I
reach these questions (12, 13, 14, and 15) I will be using the Google Forms’ pie charts to assess the results, which I
have put within a Character connection topic, but will not follow the same analysis using average values as the other
ones. It is very important to note that on the model of questionnaire used, the items 2, 5, and 9 are reverse scored.
Within the ‘Cognitive’ topic of the scales of narrative transportation there are the first six questions of the
questionnaire:
Q1: “While I was experiencing the narrative, I could easily immerse myself in the events taking place”
Q2: “While I was experiencing the narrative, activity going on in the room around me was on my mind”
Q3: “I could picture and immerse myself in the scene of the events described in the narrative”
Q4: “I was mentally involved in the narrative while reading it”
Q5: “After the narrative ended, I found it easy to put it out of my mind”
Q6: “I wanted to learn how the narrative ended”

The average obtained in the English gameplay questionnaire was of 5.62, which is a higher value than that
obtained in the Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay questionnaire of 4.41.
These questions dabble within the cognitive side of our Witchers’ reactions, involving things such as
immersion, in-game sense of belonging and narrative impact. The difference in average values may have been
influenced by the change in language component felt by each player so it will be interesting to see the immersion
and narrative interpretation matter in the interviews and how deep of an influence they suffered from the localised
in-game options and adaptations.
For some of the questions, sometimes it is not a matter of how ‘immersive’ and ‘compelling’ a game is,
but rather how calm or intense your gameplay environment is, as you’re playing. What made the players immerse
themselves in the narrative more easily in one language than the other, for example? Is this a ‘language-factor’ difference
only? Within the language is it just, for example, the written component, the voice-acting, or both? What compels players’
unconscious reaction to lose themselves within the game events, and picture them more clearly in one version
than the other? There are multiple factors that could have influenced the participants’ choices, so with such diverse
answers, I believe it is safe to say that I must wait and try to further assess this later, on the next checkpoint.

The second topic at hand is the ‘Emotional’ one, which deals only with question seven.
Q7: “The narrative affected me emotionally”
Here, the average for the English questionnaire gave us a 4.41, and for the Brazilian-Portuguese totalled
3.85, resulting in a lower value for the latter localised version. The emotional effects can be divided into for example,
negative or positive reactions. Thus far there has been no specification regarding this specific categorisation of the
players’ emotions as they played the game. The interviews will, however, divide this feedback into more intricate and
developed comments, so I believe I will be able to ascertain or at least get an idea of what was the exact effect the
narrative had on players’ emotions.

I am now near the end of this section, and the mutagens are nearly distributed and accounted for. Take
a Swallow, a Tawny Owl potion, or a powerful decoction to help you stand a little longer and regenerate strength
and let us proceed. In the third topic ‘Imaginative’ there were the remaining four questions within the spectre of
analysis using the “Existing scales of narrative transportation”.
88
Q8: “I found myself thinking of ways the narrative could have turned out differently”
Q9: “I found my mind wandering while experiencing the narrative”
Q10: “The events in the narrative are relevant to my everyday life”
Q11: “The events in the narrative have changed my life”
The average value for the ‘Imaginative’ component with the questions above in the English version
questionnaire was of 3.66. For the Brazilian-Portuguese version, the average was 3.17. What may have influenced
the different values between both versions I can only guess for now. It is possible to debate that English gave
people’s imagination more wings, and made them think of the possibilities? Or is it a matter of being satisfied, or
not, with the small walkthrough they have made?
Could the connection to one of the languages be linked to the depth of immersion felt, and how involved
each person was while playing the game? And maybe the players see the game’s story and interaction just as a
richly designed and narrative-packed RPG, which may or may not have entertained them in both experienced
versions. Once again, the results here do not satisfy me enough, and they evoke even more questions and ideas
within the spectre of topics in this dissertation.

Lastly, we reach the final four questions of the questionnaire, related to what I have identified as ‘Character
connection’, although analysed separately from the pattern seen above, as explained before the start of the
mutagen analysis. Here, the affirmations were meant to quantify the players’ connection and opinion on the
characters they interacted with during their gameplay, so I could have a better idea of how differently, or equally,
the participants related to these individuals in both versions. Statement twelve dealt with the main character, Geralt,
and how the Witchers felt about him.
Q12: “I sympathised and connected with Geralt of Rivia”
I sympathised and connected with Geralt of Rivia
7% Very much
17%
A little
83% 39% Not at all
I don’t remember the character

54%
Fig. 66 – Question 12, section II. English version questionnaire (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese version (right). Opinion on Geralt.
Figure 66 (left) shows that a total of 83% of the participants said they “very much” sympathised and
connected with the main character, in the English localised version of the game, and only 17% opted with “a little”.
Within the questionnaire for the Brazilian-Portuguese version (Fig. 66 (right)), more than half the sample (54%)
chose “very much” as well, and 39% went with “a little”. Here, 7% of the players went with “not at all” when rating
their connection with Geralt in this version. Our beloved Witcher appears to receive higher levels of sympathy when
players listen and interact with him in English. Whether this is a matter of voice-acting, tone, language shock, or simply
familiarity I will find out further on.

In number thirteen, the questionnaire evaluates the exact same thing as the previous statement, but in
regards to Yennefer. It is important to note that, within the one-hour gameplay, approximately, the players have very
limited contact with this character, so their evaluation can, in certain cases, be made with only a first impression and
short interaction.
89
Q13: “I sympathised and connected with Yennefer”
I sympathised and connected with Yennefer
17% 39% Very much
A little
37% 27%
Not at all

46% 34%
Fig. 67 – Question 13, section II. English version questionnaire (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese version (right). Opinion on Yennefer.
Figure 67 shows us that, in the English gameplay, our beautiful sorceress received 37% of the votes in the option
of “very much” and the bigger chunk of 46% went for the option of “a little”. The remaining 17% chose “not at all”.
As for the Brazilian-Portuguese gameplay (check Figure 67 (right)), the division was relatively balanced between “very
much” (27%), “a little” (34%), and “not at all” (39%).
Although similar, Yennefer does seem to have made a better impression in the English version of The Witcher
III: Wild Hunt than in the Brazilian-Portuguese one. Nevertheless, the reasons behind this are very relative for now.
Vesemir, Geralt’s mentor and Witcher elder, is next in line in the players’ spectre of assessment. He is also the mark
for the penultimate question, fourteen.
Q14: “I sympathised and connected with Vesemir”
I sympathised and connected with Vesemir
3% 3% Very much
A little
5% 12%
Not at all
24% 39%
68% 46%
Fig. 68 – Question 14, section II. English version questionnaire (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese version (right). Opinion on Vesemir.
As visible in Figure 68, on the left, referent to the English localisation playthrough, 68% of the total sample of
players said they “very much” sympathised and connected with Vesemir and 24% chose “a little”. The remaining three
people went with “not at all” (5%) and “I don’t remember the character” (3%). For the Brazilian-Portuguese (check
Figure 68 (right)), the voting spread out between “very much” (46%), “a little” (39%), “not at all” (12%), and “I don’t
remember the character” (3%).

There’s a majority of players liking and connecting to Vesemir in the English gameplay, but both versions
have contrasts, although small, with other participants who did not feel the same at all or simply did not remember
the character. Finally, in question fifteen, it was time to assess the players’ opinion on Ciri (Cirilla).
90
Q15: “I sympathised and connected with Ciri”
I sympathised and connected with Ciri
59% 20% Very much
A little
41% 41%
Not at all

39%
Fig. 69 – Question 15, section II. English version questionnaire (left) and Brazilian-Portuguese version (right). Opinion on Ciri.
Players, in the English version (check Figure 69 (left)), opted with either “very much” (59%) or “a little” (41%).
As for the Brazilian-Portuguese (check Figure 69 (right)), players showed a difference in opinions ranging from “very
much” (41%), “a little” (39%), and “not at all” (20%).
Given the fact that the presence of this character is the same for both playthroughs, the fact there is some
difference with players choosing “not at all” in the Brazilian-Portuguese version may be linked to the connection they
failed to make when interacting with Ciri in the specified language.

The last point in the questionnaires was in fact a field for participants to insert their e-mail so I could contact
them later for the interviews once I confirmed their questionnaires were filled out for both versions. However,
this information is only for the record, since any personal information (such as names or e-mails) provided by
the players will not be shared in this research and only I have access to them, to aid me in the development and
organisation of the study and data analysis.
91
Considerations on the Mutagens
4.3.2 Considerations on the mutagens
The time has come to summarise the findings done above, as we gather the bounty carefully by the fire. Numerous
questions have been evoked with the results that have been witnessed. Regarding the research’s topics, there
are many doubts and curiosities concerning the factor of localisation (mainly all the language adaptations) and
immersion, and how they influenced each other.
The gaming party’s answers also made me think about how deeply the understanding and enjoyment of the
storytelling component with all its details and prime quality can be affected by language specifically. In this case, I am
dealing with English and Brazilian-Portuguese, but I cannot help but wonder “what if I was dealing with more distinct,
or opposite languages?”. I question this but I know that the languages I am dealing with here have a myriad of concrete
differences between one another, and each carries its own cultural context, references, and history as well.
One thing that has been clearly pointed out in the mutagen analysis is the preference for the English localised
version in comparison to the Brazilian-Portuguese one since the values are always higher or considered more
positive to each of the analysis components.

Lastly, one thing was also brought to my mind, which was the fact that I am using a video game in the
RPG (role-playing game) genre. As such, is it possible to speculate that I could expect a different outcome from
a different genre? If so, how different would it be, if at all? What if players had gone through graphic and content
modification or censorship in one of the versions here?
How endless are the possibilities and results on immersion, localisation reaction or narrative interpretation
or influence, if I were to stretch this research to other branches of video game genres, completely distinct from the
RPG or ARPG I am currently dealing with.
I will try to soothe some of this curiosity and demand answers in the next checkpoint, which is the final one
of this study, before the delivery of the quest. This process has been very rewarding, and our Witchers have done
beautifully by providing such insightful answers. I hope they are as proficient with their words as they have been
with their swords thus far, as we now meditate onto the next day to begin the analysis of the final checkpoint
– the interviews!
92
The Interviews: Interviewing our Witchers
4.4 THE INTERVIEWS: INTERVIEWING OUR WITCHERS
As no quest is ever completed without the gathering of some in-depth feedback, it’s time to go through the final
breakdown section within this research’s study – the interviews.
This final stage was put into motion only after each gaming party member finished all previous tasks (survey,
gameplay, and questionnaires). Contact was established and I finally scheduled a quick meeting for a small semi-
structured interview at the inn, over a cold brew of ale. The final gaming party counted a total of 41 brave Witchers,
who endeavoured until the final stage of this quest, enduring all challenges. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to get
the feedback and experience from all of the initial 126 volunteers, because they did not make it to the checkpoint in
time, with some of them withdrawing mid-battle, giving up after heavy injuries, or even for falling asleep and losing
the ride. Nevertheless, the acquired sample provided us with very rich and intricate commentaries regarding their
experience revolving around the research’s theme – storytelling, localisation, immersion and, of course, the video
game of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
The interviews followed a previously prepared script I developed, with thirteen questions of both short
and long development, depending on each interviewee’s desire and on the question itself. They were conceived to
assess and gather more information and commentary regarding each participant’s experience throughout each of
the versions’ playthroughs.
In this section, for the analysis of the interviews, some questions will be accompanied by percentages,
which were developed separately in custom graphs, in order to make a percentual account of certain answers
and facilitate explanation and accounting of the written results. However, there will be cases where the answers
are purely on the development and feedback side, and in these cases there will be no mention of percentages.
Following up on each question’s analysis, there will always be a detailed table for the qualitative analysis of this
feedback, with the following columns: ‘Topic’, for easier categorisation of the answers, ‘Transcription’, with the real
participant’s commentary, and ‘Summary’ where I will try to compile as faithfully as possible the answers given by the
players. For the answers with diverse and pure commentary, there will only be the ‘Transcription’ and the ‘Summary’
sections of the table, since it is a compilation of the general ideas shared between all players participating.
Now, sit back and enjoy this carefully designed, explained, and detailed analysis of this broad range of
comments as I share them with you. Let us do some fast travel to the inn at White Orchard.
4.4.1 Analysing the interviews’ scrolls
The first question intended to confirm whether each participant had followed the given study instructions carefully,
being able to play the video game with all settings and content in the specified languages (English and Brazilian-
Portuguese). The question was as follows:
Q1: “While doing both gameplays, did you play with everything in the specified languages, as requested?
(Audio, interface, subtitles), or did you have to make it differently? (for example, changing the idiom of
the subtitling in any of the versions)”
Two types of answers can be identified and put together in this question: ‘Yes’, ‘No (PS4 exception’, and ‘Other’.
The ‘Yes’ stands for everyone who complied with everything on the instructions and the ‘No (PS4 exception)’ is for the
people who didn’t have access to the Brazilian-Portuguese version on their PS4 and had to watch the playthrough
online. Lastly, the ‘Other’ compiles any extra commentary, deemed relevant to the study’s analysis, any participant
93
Analysing the Interviews’ Scrolls
did after answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. However, for this option of ‘Other’, and any other that will follow in the analysis I am
doing in this section, the players who indeed gave extra feedback to the questions will only be accounted for in the
option of ‘Other’. Below each written analysis, a table will follow with a topic insertion, to further filter the information
collected, the transcription of each answer identified as important for feedback, and lastly a small summary will be
given with an overall catch of everything mentioned in all of the presented comments.
From the sampling done, within the spectre of players participating in the interview, 85% (matching 35
people) did everything as instructed in the instruction’s document. Only 5 people (12%) did not do the study exactly
as instructed, for the reasons explained previously, and in this question there was only one participant who shared
an additional commentary (3%) to their answer and gameplay (see Table 1 for thematic analysis of this result).
TOPIC TRANSCRIPTION SUMMARY
Language familiarity “I was disappointed that the Portuguese version Portuguese language shock and
and voice acting wasn’t European but rather Brazilian. Yennefer’s duality, as well as poorly conceived
voice was the biggest let down, but I liked Vesemir’s voice-acting contrast with some
and Ciri’s.” well-conceived character voices.
Table 1. Qualitative analysis from the answer “Other” on Q1.
Overall, the participants did everything as specified in the instructions’ document given at the beginning of
the study. The only exceptions were 5 participants who played the game on a console (Playstation 4) and therefore
did not have access to the game in the Brazilian-Portuguese version, because the language availability is restricted
in Europe and this option is only available in North and South America. The ones who inserted themselves in this
category simulated an immersive gaming environment of said playthrough and watched it online, via Youtube. Since
there were only five participants in these conditions, and their feedback was very much the same, or close to, and in
some cases even richer than the one from other participants who played both versions, their comments were taken
into consideration for the study as well.
The second question focused on understanding whether or not the players felt like their feeling of
immersion had been deeply impacted by language while going through the gameplay of The Witcher 3.
Q2: “Do you feel that the language had a big impact on your feeling of immersion as you played
the game?”
This question received the following feedback that can be categorised into three sections of ‘Yes’, ‘No’, and ‘Other’.
‘Yes’ was given as a solo answer to this question, sometimes along with some descriptive quantifiers or intensifiers of
its meaning, or a more developed opinion. ‘No’ was given as a solo answer, although sometimes followed by a longer
explanation as well. The ‘Other’ option compiles commentaries that succeed some ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ answers but are only
accounted for as an addition of answer to ‘Other’.
Out of the sample of 41 people interviewed, 29 (61%) confirmed they had sensed a big impact on the immersion
they felt while playing the game (Fig. 70). Only 3 people, who occupy 6% of the total sample, said they did not feel that
language had a big impact for them. In the ‘Other’ section we can see that 33% (or rather 9 people of the initial 41)
decided to add a more detailed comment to their ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ answers (see Table 2 for thematic analysis of this result).
41 People 61% (29) 6% (3)

Interviewed Big impact on No big impact on
the immersion the immersion
Fig. 70 – Immersion impact on players.
94
Language affecting “(…) in Witcher 3 there’s a lot of dialogue and People connect more to the English
immersion information, and the Portuguese version was very language in terms of immersion and
off. (…) The immersion in Brazilian-Portuguese wasn’t narrative relation.
as strong and was very distant from the version in
English.” Despite having Brazilian-Portuguese as
their native language, or not, the break
“Yes. In Brazilian-Portuguese, although my native in immersion reveals itself stronger in
language, I feel like the characters wouldn’t speak that this version, not only for the language
way, so it sounds weird, and I feel like people in the itself, but certain characteristics that
time, on the game, wouldn’t say things that way. In come with it as well.
English, it felt more natural and made more sense.”
Dealing with a Brazilian-Portuguese
“(…) the feeling that it’s a Brazilian accent and adaptation instead of a European-
mannerisms, so there’s that factor that affects me, Portuguese weighed heavily on the
because it’s close to what’s natural to me, but still immersion component.
foreign, since I’m native European-Portuguese.”
“Maybe if I was playing the game with a European-

Portuguese translation, maybe that would’ve been a
better experience. For me, the Brazilian-Portuguese
translation, I couldn’t get into it, there was no
immersion (…)”
Adaptation “I think dubbing will always have an impact because Various localisation components
of content it’s not the original language, so it can feel a bit are seen with more relevance here,
(Localisation) forced sometimes. Sometimes jokes, or vocabulary such as dubbing, translation and
used is not the proper one to get the same feeling.” adaptation of written content.
“(…) In Brazilian-Portuguese I felt the voices sounded Voice-over or voice-acting and

well, (…) but then the timing felt weird, because dialogue speed in one of the
sometimes it felt like they were speaking very fast, languages also posed a barrier for
the lines, and the dialogue felt weird sometimes. some players.
In English, I didn’t feel this and didn’t break my
immersion. (…)” The dubbing and translation of content
take the heavier relevance here.
“(…) the way some characters behaved; it gave a
different sensation.” Character behaviour, regarding voice,
tone, or ‘posture’, for example, in one
of the languages, influenced players’
feelings and perceptions.
Language familiarity “I was more accustomed to English, so Portuguese Having had contact with the game
felt weird. It didn’t capture my attention as much (…)” before, in English, and having an
overall bigger interaction with English
“(…) English, since it’s not my mother tongue, helped content and language makes players
with my feeling of immersion.” connect more deeply with it.
The factor of not having English as

a mother tongue made it easier to
connect to this language and intensify
the feeling of immersion felt.
Table 2. Qualitative analysis from the answers “Other” on Q2.
The third question wanted to assess, more clearly, the version in which the gaming party felt a higher
immersion level, and with which they connected more deeply, regarding different gameplay components
experienced during the study.
Q3: “In which version did you feel the most immersion, sense of belonging, and connection with the world,
the story, and the characters?”
95
The gathered answers divided themselves between the options of ‘English’, ‘Brazilian-Portuguese’, and ‘Other’.
‘English’ and ‘Brazilian-Portuguese’ were both given as solo answers to the question, but sometimes followed by
a small ‘reassurance’ or quantifier to the option chosen. ‘Other’ gathered some more interesting and developed
feedback from the players who, besides giving a preferred language or not, gave an additional comment, relevant to
the categorisation table exposed below.
It was verified that 33 people (80%) opted for the ‘English’ language as a preferred language which met
their expectations and desires as explicit above. Four players, equivalent to 10%, said the ‘Brazilian-Portuguese’
language was the one that fulfilled the question’s parameters and the other remaining four players (10%) were
gathered within the option of ‘Other’ since they inserted themselves in the percentage of people who gave
additional and relevant commentary on their experience towards question three. ‘Other’ comments are presented
in the following table:
Language familiarity “(…) But just wanted to add that, my native tongue Language familiarity with either of
or immersion is Persian, but I don’t think that I would be as the ones present in the study helps
comfortable with Persian, (…) there’s a sensation, players relate more to the game’s
association between the fantasy world and the content and, consequently, immerse
English language.” themselves more deeply in the
narrative.
“(…) I always play my games in English (…) I really
felt way more comfortable hearing the characters The statement that English is a
themselves and the lore and what not in English. (…) paramount gaming language,
In terms of being more comfortable and immersed, commonly associated with fantasy
definitely the English version. It really pulled me into worlds, helps with the immersion
the narrative and the PT version sometimes just in this context and, even with some
sounds like off, and kind of weird.” comfort towards the Brazilian-
Portuguese language, the feeling
“(…) In European-Portuguese I would feel even more around the connection of English to
I believe. (…) English one sounds better (…) I get the this universe, and how it just clicks
feeling that ‘this isn’t supposed to be in like this’, it and makes sense, is still stronger and
should be English. (…) in the Brazilian-Portuguese overlaps everything else.
version I think I’m more comfortable (…) you can
listen to the world around you (…).”
No preference “I don’t think there was a difference. In each The feeling of ‘neutrality’ towards a
gameplay I had a different experience, because I preferred language also exists, where
played them differently and in a certain order.” one may have not felt a distinction
existed between both languages.

Question four presented itself a bit differently from the previous ones so far since it is purely qualitative,
and gathered 41 different comments with various, sometimes verging on similar or identical, themes or aspects
related to the question itself.
Q4: ‘What do you think was weirdest for you, when comparing how you felt when playing both versions?’.
Here, the answers given by the participants will also be inserted in a table identical to the ones above. However,
given the number of answers and the fact that some of them repeat the same ideas or concepts that can be linked
to one another, in order to simplify the amount of information presented in the analysis, the table will have a smaller
number of transcriptions than that initially gathered (41). This way, it will be possible to do an overall assessment of the
information collected, dispersed between different general topics, from the total selection of feedback.
A selection of answers was gathered in the table below (see table 4), with the ones that could be considered
‘more general’ and encompass more of the participants’ opinions.
96
Voice-over (quality, “(…) the Brazilian-Portuguese dubbing wasn’t as good Most voice-over commentaries seem
differences, as the English studio for it. (…) It really sounds out to focus on the quality of the actors’/
connection, and of place, the sound of the voices, didn’t match the actresses’ voices and the impact felt
impact) game, and the environment (…).” with each language.
“(…) The English version had a better job with the English does seem to be the preferred
transmission of expressions.” language overall, with which people
connect more easily to, as well as to
“(…) the pronunciation was so different from what I the characters. Dialogue complaints
used to, so it threw me off. They felt like characters I were frequent as well, since fluidity and
didn’t know at all.” pacing were more natural to players
in the English version. The Portuguese
“Since the game is set in medieval times, then the version felt rushed to some.
accent in English is harder to understand, but in
Brazilian-Portuguese it felt easier.” Some other comments stated that
Brazilian-Portuguese was easier to
“(…) So, you’re used to know that this is how Yennefer understand than old-time English
sounds (…) then (…) you hear another voice that and one can get accustomed to it, but
I do not even know. Maybe if I had played 60h of there were other people who would
Portuguese gameplay and then went back to English, still confirm that the shock was there,
maybe it would’ve made a difference. (…) The block and the block remained, separating the
was right there from the very beginning.” English superiority in the voice-acting.
“(…) the initial impact (…) to Brazilian-Portuguese The influence of well-known English
dubbing, the feedback is different. It’s not necessarily voices posed some weight in the
bad, but it’s different, and I find it weird until I get differentiation some players did
accustomed to it (…).” between languages.
Translation of “(…) the Portuguese version surprised me because There’s a duality between all
content (names, they translated the names of the creatures instead of comments, where some like the
references, and lore) pronouncing them differently and I thought it was nice.” translation or adaptation made in the
written content (everything involving
“(…) they also translate names of monsters (ghouls, lore), and others simply cannot
Wild Hunt) or lore and I think it shouldn’t be done connect or make sense of the need
because it’s part of the game.” for these changes, or simply don’t like
how it was done.
“(…) they translated everything in Portuguese, so as
someone used to the game and books in English, it There’s also a background factor,
felt weird (…).” where people who had never played
the game but had read the books
“(…) In Brazilian-Portuguese I had a lot I didn’t like. have difficulty associating the
I don’t know if it’s the language or the way it flows, changes made in Portuguese.
and you know, there’s folklore, and references, and
puns, and I think you miss a lot of stuff (…).” As with all translation work, there can
be information which gets lost along
“(…) I really think the Portuguese translation the way or doesn’t come out as strong
sometimes is not even correct, and sometimes I think or with the same meaning. Specific
they get it wrong (…).” jokes, references or puns were felt as
lost and inconsistent to some players,
“(…) in inventory management I’m very used to in the Brazilian-Portuguese version.
have the names in English, so having the names in
Portuguese, and not even European-Portuguese, Regarding menus and other
but Brazilian-Portuguese, it makes me a little bit adaptations that were done, some
confused (…).” confusion could be seen with the
inventory or tutorial when going from
one language to another.
Language “(…) there’s was a more natural feeling in English and Comments on language further
(immersion that Portuguese didn’t really fit the game.” confirm some previous feedback,
connection, where English acts as a more
differences, and “(…) the tutorials I saw online in Brazilian-Portuguese “natural” language for fantasy worlds
familiarity) and then I got to the game, and I didn’t understand and magic, and their association
97
anything, because it was all in English, and I couldn’t with each other.
associate it.”
English comes up as a language with
“(…) when most people think about a fantasy world, which players develop a stronger
and medieval and magic, we think about something connection, familiarising themselves
where people speak English (…) When I think about that more with it as well, therefore
stuff, I don’t think people speak Portuguese (…).” increasing immersion.
“I think it was the way the story captured my attention There are certain differences worth
and even regarding motivation, I think English mentioning, where some players also
motivates us more.” highlighted the Brazilian-Portuguese
version as easier to understand
“(…) Brazilian-Portuguese dubbing (…) I was just not during the tutorial, but the language
used to it. And it’s not because it was specifically itself – Portuguese – regardless of it
Brazilian-Portuguese but rather because it was being European or Brazilian broke the
Portuguese, and I couldn’t get into the game as much.” same immersion felt in English.
Neutrality or overall “I don’t think so. I all fit the story very well. The From the entire sample of players,
satisfaction translation was very well done.” there were some who, of course,
provided positive or neutral
“I don’t think I felt that, the weirdness. But it sounded satisfaction regarding the overall
better in English (…). In Portuguese some felt a bit too experience with both languages.
modern, so to me it didn’t make sense in that game
world (…).” For some, the so-called ‘weirdness’
wasn’t a factor, but they did say
“No, not really. There were certain expressions in that English felt like it belonged in
English that were translated to Brazilian-Portuguese in that world more easily. Others were
a good way, and I understood and liked the choice.” satisfied with the overall linguistic
adaptations made.
The fifth question, although similar to question three, intends to browse a different type of feedback. They
are very closely connected questions, but here the focus is entirely put on the storytelling component and narrative
quality satisfaction and transmission, as well as the localisation (adaptation) factor. Question three focused on the
player’s immersion, feelings, and connection to game components.
Q5: ‘What version did you like best overall and think has the best conveyance of the story and the
adaptation of some of the game’s aspects?’
The answers gathered ranged from mainly simple ones such as ‘English’ and ‘Brazilian-Portuguese’ to more
heavily structured or developed ones (‘Other’) which added information I deemed interesting or relevant to the
question posed.
Percentage-wise, 87% (equivalent to 35 people) chose ‘English’ as their favourite version here, and only
10% (4 people) chose the Brazilian-Portuguese version (Fig. 71). I singled out two players (3%) who provided what
I considered as relevant contribution to this question, besides the main answer focus to this question (see Table 5
for thematic analysis of this result).
87% 10%
(35 people ) (4 people )
Favourite version Favourite version
Fig. 71 – Players’ favourite version.
98
Undecided or “70% of the original – English. And then a little less For one of the players, the distinction
divided opinion of the Brazilian-Portuguese, more because of the was clearer, although still split
studio sound quality, for me. Also because it wasn’t between both versions. The factor of
European-Portuguese. If it was with better acting and it being Brazilian-Portuguese weighs a
sounds, I’d definitely choose European-Portuguese lot in importance since it is confirmed
and would probably play it like this, and I think it’d that with better voice quality and
be more immersive.” acting, and with the adaptation to
European-Portuguese as well, the
“Can’t say for sure, but since I played Brazilian- game would be more enjoyable and
Portuguese first, then maybe I liked it best because of immersive than it was in English.
being the first time I hear or saw certain things. But
similar experiences.” For the other player, the difference is
blurrier, having a preference for the
Portuguese version only due to order
of play and not the gameplay itself,
since regarding this aspect it said the
experiences were similar.
The comments in question appear to be of an unsure nature, where players were clearly undecided or
divided between a concise answer and preference of version for this question, detailing what differences they felt or
what makes them balance both languages.

Question six encompassed purely quantitative answers and players placed their feedback into what I
have later identified as seven different sections of possibilities. There were no additional comments made for this
question, and as such there is no table to accompany it.
Q6: ‘Unless you’ve already done it, in which version would you rather play the entire game?’
Twenty-one players (48%) said they ‘Have already played/finished the game, in English’. Only one player (2%)
chose ‘Have already played/finished the game, in Brazilian-Portuguese’ and another one (2%) went with ‘Have already
played/finished the game, in other languages (Russian)’. In the section of ‘Have already played/finished the game, in both
languages (English and Brazilian-Portuguese)’ a total of four players (9%) identified their answer as such. (Fig. 72).
48% 9% 2% 2%
(21 people) (4 people) (1 person) (1 person)
Fig. 72 – Examples of languages in which players have finished, or would like to continue/finish, the game.
The remaining sections of ‘Never played/finished the game, would continue in English’ received ten players’
votes (24%) and ‘First time playing it, no language preference/specified’ got four votes (10%). The option of ‘Never
played/finished the game, would continue in Brazilian-Portuguese’ did not gather any votes and shows that, for those
who are having their first contact with the game or have not finished it, Brazilian-Portuguese would not be an option
to continue on. All other options have shown at least one vote of preference from a player, but English remains the
highly preferred language for the majority of players.
Question seven takes the more specific topic of ‘conception’ of different and multiple game’s aspects or
components and wishes to polish and clear players’ comments about it, from a player, and normally non-expert,
standing point.
99
Q7: ‘Do you think the English version is well conceived? Regarding storytelling, character interactions,
environment and narrative immersion, and overall transmission and adaptation of content?’

Here, the answers, similar to some seen previously, range from the sure ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ with added quantifiers,
and ‘Other’ with some more structured additional comments to the specified question. For this case, specifically, the
option of ‘No’ did not gather any votes from the participants, so I will be dealing with the other two possibilities.
Of the total of 40 participants, 32 (equivalent to 96%) chose ‘Yes’ regarding the game’s good conception, with all
that composes it. The remaining nine people (4%) provided extra feedback deemed interesting and rated as ‘Other’,
explicit in Table 6, below.
Feedback “(…) in Polish with English subtitles, I would probably Player satisfaction revolves around
on multiple enjoy it more. (…) But people tend to do it in English, English being a worldwide, well-
components because English is the international language of known, fantasy language, prone to
gaming.” evoke bigger immersion feelings, as
well as the intricate and meticulously
“(…) voices, the names, the dialogue, it fits. In the good design made to incorporate and
English version I know that I’m missing stuff, in some connect the narrative, the world, the
cases (…).” characters, game interactions and
choices into what players say is ‘one
“Yes (…) in English I did more side quests, which gives of the best RPGs of all time’ that the
more immersion, but only in English did I feel like studio carefully developed.
doing this (…).”
Participants have an interest in
“(…) I didn’t finish the game but from what I played I browsing through everything and
really liked it, like cut scenes and how they explored each factor within the game draws
the story (…).” their attention, such as the carefully
chosen accents, cut-scenes, special
“(…) Even the accents in Skellige, were very different references or easter eggs, game
and I liked it.” dynamics and interactivity, and
unexpected quests.
“(…) I think they did a great job, connecting
everything to the other games, and you can see
other references in English that are sometimes lost in
Portuguese.”
“(…) When you’re just roaming around the open

world, it’s very immersive, with background noises
and music (…).”
“(…) I got lost in the world because it’s a game that

looks very good for its age (…).”
“(…) the game is one of the biggest achievements ever

made, in terms of transporting into an open world
a compelling narrative (…) Storytelling, character
interaction and dynamics, the way they presented
and created quests and the world around them, with
dialogues that came as natural (…).”
Question eight takes on the exact same subject as the previous question, regarding the topic of ‘conception’
of different and multiple game’s aspects or components and wishes to polish and clear players’ comments about it
as well. However, this time it is focused on the Brazilian-Portuguese localised version of the game.
Q8: ‘Do you think the Portuguese version is well conceived? Regarding storytelling, character interactions,
environment and narrative immersion, and overall transmission and adaptation of content?’.
100
The answers retrieved, although similar to the ones seen previously, show a very small difference with the
range going from the sure ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ with added quantifiers, and ‘Other’ with some more structured additional
comments to the specified question. As you can see, this time around there is at least one person accounting for
the negative answer.
From the sample of players, 26 (equivalent to 92%) chose ‘Yes’ regarding the game’s good conception,
with all that composes it and 3% (only one person) chose ‘No’ regarding the game’s evaluation. The other fourteen
people (5%) provided extra feedback deemed interesting and rated as ‘Other’ (see Table 7 for thematic analysis of
this result).
Feedback “Translation, dubbing, I think they were really good. Players demonstrate an overall
on multiple You can find yourself really enjoying the game. If you satisfaction, stating how equally
components understand Portuguese, you’ll enjoy the game (…).” well-accomplished the Brazilian-
Portuguese version is in certain
“(…) I think names should remain untouched (…) aspects such as translation and
This impacts me on immersion, (…) because you’re adaptation of lore or names.
distancing yourself from the medieval/polish However, they also express a lot
connection of this universe (…).” more of what they did not like, or
think wasn’t as well achieved as in the
“(…) with jokes and puns they also did adapt them English version.
pretty well in order to transmit the same idea, even if
they changed it to something different (…).” Components such as the translation
of names or character voicing are
“(…) I liked the adaptation of expressions.” sometimes frowned upon the way it
was done in this version, as well as
“(…) The Brazilian-Portuguese version makes Geralt inconsistencies between subtitles
more relatable because his voice isn’t as coarse (…).” and audio. The immersion is stated
to have been smaller in certain cases
“(…) Portuguese was a bit faulty or penalised in the due to the overall adaptation or other
voice over part because it wasn’t as good (…).” specific aspects such as the dialogues,
cut scenes or voice acting.
“I think so, because if I didn’t speak English, I wouldn’t
have much to complain about it (…).” The participants do seem to feel
satisfied enough with this version,
“The dubbing is really good, and the voice actors with some exceptions who enjoyed
were good choices. I noticed some errors in it to the fullest. There are also cases
pronunciation (…).” where the version is said to be
good if players did not understand
“(…) in Portuguese, I would skip more of the English. For those who understand
dialogues and cut scenes (…).” Portuguese, the version is well
conceived and, although said to
“(…) sometimes translation isn’t correct and doesn’t be faulty, there are also praises
really correspond to the correct thing (…).” regarding certain accent work and
pun translation.
“It feels like there’s a lot less work put into the
Brazilian-Portuguese translation (…).” In general, players feel like the
Brazilian-Portuguese version presents
“(…) I only notice a bigger difference in certain itself a little more unpolished or
accents, like the Skellige one.” unfinished compared to the English
one. They feel there’s a lack of effort
“(…) I still think it’s good enough, for me. (…) in into certain adaptations but still
Portuguese they did a good job at certain accents, in consider it a good result.
totally different dialects (…).”
“It’s a good translation, but the dialogue sometimes

kind of feels off. I’m not as immersed as I was in
English (…).”
101
Moving onto question 9, and almost reaching the end of the questions.
Q9: ‘What did you like less, or hated in both versions? And what did you love?’.
This one is highly qualitative, just like question four, but will be analysed slightly differently. Although I
gathered 41 complete comments to this question, sometimes there were similarities between answers that made
them repetitive or equal in terms of information given. As such, and in order to shorten the information in this
section or avoid repeating it, I decided to filter everything, gathering 17 answers, divided into different topics of
discussion, and merged with one another sometimes, that compile the general and main ideas shared between all
participants (see Table 8 for thematic analysis of this result).
The remaining 24 answers share, repeat, or provide ideas that are somehow already explicit in the
commentaries of other participants shown in the table below. Of course, within these 24 answers, there are also
some that just did not add anything at all because the player either did not have anything more to say or because
they liked everything about the game.
It is also important to note that, although divided into different topics of discussion as a way to facilitate distinction
on the table, within each topic there will be comments with both negative and positive remarks on both versions.
Immersion “(…) I like the music component that changes the Sounds, music, and language – they all
environment, it really impacts my reaction.” impacted players’ immersion during the
experience, some more than others.
“(…) In English, when I play it, I’m there, I’m fully
immersed (…).” Although English may take the podium
as the preferred language, Brazilian-
“(…) Language in Portuguese I think it bothers Portuguese is also seen as a more joyful
immersion, but it’s a way to make it more fun, and and unexpected change in language
maybe attract more people to it, unexpected.” that also attracted some players.
Voice-acting “The Brazilian-Portuguese voice acting was decent (…) The voice-acting in the Brazilian-
but it felt like a Brazilian soap opera instead of a high- Portuguese version was lacking in
fantasy role-playing game.” terms of “tone” for the setting of the
game and also for the characters’
“Voice acting quality in Portuguese and transmission background and personality, which
of expression had some inconsistencies translation wise didn’t fit as well as the English voices.
(…).”
“I think what I liked best (…) was Geralt’s voice. What I Some players preferred character
liked less was maybe Vesemir and Ciri’s voices because voices in both languages, having more
they seemed fake and out of place (…).” diverse opinions in the Brazilian-
Portuguese language, where some
“Fast paced dialogues in Brazilian-Portuguese, loved Geralt’s voice, but not so much
compared to the English version. I think they made an for Ciri’s, Vesemir’s or Yennefer’s.
effort with the Portuguese version to pick voices that Certain players loved the overall
were similar to the English ones (…) I like the whole voice-acting performed.
game.”
“Dubbing I liked more in English. (…) When we’re going The dialogues were also mentioned
through a lot of people I can focus on one conversation quite a few times, with players mostly
alone, and single it out, but in the Portuguese version I stating that they were very fast-paced
can’t really do it because I capture it better (…).” in Portuguese, compared to English.
Nevertheless, some exceptions felt
“(…) characters, like Vesemir (…) since it looks more like they were too slow.
comic relief in Brazilian-Portuguese and in English he
seems wiser. (…) Ciri in Portuguese doesn’t seem royalty In terms of voices within the game
(…) which is a part of the story.” world, English may sometimes be
easier to single out in the crowd,
whereas in Brazilian-Portuguese
players tend to lose themselves a little.
102
Storytelling “(…) I thought it was really interesting because you Comments on the narrative pathing
weren’t the main focus and your action really made a and choices, as well as overall
difference, but they weren’t forced (…).” developed storytelling were very
positive, with players loving the design
“I tried to change my path in both playthroughs to around the player and the fluidity
see different things, and because of that some things behind the story as it flows even when
I enjoyed more in the Portuguese version, regarding you’re not interacting with it directly.
narrative pathing (…).”
Some players tried to change their
choices a little in both playthroughs,
ending up liking certain path choices in
one specific language more.
Gameplay (game “I just haven’t really gotten the hang of the combat in The combat system and gameplay
experience) just an hour of combat (…), for me was a bit difficult are mentioned quite a few times,
because I’m not a very good player at that component.” mostly by players who, usually, affirm
they are not very proficient with
“(…) building system, and inventory, alchemy it’s a bit this aspect of gaming. However, the
overwhelming (…) I also didn’t like, for example, how ones who are, are big advocates that
the inventory worked (…) loved the fact that the game is fighting should be more included in
very dynamic, in both versions (…).” the story and even enhanced.
“The intro is very long, with a lot of dialogue and not For some, the inventory and process
much fighting, and I thought there could be more of alchemy (very unique to the Witcher
fighting.” world) can be an overwhelming
factor, or confusing at first, leading
some players to either overcome this
barrier and understand it, or not really
connect with it.
Translation “Since I played in Brazilian-Portuguese first it was The changes in the tutorial instructions
(language and very weird for me to learn the names of the buttons, between languages were a bit
adaptation) in the tutorial. The menus were ok (…) I thought the confusing for some players to get the
translation was poorly done.” hang of. Some also stated that the
translation of the menu wasn’t as well
“Language-wise I liked that they were very well done as it could have been, but it also
regionalized, the words and expressions were very contrasts with the opposite opinion.
specific to each language. (…).”
A general positive aspect of the game
“Names of the characters, or game components or were the accents, the regionalisation
monsters, being translated and losing the original. I and expressions made specifically for
didn’t hate anything though (…) I think in Portuguese each language, and how well it was
they did a good job in the layout, like menus, I think done.
it’s really clear (…).”
Regarding translation or adaptation
of the names within the game and
lore, the opinions varied, with some
players loving the total translation
more than others. To some, the
changes were well done and
understandable, but to others, they
should’ve been kept as the original.
Reaching the tenth question, I wished to see if the language localisation, in this case, English, affected or
influenced in any way the way each player understood and immersed himself in the narrative.
Q10: ‘As a player, how do you think playing the game in English may impact the way you perceive and
immerse yourself in the narrative being told?’.
103
The range could be put in a ‘positive’, ‘negative’, or ‘neutral’ impact in players’ interpretation, but there are
many cases where the participants do not specify anything within these options, but rather something else. Since
the total sample of 41 answers is very extensive, ranging from long detailed answers to shorter and simple ones,
the table inserted below will compile a general overview of some of the most prominent commentaries done to this
question that add juicy feedback with more different or interesting ideas. As many ideas are shared and repeated
between participants, I believe I will gather here still a considerable summary of content (see Table 9 for a general
summarised compilation of the commentaries).
TRANSCRIPTION SUMMARY
“(…) Fiction is connected to English for me. Persian dubbing There were many topics and themes shared between
was one of the best (…) but I’m not sure it’s the same with all answers. The focus varies, going from exposure to
the fantasy world of the game.” the language, for example, since a player who is more
exposed to English tends to relate to it more easily, to
“Yes, I do think so. When I’m not playing the game in my language familiarity. Here, the fact that English isn’t
mother tongue it’s better (…).” their mother tongue gives them a more natural feeling.
“(…) There are some expressions that only fit in English, and Another aggravating factor is that both genres of
not Portuguese, so English felt more natural.” fantasy and sci-fi have established a connection to the
English language and Portuguese isn’t as relatable or
“I think that if a game was made in a specific language then believable in those genres.
the creators’ intention would want it to be played in that
language (…).” (good to show misconception that people Of course, there were those who also didn’t feel a
think English is the original) difference in their experience, stating no special
difference was felt concerning language and the
“To me, yes. (…) It breaks immersion for me a little because I immersion remained the same in both versions.
don’t master English as well (…).” (more negative?) There were even comments that would not associate
immersion as a factor at all, stating language wasn’t as
“(…) Understanding also helps with immersion. English does important here.
a good job at distinguishing characters with their voice, and
tone not being similar, and personality (…).” Curiously, and identified more than once, some people
preferred the immersion felt in English, justifying that
“I think that since this is a fighting game where you try to it was due to the fact it was the ‘original’ language, so
stay alive and slay monsters, and save people, I think it there was a difference.
helps me to relate (…).”
Lastly, another thing to point out is that fewer
“(…) the language was easier to understand, and it helped distractions result in more immersion for players, in
immerse me more in the story because I also already had English, so they lose themselves more easily while
read the book in English.” playing and relate to the characters and lore a lot more.
“(…) English there’s a neutral impact in immersion because

it’s ‘normal’ to me.”
“(…) English is default for me, and it has a more of a positive

impact because the dubbing is well made.”
Table 9. Qualitative analysis from the compilation of answers on Q10.
Before moving forward to the next linked question, I think it is important to highlight the fact that more than one
player, during the interview, has referred to the English version as the ‘original’. However, as you’ve read in the beginning
of this investigation, and if your memory serves you well, English isn’t the ‘original’ language developed for the game.
Polish and English are indeed very detailed and filled with more easter eggs, but all languages were developed and
localised simultaneously. It is a common misconception made by people, but it’s completely understandable due to the
high regard with which the English version and language are treated in the world of gaming but for The Witcher III: Wild
Hunt as well, and also because many don’t know the origins of the studio – CD Projekt RED.
Now, moving on to question eleven, this one only changes in the language mentioned.

Q11: ‘As a player, how do you think playing the game in Brazilian-Portuguese may impact the way you
perceive and immerse yourself in the narrative being told?’.
104
The analysis of this question follows the exact same logic as the one before but applied to what players
said about the Brazilian-Portuguese version. So, the range will also be put in a ‘positive’, ‘negative’, or ‘neutral’
impact in players’ interpretation, but there are many cases where the participants do not specify anything within
these options, but rather something else. Since the total sample of 41 answers is very extensive, ranging from long
detailed answers to shorter and simple ones, the table inserted below will compile a general overview of some of
the most prominent commentaries done to this question that add juicy feedback with more different or interesting
ideas. As many ideas are shared and repeated between participants, I believe I will gather here still a considerable
summary of content (see Table 10 for a general summarised compilation of the commentaries).
In order not to constantly repeat this same warning throughout the last questions that will follow this
one, it is important to highlight the fact that the analysis of questions ten to thirteen will all follow this pattern of
presentation and results’ analysis, so keep that in mind as you move forward.
“(…) I’ll always prefer English. I think it’s because it doesn’t Players provided several different aspects that
sound natural, in Brazilian-Portuguese.” influenced them, such as the setting of the actual game
(fantasy) not making sense in Brazilian-Portuguese, so
“It really impacts me, the language. It’s about the voice it’s harder for them to understand and immerse in
acting really (…).” the narrative.
“The content feels weirder (…) They managed to convey Various comments hang on a duality, with people
expressions but feels forced.” praising the voice-acting and others criticising it.
“Yes, because there’s the visual and audio factor and There’s the repetition of comments regarding the
in a medieval context of world, with polish folklore and ‘original’ language, and how this version lacks because it
mythology, it’s weird when you see this and listen to it, in isn’t the English one, which they consider the ‘original’.
Portuguese (…).” The knowledge of the actual language, or the natural
ring it doesn’t convey to players affects their immersion.
“I think it didn’t affect much in immersion. Different As a contrast to this, some state that the language didn’t
character context, but it was the same story (…).” affect immersion at all and that the familiarity they have
with Portuguese actually helped them understand the
“In Portuguese it’s easier, my native language and I focus narrative better, because they felt more comfortable.
more on the gameplay (…).”
Some players can’t find differences, and had an
“(…) I don’t think it had any major significance in how immersive experience in both languages, or they put
immersed I felt. Usually, I like to play it in the original both versions on the same level of neutrality.
languages, the games, if I speak it.”
The fact that we’re dealing with Brazilian-Portuguese
“It gives a familiarity that English can’t (…).” instead of European-Portuguese comes up, since for
some players the immersion break happens with
“It ended up being more distractive, (…) so there was a this aspect, so some state they would only play it in
break in immersion (…).” Brazilian-Portuguese as a last resource or option.
“(…) I believe it might have a positive aspect for those who Lastly, the more negative comments appear when players
aren’t as comfortable with English (…).” state they couldn’t get into the narrative at all, due to the
language itself and the weak adaptation made.
“No, I think that either English or Portuguese, there’s
always impact. I understand both so I felt immersed in
both.”
“In this version it’s a lot harder because there are

words that I don’t even know, being native of European-
Portuguese. You lose immersion (…).”
“It wasn’t negative, but it wasn’t positive. It was strange to

listen to it in a different language (…).”
“The Brazilian-Portuguese version transmits a smaller
feeling of immersion (…).”
“(…) It does not impact me positively as much as English.”
105
“(…) it breaks this impact, maybe more negatively (…).”
“(…) has more of a negative impact in immersion,

because I’m not used to it, especially certain expressions
that I don’t know that are very Brazilian.”
“(…) I didn’t get immersed in the narrative because I was

always skipping cutscenes or when the characters talked.
It would probably be in a more negative impact level.”
On a last note, the English localised version does come out as having more of a positive or neutral impact
on players’ immersion in the narrative than the Brazilian-Portuguese localised version, which although praised in
many components, still poses many flaws and barriers to the immersion felt by the players.
As I initiated the interviews, and since they were semi-structured only, I discovered that it would be
extremely interesting to do a follow-up question between questions eleven and twelve. It isn’t as much as a new
question, but more of an opportunity to develop and conclude a bit more on the topic of question eleven and some
comments made, concerning the Brazilian-Portuguese version.
Q11.1 ‘Do you think it would be different if it were in European-Portuguese?’.
Do not forget about the reminder made before about shortening and compiling the total of 41 answers
into something smaller, where I comprise the general ideas and comments shared between participants for this
question in the table that follows.
“(…) when Geralt says “você” to Yennefer it’s weird, because Players divide their opinions in the certitude that it
it doesn’t fit, because they have a different relationship would definitely be different, not really, or maybe if they
(…).” could actually assess this version.
“It depends on the voices. (…) If that checked out, I think The native speakers of European-Portuguese said they
yes, it would captivate me more (…).” would definitely be more immersed with this version,
due to language familiarity. There’s also a bigger
“Yes, completely. But still, it would feel more natural in demand for content like this, and players could have a
English (…).” stronger connection with the translation made.
“(…) if it was European-Portuguese I would feel more For some, it’s a lot easier to connect Portugal to a
immersed.” medieval setting and the language inserts itself better in
the mood of the game.
“Maybe, I think each accent makes it sound different.”
A major differential factor is the grammar, since it’s
“No, I think it would be the same sensation as in Brazilian- built differently so, i.e., character treatment differs a lot,
Portuguese.” and for some, in Brazilian-Portuguese it doesn’t fit the
relations they have with one another.
“(…) I imagine I wouldn’t have that feeling (…) as a
Brazilian, I wouldn’t know some of the contexts and Voice-acting is always present, since for some it’s not
expressions (…).” authentic as it is, and in European-Portuguese if the
accents were to be perfected then some say the ‘harsh’
“(…) I think it would be different and a bit better for voice tone would fit better.
us European-Portuguese, but it makes sense being in
Brazilian-Portuguese (…).” Of course, there are some exceptions, so some
participants state they wouldn’t feel any difference and
“Yes, because European-Portuguese is “harsher” (…) I think it would be the same reaction.
only if the dubbing was really well made.”
For Brazilians, some would have doubts regarding
language as European-Portuguese native speakers have
106
“(…) It’s easier to connect European-Portuguese to a about the current version.

medieval-style fantasy story.
“(…) probably I would feel a lot more natural with the

European-Portuguese one because it is what I’m more
used to.”
“Absolutely. I think European-Portuguese dubbing and

subtitles are in demand, for our cultural context, and I feel
there would be a connection (…).”
Table 11. Qualitative analysis from the compilation of answers on the follow up question from Q11.
Now approaching the end of this section of interview analysis, it is time for question twelve which, similarly
to some former questions, is also in the development category.
Q12: ‘Do you think the language you play this or any other game in makes a difference in the way you’ll
immerse yourself in the gameplay, the narrative, or the game world? How so?’.
The table below shows a diverse compilation of ideas and statements shared between all 41 participants.
This question, however, and the final one, are the ones where the players gave their most developed and long
answers, so although as short as possible, to facilitate reading, do not despair if you have some longer comments
(see Table 12 for a general summarised compilation of the commentaries).
“(…) You have to first understand the game before any Regardless of the reason why, everyone agreed in some
visual stimulation. That’s why there’s always some context way that language does make a difference. For some,
to start in games. And it still affects other genres (…) it matters for all genres, either with a big or small lore
Interactive storytelling.” component. For others, although with a big impact, it
depends on the game’s genre.
“It does a huge difference. Even if it’s accurate, (…) the
translation (…) it does have an impact and it changes the Other players even comment that it’s also related to the
whole complexity. Language is a big thing.” setting/origins and context of the game, or the origin of
the developer studio.
“(…) For example, in a MOBA (…), I have settings in
Portuguese (…) it breaks my attention to it. Yes, it makes a Since it’s the first thing you make contact with, and
little difference, even if it’s not a lore charged game (…).” you are immediately affected by it, creating an instant
impression, language is highly important for the
“(…) The storytelling, but also in the Witcher “culture”, in players. In the Witcher, i.e., the language is very specific
the medieval environment, with old expressions, more to the game, lore and environment and it makes
archaic and it makes a big difference. We feel immersion in a difference.
a way that’s a lot more real.”
Translation is one common aspect as well, that
“(…) It definitely can have an impact. Sometimes when influences languages, and players find that regardless
you’re trying to feel that a location is real, and sometimes of it being ‘perfect’ or not, it does have an impact, but
language helps with that (…).” the better the translation, the better the experience.
“(…) I think it makes a difference in the way the player can Language, for your players, helps them create a
go through that immersion. (…) It was more beneficial to connection with the setting, location and, consequently,
play in the original language than in a translated version. enhances their sense of belonging in that world and
However (…) In non-romance languages it would be the language.
harder, and that sometimes affected the connection to the
story and immersion.” Voice-acting, as usual, makes a big difference for some,
because it dictates instantly if you’ll create a connection
“I think it’d be a lot harder to be able to connect to the with that character and story or not.
game and immerse myself if I didn’t understand the
language (…).” Although the original language helps with immersion,
the downside is that the player can lose itself if not
107
“(…) I think there’s a correlation between language and accustomed to said original language. Usually English is
immersion, in the context of video games, and there’s a the main one, but it differs a lot nowadays. However, it’s
strong connection between them.” easier to connect to.
“(…) language makes a difference. Because depending on the It’s harder for some players to connect to a game and
game’s origin, (…) so it helps with the game immersion, for immerse themselves if they don’t understand the
me, using the original language, even if I use subtitles.” language.
“(…) it depends on the kind of game. In something (…) very For others, having only subtitles is enough and using
heavy, and narrative-based, I think that language plays a big the original language, even if they don’t understand
role. In a strategy game maybe, the language won’t be anything, enhances their immersion greatly.
as impactful.”
“It isn’t as much because of the language itself but how the
expressions are said, and how good the voice actors are
(…).” Sometimes even in European-Portuguese, the voices
were so bad that I felt that it was horrible and didn’t want to
listen to them.”
“(…) it makes a difference because it makes you feel as a

part of the world (…).”
We have reached it – the checkpoint in the analysis – as I prepare myself to close this section of the
dissertation. I believe this has been a long journey so far, but fear not, as the quest is finally reaching its end. Level up
with Zeugl’s Vigor, pump your resistance up and let us proceed.
In question thirteen, following the analysis structure of previous questions, I have compiled, on the table,
the summing of general ideas and feedback from the entire gaming party. This one was supposed to be an entirely
speculative and hypothetical question since it involves realities from languages the players may not know. It is the
longest question and therefore has the longest answers, but I’ll show you the essential, as summarised as possible.
Q13: ‘How big a difference/influence do you think there would be, regarding content, and adaptation of
content (jokes, expressions, locations, names, graphics), if you played the game in Polish (as source),
Japanese (graphic content changes) or Arabic (censorship), for example.’.
I chose to develop this last question as a way of testing perceptions and overall feedback on certain
changes that were done during the localisation process of the Witcher 3, for other cultural contexts. I believe it will
prove interesting, since the vast majority of players has no knowledge of these changes, and have had no contact
with such modifications, so it will be a very ‘clean slate’ option.
108
“(…) I understand that in different cultures there are a lot of Overall, everyone considered there would definitely
things to consider. (…) Culturally adapted. Unless you speak be a difference in all situations. The variations were
that language you won’t really notice the difference. Different more regarding the influence they would have.
adaptations that can transmit the same message and feeling.”
There’s a general interest and curiosity in checking all
“(…) do not agree with this kind of censorship or cutting of content. I aforementioned language versions of the game.
understand the cultural shock and need to adapt content (…)”
Some players consider that, although different
“(…) censorship in general is bad. But it’s good to have that adaptations, they can still transmit the same feeling in
care, so that any player in any cultural context or country can different languages, if they are well adapted.
experience the game in our own way, the way we feel like.”
Some doubts are presented on whether people from
“Story-wise it would make more sense to the culture the game these contexts would enjoy the game with these
transmits. (…) I think immersion would be lost in the censored changes or not.
version.”
Some players condone the changes, especially if it’s
“(…) Those focused on the story wouldn’t miss the explicit censorship, but they can also understand why certain
content, and it wouldn’t matter a lot in immersion, I think.” modifications were done culturally.
“I think the essence would be better in Polish, regarding the original ‘Aggressive’ or censored adaptations are mainly seen
and main idea of the game and canon source. (…) The nudity as a negative influence on the original content and
shows the characters’ context and is one of the most interesting design intended by the developers, since it breaks
game parts in the narrative, and it needs this context, otherwise, it players’ immersion and connection to the game,
makes the story lose something. Those who play these versions will despite being small or big changes. It would damage
probably lose an important part of the narrative.” their vision, the adaptations in Japanese and Arabic.
“(…) In the Witcher 3 I don’t think playing it in Polish would make Players like the authenticity the game has, and
a difference though. In the other sections maybe where they immersion is also a factor that would be reduced in
would have some word plays (…).” the censored or graphically changed version, for some
players, because it’s a part of the narrative for them,
“(…) In Japanese or Arabic (…) taking those pieces off the game and essential. For others, some of the adaptation
would maybe interfere with how you immerse yourself in the changes wouldn’t be an immersion-breaking factor
story and saw the world, it would make it less immerse.” within the narrative.
“I think that the whole translation and adaptation process has It is stated that those who love to focus on the
ways of transmitting the same feeling (…) There are losses, but I narrative wouldn’t enjoy the story, while others would
don’t think it’s as serious. (…)” bear with the differences.
“(…) I still prefer to play the game in the way the developers initially Comments against censorship can be harsh, because
intended, with all of the content and without cuts or censorship (…).” for players it’s restraining creative freedom and the
original idea.
“(…) if I understood Polish, I think it’d be way better because getting
original content ends up gaining a different interpretation (…).” For some, the impact or difference is usually only felt
by people who speak the language or those who are
“(…) Even what might be considered offensive and not good, it’s still part of that cultural context. So, unless you know it,
a part of it, and it’s only a game. I think it’s not worth the change.” you won’t know what differences there are in content,
language-wise. There’s the factor where players state
“(…) It doesn’t matter the changes, and the reason, because it that not understanding any of the languages would
influences the game and the way I perceive it, and it’s terrible and still make for a better experience than that with the
it shouldn’t be allowed any kind of censorship. You always lose Brazilian-Portuguese version because there’s no
content, and you’re “stealing” it from the people living there.” familiarity with the unknown languages.
“(…) in terms of visceral content would not influence a lot, but Polish and English would be very similar, but maybe
nudity, and swearing for example, yes, I think it would have an Polish can provide more immersion since the content
impact.” is closer to the original inspiration for the game, more
faithful, and it’s the studio’s language, so they have
“(…) I guess the parts that involve religion maybe it has an effect access to canon material instead of translations only.
because it’s a big part of the narrative (…).” There are those who state that between Polish and
English they wouldn’t be missing out on a lot.
“(…) It would impact immersion greatly, but still a little bit better
than Portuguese because in Portuguese I understand them.”
109
Considerations on the Interviews’ feedback
This section has finally reached a conclusion. As motivation for the final path ahead, and reward for the
patience so far, as you’ve browsed through this journey with me, I reward you with a pouch of orens and a loving kiss
from your beloved sorceress. The pot at the end of the rainbow will only be revealed to you once the main quest is
completed and safely delivered at the tavern, of course!
4.4.2 Considerations on the interviews’ feedback
The amount and diversity of valuable information gathered from the interviews was massive and certainly made
way for many additional doubts and possibilities that will definitely be discussed in the next chapter. Not only did
I receive incredibly diverse opinions and points of view, but I was also amazed by the sheer effort put into each
answer. I noticed that these themes are more important, as a whole, to players, than I ever thought. It is also
important to highlight that, from my perspective, the topics of immersion, localisation and storytelling, as a bundle,
are very present within people’s minds when we’re discussing video games.
I did notice a challenge-type situation, as the participants felt motivated while speaking about all of these
components and how they influenced themselves, as players, and each other, so it’s extremely rewarding to have
access to such authentic information.
I believe the next chapter will provide this research with very cohesive, interesting, and exciting new ideas,
conclusions, discussions and prospects for future work to be done. After completing the interviews and all of the
study’s analysis I realised just how endless the possibilities of research are, surrounding my dissertation’s topics
and video games (whether it’s specific to this RPG or boundless and extensive to all existing genres, well that is
something I definitely intend to ponder over and discuss on my final remarks).
110
111
Introduction

112
Chapter 5
CONCLUSION
In this dissertation, I explored the concepts of Storytelling, Localisation, and Immersion within the spectre of a
specific genre of video game – RPG (role-playing game) – using The Witcher III: Wild Hunt as my main setting and
subject of analysis.
The main goal of the work developed was to acquire a better understanding of how big an influence the
storytelling and localisation components of a video game can have on players’ immersion. Prior research on these
topics (Mangiron & O’Hagan, 2006; McKee, 1997; Miller, 2019; Murray, 1997; Ryan, 2001), as a whole, or studies
investigating and analysing their interaction are scarce (Jennett et al., 2008; Luz, 2009; Mangiron, 2004; Maziarz &
Onik, 2019), thus transforming this investigation into something very exploratory. Given the numerous research and
existing paramount definitions of the storytelling and immersion fields (Aarseth, 2012; Campbell, 2014; Crawford,
2013), I had to explore what existed, from its most formal and classic conceptions (Agrawal et al., 2020; Christou,
2013; McKee, 1997) to the more specific and video game related ideas on these topics (Felizol, 2017; A. M. Green,
2017; Lindley, 2005; McMahan, 2013; Michailidis et al., 2018). As for the field of localisation, the familiarity with the
concept seems to be evoked only after knowing what this topic actually encompasses. It is an ever-growing field
in video games, with several components and treatments involved (Bernal-Merino, 2013; Hevia, 2007; O’Hagan
& Mangiron, 2004; Riggin, 2016), and therefore I understood there was the necessity to explore how localisation,
but also storytelling and immersion inserted themselves within the spectre of the video game industry and,
consequently, video games themselves.
I also deemed necessary an introduction to the video game realm and a distinction of all its composing
genres, so I could guide the purpose of my dissertation more clearly. Next, having the necessary clarifications,
definitions, and both the assessment and knowledge of what information and research exists and has been done
within my topics of choice, I began the design of my study, with both qualitative and quantitative parameters. Finally,
I conducted different stages of data gathering and assessment, reaching the experimental study with the gameplay
of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and correspondent questionnaires and interviews to better assess and investigate the
importance of storytelling, when paired with localisation, within the genre of RPG/ARPG, in video game immersion
and, consequently, player immersion.
5.1 SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION’S CHAPTERS
Chapter 2 ‘Literature Review’, as the name suggests, reviewed existing literature and definitions of the classical notion
of storytelling, localisation, and immersion, developed throughout the years, and applied within the industry of
video games. Here I also explored some sub-sections of these topics applied to video games more specifically, such
as interactive storytelling and agency. Since this dissertation explores the realm of video games, I also introduced a
timeline of their brief history and upbringing until recent years, and the existing genres with titles associated.
I reviewed existing theories and studies conducted using each of my chosen topics and applied to practical
studies. Some of these findings approached the topics individually or associated with a video game context as well,
while others connected two of them with the same purpose. What was never present was the attempt at combining
all of this dissertation’s topics of research and connecting them not only to one another, studying the influence
they pose on each other, but also in the context of a study using a specific video game and a practical experience
with players. I was able to extract a significant amount of user experiences and studies that explored these themes.
Lastly, an introductory sub-section on the video game chosen was developed within this chapter as well, where
I approached the genre of RPG and ARPG, the narrative of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and the game itself, as well as
how the components of the dissertation perfectly align themselves with it and constituted an essential role in
its creation.
114
The Combination of Storytelling, Immersion, and Localisation
In Chapter 3, ‘Methodology’, I compiled a carefully designed methodology and timeline of works to be

performed over the course of several months, involving the background research on my topics of choice, the design
and preparation of the study itself, the analysis and synthesis of the observed results, and the development and
assessment of possible discussions, theories, and conclusions to be drawn from this.
Chapter 4, entitled ‘The Study: The Quest Begins!’, focused on the actual study, or as I have called it – The Main
Quest! – and it was here that I fully developed everything I proposed in the methodology. This chapter is divided
into multiple sections, encompassing everything related to each stage of the study. I analysed the participants’
preferences on gaming, and knowledge about the video game The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. This first part showed that
the gaming party was, in its majority, well acquainted with the video game world, the genre, and the video game in
question. However, I could also verify that certain parameters were balanced by people who were completely new
to this world, so I was already anxiously expecting very interesting and diverse viewpoints. The initial survey helped
design and prepare the actual organisation and filtering of the final sample of participants for the gameplay and
questionnaires phase, which had, by then, diminished significantly. The gameplays, and consequent questionnaires,
proved to be the best kind of slingshot and shot me straight into countless questions and doubts, possibilities,
and ideas that needed to be further analysed and discussed. The impact from both localised versions (English
and Brazilian-Portuguese) appeared to have been very different from each other at this point, and I could already
identify certain similarities, differences or patterns between both gameplays and the players’ feedback. Finally, on
the last checkpoint - the interviews – which followed up on my curiosity, the findings were evaluated as incredible
and surprising as well, enhancing the potential not only to further enhance the study I conducted but also to create
new ones, dealing with different languages and video games.
5.2 THE COMBINATION OF STORYTELLING, IMMERSION,

AND LOCALISATION
Based on the initial definitions of these components, I believe it is clear that they all connect, to a certain level,
with one another, within different types of video games. They all exert different effects in each existing genre and
nowadays, with the exposure of the gaming world on a worldwide scale, the need to find new ways of inserting
each video game into every locale, market, cultural context, and language further increases and accentuates the
impact that localisation has on the transmission of the developed game content and, consequently, its story. The
immersion felt can, therefore, fluctuate or change completely between two players who have had access to the
gameplay of the same video game but in different languages or cultural contexts.
Through the initial survey conducted, it became clear that a vast majority of people are more acquainted
with the English language and the RPG/ARPG genre, although some balance was still found between those
who were well aware of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and those who were not. From the gameplay experience
and consequent questionnaires’ process of analysis, it was possible to understand each topic individually and
connect them to each question of the questionnaires. Each component of the scoring guidelines of the Gameplay
Experience Questionnaire (IJsselsteijn et al., 2013) (“Immersion, Flow, Competence, Positive and Negative Affect, Tension,
and Challenge”) and from the Transport Narrative questionnaire (M. C. Green & Brock, 2000) (“Cognitive, Emotional,
and Imaginative”) could now be linked to the dissertation’s topics and, posteriorly, to specific questions, facilitating
the assessment of the results at hand. Even before the analysis and assortment of the questions between
components, one could easily relate and naturally connect certain questions to the designated variables of scoring,
making it easier to start developing certain assessments for the final comments.

The questionnaires evoked several interrogations regarding the dissertation’s components. These hung
with, for example, the reason why people found one version more aesthetically pleasing than the other if, in this
specific case, I was dealing with localised versions that did not differ in graphics. Could they relate the appeal the
graphics had to the immersion they felt with another component, for example, but did so unconsciously, so the
115
localised version they disliked would have somehow a more negative impact on aesthetics? Another doubt that
came up, seeing the questionnaires’ results, was linked to the difficulty people felt with each version, and how it
could be linked to just gameplay, the language component, or how easily they would get used to that version or not.

The factor of immersion came up a lot as well, linked to the other two components of storytelling and
localisation, as I wondered if it was language alone that was responsible for drawing the players’ attention, or
was this also dependent on the players’ attention span, gaming environment, and the game’s genre. This last
factor weighed heavily, I believe, because I was dealing with an RPG, which has a high level of written content,
interaction with voice and written materials. Now, as I made the comparison between the answers to both localised
versions’ questionnaires, I also wondered whether the fact that the game deals with Brazilian-Portuguese instead
of European-Portuguese made a difference and somehow affected the immersion felt between the two versions
experienced. It was clear that people enjoyed the English version more than the Brazilian-Portuguese one, but I
still wondered what the cause for this was. Could it be linked to language or cultural shock, the interpretation of
the story or assimilation of controls, the influence it had on the narrative and world, or maybe how they connected
to each character? This last one, on character connection, also made me question what could influence this
and, therefore, the player’s view of the narrative? Could it be a matter of voice acting because English is a more
standardised language, or maybe it was a problem with the sound quality or tone of each voice-over?

From the interviews that followed, it was possible to understand and debunk the previous doubts evoked
with the questionnaires, as it became evident what were the important aspects that had a more specific impact and
influence on our Witchers’ immersion throughout each gameplay.

In this section, aided by the information retrieved from the interviews themselves, I created additional
filtering of the participants by their nationality and analysed their answers to questions three and five that assessed
which version the players had liked best, in terms of multiple components and aspects of the game. By contrasting
the two, curiously enough, the results were the same between all 41 participants (Fig. 73). In both questions, there
Participants’ nationalities and language preferences
28 5 2 4
Participants Participants Participants Participants
41
Participants
Preferred version Preferred version

1 1
Participant Participant
Fig. 73 – Language preference per nationality.
was a higher number of native European-Portuguese participants (28) and native Brazilian-Portuguese people (5)
preferring the English localised version of the game. The only participants with foreign nationalities (Ukrainian and
Iranian) also demonstrated a preference for the English language. In both questions, only four native Brazilian-
Portuguese speakers and two European-Portuguese speakers preferred the Brazilian-Portuguese version. As I came
to this conclusion within the spectre of the sample I was handling, it was clear that there was an enormous advantage
and difference in linguistic preference, so regardless of being Brazilian, Portuguese, Ukrainian or Iranian, the English
maintained its podium as a favourite for this experience. However, with the insertion of one sub-question to question
eleven, on how different it would be if it were European-Portuguese instead, for this specific case of Portuguese
which has two variations, where the Brazilian-Portuguese is the one seen and experienced the most due to market
volume, there’s also a clear distinction between the players. The impact and influence this version holds over players
116
are stronger with native European-Portuguese speakers, who state that it would be very different if the game was
available with this option as well. For them, culturally, and contextually as well, it would be a lot easier to connect and
immerse, or familiarise themselves with dialects, accents, jokes, expressions and voice tones that resonated closer to
the Portuguese they are used to listening to in Portugal, whereas for the majority of Brazilians this version would be
similar, with almost no difference, except certain expressions or jokes that they would not understand as well, due to
culture and background differences that distinguish them.
In the interviews, it was also possible to assess and better understand the reason behind this difference in
preference between Brazilian-Portuguese and English, as I found out it was linked to something much deeper than
simply being Brazilian-Portuguese and not European-Portuguese or another language. Players stated that the fact that
they were dealing with English, which is not their mother tongue, weighed heavily on their considerations. However, there
was also the fact of popularity and familiarity or association, being English a paramount language within the media, the
video games and, of course, easily associated with sci-fi, fantasy, medieval contexts and lore such as the one carried by
the game of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. This familiarity with the standard being English and specifically for this game, with
such relevant and already established character tones and voices, made the strangeness feel bigger when compared
to the Brazilian-Portuguese version. There was also the additional factor that certain players had already established
contact with the game, either entirely or with a portion, but those who did, had already established a bigger connection
with the language they had played it in previously.
One recurrent and well-established factor of influence between everyone was the dubbing and voice-
acting component in Brazilian-Portuguese which, although sharing some positive nuances and mentions for
certain characters, still acquired overwhelming negative feedback, since players could not connect to the tone of
the characters, and therefore the game and narrative as well. The voice-over for this version was perceived and
evaluated as incomplete, either because of the sound quality and character tone or because of the translation
done. Within the one-hour gameplay experience, I believe that voice-acting and translation were the factors that
had the biggest impact on the players’ immersion, as the quality of one version was considered incredibly higher
than the other and, for the majority of players, it was really hard to even associate Brazilian-Portuguese to the
game’s environment and setting. It was much easier to imagine the game in the context of a European-Portuguese
medieval setting, although the English would still prevail over both.
This matter of language and setting came up several times as well because, although players preferred
English for its paramount connection to the setting, some could still imagine it and argue greater immersion if they
played it in Polish, because of the studio’s and original novels’ origins, and the clear Polish and Slavic background
and inspiration of the game. These connected greatly, for some, not only to the origin of the game, but also the
setting or graphics that come with it, having some exemplified with games such as Metro 2033 (2010), Yakuza
(2005), or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) which were preferably played either in their languages of origin or
association (Russian and Japanese, respectively) due to the narrative’s setting and background, graphics and art, or
simply because of the studio’s country of origin.
One last aspect touched was the weight of the genre of RPG on these components, and the language we
are experiencing them in, since most players agreed that the RPG/ARPG genres, for example, are much heavier with
the language component than strategy games or the MOBA genre. The opinions divide themselves between those
who think that the importance and impact of language depend on the amount of text and storytelling a game has
and those who think it is more dependable on the genre we are dealing with, save for certain exceptions.
117
Discussion
5.2.1 Discussion
The most important finding in this dissertation is arguably that the localisation components (especially voice-over/
dubbing and translation adaptations) have the biggest influence on the interpretation and connection to the
narrative and storytelling flow, which then presents diversified results and reactions in both video game and player
immersion. It can be argued that these are the elements that pose the biggest threat, and therefore obstacle, to
the players’ immersion in this context of language duality of English/Brazilian-Portuguese. One individual factor that
should also be considered, adjacent to localisation, is the familiarity or connection each person has with the chosen
languages for the study, where the mother tongue of each individual influenced their language preference, leading
them to favour the language they do not have as their mother tongue more easily.
Chapter 4, ‘The Study: The Quest Begins!’, dealt with countless situations of player feedback contrasting the
quality of both localised versions and the immersion level felt between the two. What one refers to as a “sense
of belonging”, a “lack of perception of time”, and “physical or emotional immersion” were felt more intensely and
positively with the English localisation gameplay, although certain exceptions rated it as a neutral experience,
not because of its lack of impact but because it is something already embedded in a said player, so it is a kind of
“natural” sense of immersion.
The conducting thread spread thinly as we moved from the gameplay questionnaire analysis to the
interviews and the players’ specific feedback got to be a lot more clarified, providing greater insight on what exactly
impacted them, immersive-wise, as they were playing the game. One aspect not yet mentioned was the dialogue
pace felt differently between both languages, because of character posture and tone, and due to the translation
and pacing differences felt from one language to the other. Players were more critical of the Brazilian-Portuguese
version regarding this aspect as it would disrupt the dialogue pace between characters and would be an additional
reason, besides the language itself, for them to skip these interactive parts of the game.

One player even stated that “when you want that constant immersion you have to maintain the player in
that flow for the longest time possible, so the longer they are in the flow, the smaller the possibility will be for an
error to break off immersion”, which is something that ended up influencing most players’ experience with the
Brazilian-Portuguese language, with continuous breaks of immersion and disruption in the flow (Csikszentmihalyi,
2020) and story continuity, either because of sounds (voice) or written/animated content (cinematics, menus, texts,
expressions), in comparison to the English one where, although receiving critics as well, the overall comments
proved it made players feel a great level of immersion and connection to all elements. If any break or disruptive
factor influenced immersion in this version, the player did not make a big deal out of it, either because it made no
difference and they did not notice or felt it while playing, or simply because the continuity of flow was too great to
be broken by a small fluctuation in the gameplay.

Regarding the initially proposed research questions, there is a greater debate to be done as well, since
they touch on topics and doubts to which I can now present a plausible answer based on the result and findings
obtained. Apropos the first question “How do we link storytelling development to a bigger immersion and
enjoyment of a specific genre or video game?”, and using the findings observed and analysed during the
experience with the study on The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, it has been verified that in this specific case, for the RPG
genre at hand, storytelling is indeed one of, if not the biggest component present and essential to the development
of this genre. Of course, as I have confirmed, the variant of the ARPG genre can have both combat and movement
fluidity superior to that of a “base” RPG, but the connection between RPG and ARPG is borderline inexistent
nowadays, and they camouflage with one another very easily.

Given this fact, the stronger the storytelling element in an RPG, and arguably any video game, the bigger will
be the immersion felt by the player, thus enhancing its enjoyment and satisfaction with the experienced gameplay.
Do keep in mind that, for this research, I am pondering over the RPG/ARPG genre, but certain statements can still
be put up for discussion that apply to other genres and video games. In the RPG genre specifically, I have observed
that players tend to confirm a bigger feeling of immersion and “sense of belonging” when they are pleased and
connected with the storytelling that accompanies their gameplay, resulting in more positive feedback and evaluation
118
Discussion
of the overall video game and experience. For this genre, being very narrative bound, every element can be linked to
storytelling as a complementary or crucial component to transmit the game’s story. Here, the player has access to
massive amounts of text, dialogue, options, mechanics, music, in-game world and character interaction, cinematics
and worldly tasks that complement the story’s game in each step of development. As such, it is what could be
considered “the backbone” of the genre and what allows for uninterrupted gameplay flow and an enhanced sense
of immersion that envelops the players, transporting them to the virtual reality created in-game.

Another research question we can discuss now is “Does localisation affect the connection the users
develop with the story and the video game?” to which I can confirm, based on the results gathered from the
study, that this is a definitive reality that carries tremendous importance and exerts unbelievable power over the
connection felt by the users with the story and the video game itself. It was observed that, as far as the experienced
English and Brazilian-Portuguese localisations are concerned, players feel the great impact that every localisation
component entails in the changes of the same video game. For the users, as was confirmed throughout the study,
the localisation component in the English version helped them create a greater connection and develop stronger
affection towards the characters and the story of the video game. In the Brazilian-Portuguese version, however,
this impact was said to be felt more negatively, since the localisation made in this language broke their attention
more easily, disabling players from the same ability to connect and immerse themselves in the story and video
game as they did with English. The immersive flow created by both versions differed greatly from one another and
was broken more easily in the Brazilian-Portuguese version, thus affecting the players, rendering them unable to
emotionally attach a connection to the story of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt as well. The same can be said about the
English version, regarding the factor of localisation affecting said connection, but in a positive perspective, since the
localisation experienced enhanced the story’s flow, the immersion and, consequently, the bond and association
players did with the video game itself and its story. Nevertheless, and thanks to the interview development, it is also
possible to assess how players would react, and evaluated situations of adaptation and actual localisation changes
made to the same game they experienced, if they were to play these versions as well, under unfamiliar cultural and
linguistic contexts. To this second question, it is possible to connect the last one, which will be also linked to the last
part of this discussion: “How do these areas affect the transmission of the same story and overall video game
in different cultural contexts/languages?”.

The curiosity factor increases as soon as people discover that there are versions that differ greatly from
those they know, increasing the interest in understanding more about the changes the game may undergo in
these adaptations. The examples touched on the differences between the Polish, Japanese, and Arabic languages.
Overall, it was considered that these versions would definitely pose evident differences and affect the relation
and connection developed with the game, regarding localisation matters, with Polish being the one where this
would be felt language-wise since it is the original country of development and inspiration for the game, which
some considered to be closer to an “original” or more faithful version. Although the statement that “if the different
adaptations can still transmit the same feeling and message in different cultures and languages, then they are good”
was consensual, there was some concern regarding the changes the Japanese and Arabic versions encompassed,
such as censorship or core modifications (graphic or linguistic). The understanding of ‘why these changes were
made’ exists, but it balances out with criticism or opinions that condone such measures in adaptation. Focusing on
these last two versions, from most feedback it is possible to say that changing, adding, or removing elements that
somehow censor any content from the originally developed and intended video game and story would definitely
affect the connection made with the story and the video game. Despite the cultural differences, it is agreed that,
above all, a video game is a work of art, originally conceived in a certain way, to be experienced in that way and,
no matter how understandable the changes may be, so that everyone can enjoy and have access to a video game,
censorship is still gravely frowned upon.
Lastly, and already hoping you have stuck around long enough to hear my passionate rambling on
everything Witcher related, for the discussion can be much denser, I will be moving on to the closing argument.
What you have read above created the debate that since players from these countries may only have access to
these versions (such examples are the Arabic, Japanese or Chinese versions), then they are actively losing content
and information that make the game what it is, even if they are not aware of it, such as lore, contextualisation,
119
Discussion
easter eggs, references, or visual content (Fig. 74). With this, it is possible to say they could be missing out or losing
content and the same message as other players, not only through the obvious language adaptation barrier but
also through the added changes of censorship and terminology or lore substitutions that end up being affected by
the localisation component, which then creates a linked effect on the storytelling and therefore the immersion the
player will feel when playing the video game.
Fig. 74 – The army of King Radovid V sketch and final artwork (2016).
120
Game Design Patterns to Enhance Video Game Immersion
5.3 GAME DESIGN PATTERNS TO ENHANCE VIDEO GAME IMMERSION
The work of Bjork and Holopainen (2005) on Patterns in Game Design provides any video game enthusiast with a
deep overview of the understanding of games, as well as a variety of techniques and ideas connected to game design.
Their work presents us with a collection of “practical design choices” applicable to any game, which they denominate
as patterns. I had come up with a series of ideas and curiosities throughout the development of the dissertation and,
the further I progressed, the more interesting these ideas became, so I thought it would be particularly interesting
if I developed a sort of game pattern (or a set of them) based on what I have observed and verified during my
dissertation’s study, since the thoughts I have collected thus far do indicate that there is indeed a detected pattern.
Given that the research statement is to validate the importance of the storytelling component, together with
the influence of the localisation process, and whether this has an impact on player’s immersion in video games, I
believe that my study’s gatherings have found common aspects that affected players’ immersion in the video game
experience that create a pattern around the areas I am dealing with. From the study that was conducted, I was able
to conclude that there are certain specificities and components that need special attention, localisation-wise, since
they will have a greater impact on the storytelling feature and interpretation, thus influencing the different levels of
immersion felt by the player in a video game. What I believe is a useful contribution to these areas of study, in this
cosmos of research, is a set of patterns that intends to raise awareness of certain aspects that should be taken into
consideration in order to enhance and further intensify players’ immersion during their gameplay experience.
The denomination would be “Localisation patterns to enhance video game immersion”. As such, there are
several aspects and nuances that are worth more thoughtful consideration and attention during the localisation
stage of a game’s development process, because they will help a video game become more immersive to the
player experiencing it. Although certain aspects may seem obvious and already draw the attention of experts, I will
develop each of them individually as well, using this particular case of English/Brazilian Portuguese as an example,
and present different possibilities outside this study. The aspects I am referring to are Language (translation/
adaptation), Voice-acting (dubbing), and Graphical content, which are explained and explored in more detail in the
table below (check Table 14) and its following explanatory text.
ASPECTS DESCRIPTION HOW TO ENHANCE IT?
Language The translation and transmission of specific Better research and background
(translation/ expressions, jokes, proverbs, folklore, local to support the translation and
adaptation) legends, and lore of the video game. Can adaptation choices.
encompass enormous potential and risk when Investigate more deeply and
applied to the transmission of any game from internally the source and target
a source language to a target language and language’s culture, history, and local
audience. Expressions, regionalisms, jokes, and background.
proverbs can be greatly affected since they carry
the weight of specific intentions and cultural Explore the populational context
background or context. and space, the informal or colloquial
aspects of the language that is usually
The folklore, lore, and language familiarity, also reserved to the locals and can still
go through the translation process, as well as present differences within the same
an adaptation that can affect the narrative of country, in different regions.
the video game. These include the names of
characters, creatures, locations, entities, items Thorough knowledge of the audience
etc, as well as their background or descriptions. on which the game will be more
The impact and intensity with which the changes focused, because even here there
to these aspects will be felt can depend greatly are both differences and similarities,
on the game’s genre, story (background, art and or common aspects, in different age
context), design, and the original language of groups, social statuses etc.
development or player familiarity with either the
SL or TL. Extra information can even be further
deepened in-house, with the studio’s
121
developers and employees that may be

natives of the languages at hand.
For names and lore, the decision

should be based not only on the game
itself, the audience, any previously
inspiration material that exists
previous to the game, and consequent
translations but also on the consistency
expected between the different game’s
translations/adaptations.
Bigger investment from studios into

translating games to Portuguese
(Brazilian or European). Greater
effort towards the inclusion and
standardisation of the European-
Portuguese language into the market
of video game localisation.
Voice-acting Voice-acting (dubbing), is one of the most Focus more resources on gathering
(dubbing) criticised and commented components during actors and actresses that have a tone
this study due to the enormous differences felt in and posture as close and similar to that
the character’s voices, tone, posture, accents and of the original/source character from
overall dialogue pace. whom they are translating.
A big factor affecting the changes in mood and Diminish or extinguish completely the
immersion fluctuation during the gameplay. “shock” that players feel when listening
to the same character in two different
Actor/actress choices affect the character’s voice languages. Finding the tone and
in a different language, due to their own tone and posture, audio-wise, that will transmit
posture, but also the actual language’s phonetics the same vibe and sound, similar in
and intonation. intonation.
Added issue of sound quality variation from The studio’s sound quality should be
one language localisation to another breaks the carefully reviewed for all languages
appeal and prevents the player from identifying (characters or general audio elements)
with the character they are either playing or in order to maintain consistency
interacting with, which can seriously debilitate following the source language of the
their immersion in the story. game, and avoid discrepancies in
quality between the different languages
Accents, although enriching to a story, if not and characters. Avoid relevant changes
adapted and explored properly and with the same in sound quality (high, low, rough,
degree of attention from one language to another smooth etc.) that will break players’
can break the connection and player association. attention and immersion.
Review dialogue pace between all

languages, adapting the translation
if necessary, in order to match the
story’s rhythm, although still conveying
the target language as naturally as
possible.
Accent-wise, I propose an increase

in the research and effort put into
finding what best fits each language a
game is localised into. Depending on
the amount of originally developed
accents, there should be an equal effort
and diversity in finding something that
works just as well in another language.
These should be equivalents or
similar accents that fit both the game
(situation, context, and character) and
their language’s background.
122
This should be done with extra care

because the chosen accents should
try to transmit the same feeling and
context (social status, region, origin,
species, rank etc.) as the original ones.
Graphical Adaptations that involve actively changing, While maintaining integrity

content censoring, and removing content or materials and mutual respect between
from a video game are usually frowned upon. different cultural contexts, market
specifications, and languages, there
Tolerated in order to distribute the same video should be further discussion within
game worldwide, allowing anyone to access it, the video game industry regarding
but any evident or prominent change that affects these changes and how it influences
the originally developed lore, concept, or features players’ access to what was originally
intended for the game impacts the players’ created.
perception and interpretation of the story, greatly
affecting their immersion, especially if they are As a sensitive subject, further
aware of these changes. communication and compromise
should be reached or established,
They are changes that prevent the player from concerning the area of localisation of
accessing the originally developed game, even if content from one locale to another.
they are not aware, restraining their freedom to
choose otherwise. The goal should be a kind of
standardisation or acceptance,
in video games, of the content
originally conceived, so that if there
are changes to be made in order
to release a game somewhere, the
game will not suffer lore essential
adaptations or modifications that
prevent the player from having the
most original experience possible,
or prevent players from having that
freedom of choice.
Table 14. Localisation patterns to enhance video game immersion. Aspects development.
Within the first aspect of Language (translation/adaptation) there are several pieces to consider such
as translation and transmission of specific expressions, jokes, proverbs, folklore, local legends, and lore of the
video game. Language differences can be both the biggest threat and reassurance for immersion in video games.
Notwithstanding, and regardless of the languages a video game is dealing with, if there is a translation from one
language to another, there is always a risk of losing information or meaning during this process. Expressions,
regionalisms, jokes, and proverbs are more prone to this consequence since they carry very specific intentions
and purpose within the source language and, when translated into a target language, they can suffer changes
or adaptations that can either transmit the same effect and idea as the original one, or they can lose their initial
meaning entirely or lose the impact it originally had. The player here may become totally oblivious to what he has
read or listened to, proceeding with the gameplay, or may experience a break in understanding as he tries to
correlate this to the situation or context at hand. From my perspective, a good way to tackle this problem that ends
up weighing heavily in the understanding and connection the player makes with the video game, and therefore its
immersion, is for the developers or studio to invest a lot more in the localisation department of any game. The way I
see it, it is not only a matter of being a good professional in the field, but also having good research and background
to support the choices made when translating and adapting this game material, which is very particular to each
language’s history and cultural context.
To give you a little context, there are many different processes used within the field of localisation,
and translation specifically. The ones I consider more important are the “Three T’s” of translation – Translation,
Transliteration, and Transcreation (Fig. 75). Of course, there are other important processes, such as equivalence,
adaptation, compensation, literal translation, transposition etc, but I will focus on the ones essential for the
123
clarification of my suggestion to tackle this problem. It is important to highlight that the previous introduction of
the concept of the “Three T’s” of translation as well as all following clarifications or explanations are the result of my
knowledge of the area of translation, acquired throughout the years. This is not a concept I have invented for this
study, or consequent conclusions, but it is one with which I have come across several times within this field of study,
especially during my bachelor’s degree on translation. As such, I am only trying to add some useful information
or context, based on what I have learned and have retained in the past few years in order to further clarify my
final ideas and conclusions. Now, with the development of my master’s degree dissertation, I have a better and
deeper knowledge of these aspects, so I deemed this small addition as extremely essential, since it comes only to
strengthen what I will conclude in this final chapter. Within the “Three T’s”, Translation takes a word and its meaning
from a source language (SL) and provides an equivalent word in the target language (TL). However, this applies to
word-by-word translation, where you are looking for words with identical meanings in other languages. Unless the
aforementioned situation is verified, then you could be handling, for example, the translation of whole sentences
or expressions, in which case you cannot simply do it word-by-word, and will have to find something in the target
language that conveys the same message as the content from the source language, so you have to consider
grammar aspects (syntax), sentence building, cultural implications, context, and meaning.
The “Three T’s” of Translation
A A
Translation Transliteration Transcreation
Fig. 75 – The “Three T’s” of translation
Transliteration involves changing the actual script of the source language and changing it to the script
of the target language, like taking letters or characters from a word in a SL and changing them into whatever
equivalent characters it has in a TL. A good example is, for example, when you see Japanese words written in Latin
lettering, such as names, addresses, items etc. The main challenge of this process is when the equivalent character
does not exist (in Chinese or Japanese for example) and the translator will have to approximate the character
somehow, which can lead to different and multiple spellings of the same word by several translators.
Lastly, Transcreation, which has already been approached in this dissertation, closely linked to the works
of Mangiron and O’Hagan (2006), happens when a message has no direct translation from one SL to a TL, and
respective culture, and the translator has to come up with a solution to preserve the originally intended information
or message. Analogies, metaphors, colloquialisms, proverbs etc., are a few examples of text that goes through this
process and for which the translator has to find a substitute/equivalent that preserves the intent of the language,
while still being culturally or locally acceptable, fitting, and relevant.
This being said, my suggestion would be to conduct more detailed research not only on the source and target
language’s culture, history, and local background, but also on the people and the informal or colloquial aspects of the
language that is usually reserved to the locals and can still present differences within the same country, but in different
regions. The translator must have a thorough knowledge of the languages at hand and the audience which will have
access to the game later on because even here there are both differences and similarities, or common aspects, in
different age groups, social statuses etc. I believe that after this research the translator or localiser will become a
lot more apt to adapt or translate properly from one language to another. The extra information I suggested they
124
gathered can even be further deepened in-house, with the studio’s developers and employees, since nowadays there’s
a growing diversity of nationalities within the different game developing studios, and just like the case of Bartosz Von
Ochman (2017) mentioned before, one can help colleagues to better understand a language and its expressions or
details, with which they are not as completely familiarised as a native is.
As for the folklore, lore, and language familiarity, these can go through the translation process as well, but
also an adaptation that can affect the narrative of the video game. Being English considered the standard language
for the general video game industry, language familiarity, or lack of it, is a key factor for immersion since players are
prone to enjoy a video game more when it is not in their mother tongue or when it relates to the story’s setting and
background. For the case of medieval and rural or archaic times, English seems to be a natural choice, with which
players familiarise themselves more when they are playing fantasy, sci-fi, or medieval background games (either
English native speakers or not).
Based on the results observed in the study conducted for this dissertation, in the duality case of English/
Brazilian Portuguese, the folklore, and therefore local legends should be maintained in their original conception or
suffer minimal changes since they usually fit the mood of the story.
When I say they “should remain the same”, I’m merely referring to aspects such as names of characters,
creatures, locations, entities, or items, for example. In the case of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, the translation and
adaptation are seen as very inconsistent between languages, as English maintains a concise flow in translation,
capturing the player’s attention and the Brazilian-Portuguese version does not achieve that as well. This is mainly
due to inconsistencies, as I perceive it from the player’s feedback, because certain names of characters, for
example, were kept as “original” (or at least as they are known in English) whereas others were translated into other
names that sometimes weren’t even understood, such is the case of “Roach” - “Carpeado” (Figures 76 and 77).
Fig. 76 – Geralt and Roach (2021).
Geralt’s horse
name
Płotka Roach Carpeado
EN translation: Gossip Translation used Translation used
Fig. 77 – Variations for Geralt’s horse.
Besides this clear choice in translation, there’s also the contrast that monsters and locations got their
translation into Brazilian-Portuguese, so this creates a break in the flow as the players interact with the different
elements of the story. Translation consistency dictates that in these cases the translator should choose to either
maintain terminology (general nomenclature) as they first arrived to them, or they should translate everything
125
within this spectre, so as to avoid discrepancies or making the player feel confused or dissatisfied with the different
choices of translation for different elements of the same game. In certain cases, such as the one I verified with this
research, if changed, but most importantly changed with inconsistencies or what players consider “poor choices”,
the story may lose some of its essence and magic and the player does not associate these changes with the game
they are playing, even if it is in their mother tongue or variant of the same (in the case of European-Portuguese
native speakers).
Change or adaptation in major lore components such as character or monster names and locations
can significantly increase the confusion in players, decreasing their immersion, especially if they have previous
knowledge of the said game in its original or developed language, because there will not be a connection to
these names, and the feeling of weirdness will increase. This is a delicate process, where the decision can
entirely depend on the translator’s preference or not, so I believe that here the decision should be based on the
game itself, the audience, any previously inspiration material that exists previous to the game, and consequent
translations, and the consistency desired from the studio itself, between the different translations. I believe that
this is the correct course to take in order to further increase and enhance the immersion the player will feel as it
makes contact with this component.
Of course, and although the rule of consistency maintains itself, not all translations or adaptations made
during the localisation process will impact a game and the players’ feedback or immersion negatively. Adding a
final note to what I wrote above, the essential is to put extra attention into these choices, whether we are dealing
with a game which has its “original” language as English, or not, because although English is considered standard,
there are countless other scenarios where other language choices rise above this one (as original language or
localisation language) and the due care must be given when taking content from a SL and transmitting it into a TL.
As a European-Portuguese native speaker, and based on the feedback retrieved from this study, I also have to add
that there should be bigger investment from foreign studios into translating games to Portuguese (Brazilian or
European) because it’s a language that still does not get the visibility and care it deserves for its target audience.
Finally, the market for the European-Portuguese language localisation should be broadened, both locally
and internationally because there is a feeling of neglection felt by European-Portuguese native speakers as they
usually only have access to their language option in Brazilian-Portuguese and it is harder for them to connect to,
and immerse themselves in this adaptation. The proof comes from the fact that, from the few titles the players
played which have the option of European-Portuguese localisation, the feedback came out as remarkably more
positive than that of the dissertation study’s experience, with Brazilian-Portuguese. The market relevance and
visibility is a big factor here, but I still believe that more inclusion and effort towards standardisation should
be put from now on into the adaptation to European-Portuguese as well, which I believe would only benefit all sides,
be it player immersion and satisfaction or the local and international business of video game development
and localisation.
The second aspect of Voice-acting (dubbing) was deemed one of the most criticised and commented
components during this study due to the enormous differences felt in the character’s voices, tone, posture, accents
and overall dialogue pace (Fig. 78), which ended up being one of the biggest factors for changes in mood and
immersion fluctuation during the gameplay.

Besides the obvious influence that the actual actor or actress can have on a character's voice in a different
language, due to their own tone and posture, but also the actual language’s phonetics and intonation, there’s the
added issue of sound quality, which has been verified to vary from one localisation to another (within this study).

This creates a rift between the player and the character, thwarting their connection, making the appeal
break and preventing the player from identifying with the character they are either playing or interacting with, which
can seriously debilitate their immersion in the story. The accents are also a tricky, juicy, feature that enrichens
games, but if not adapted and transmitted properly from one context and language to another, then the player
will have difficulty associating this component to a certain region, for example, a social status or story background,
126
Fig. 78 – Screenshot of interaction between Geralt and Ciri (2015).
rendering him detached from this lore distinction. The more accentuated and defined the accents of a game are,
in a given language (usually the original or source one), the bigger the impact or shock will be if the player makes
contact with the same video game in another language. The diversity and primacy of the accents created for The
Witcher III: Wild Hunt, in English, encompass this exact importance and therefore bigger difference when put side by
side with other localised languages.
For this situation, in terms of the subject of study in this dissertation, and from the feedback obtained,
the solution would involve the remake of all Portuguese audio content, and perhaps the creation of a European-
Portuguese version. However, as I have stated before, this choice would probably be discarded due to market
volume provided by the Brazilian side or the additional effort there would need to be to create a new version of
European-Portuguese. As such, if this option wasn’t viable, then I would suggest at least a reformulation
and perfection of the audio choices made for the Brazilian-Portuguese version. Now, as my general suggestion,
which can be applied here and in other situations, the voice-over and dubbing process made from one language to
another should try and focus on gathering actors or actresses that have a tone and posture as close and
similar to that of the original/source character from whom they are translating, therefore emulating an
existing personality.
This way, the main purpose will be to diminish or extinguish completely the “shock” that players feel when
listening to the same character in two different languages. If the tone and posture, audio-wise, transmit the same
vibe and sound similar in intonation, then the player may not feel as estranged from the character, when or if
playing in more than one language. The sound quality (in-studio) should be carefully reviewed for all languages
(characters or general audio elements) as well, in order to maintain consistency following the source language
of the game, and avoid discrepancies in quality between the different languages and even between different
characters in the same playthrough. Otherwise, the player will notice the different variations of quality (high, low,
rough, smooth etc.) and that will break their attention and immersion. Dialogue pace, however, has more than a
voice attached to it. For languages such as Portuguese, which is considered a romance language, the rhythm tends
to be slower or longer than that of English, for example. This means that, whether for this case, or other languages,
the dialogue pace should be set and tested to match the story’s rhythm and try (as much as possible) not to stray
too far from it. Nevertheless, this should be balanced with the main focus of highlighting and adapting this same
pace to the target language at hand, so it feels as natural and original as possible. Of course, this can depend
127
entirely on the translator’s choice to fit the same dialogue in different languages but in the same space and duration
available in-game, and that of the developers to help fit the dialogue as well as possible into the same scenes or
situations, in different languages.
Finally, for the accents (Fig. 79), I would like to suggest bigger attention and encouragement into finding
what best fits each language a game is localised into. Depending on the game’s source language, for example,
and the amount or diversity of accents created for that version, the other localised versions should try, as much
as possible, to research equivalents or similar accents that fit both the game (situation, context, and character)
and their language’s background. This should be done with extra care because the chosen accents should try to
transmit the same feeling and context (social status, region, origin, species, rank etc.) as the original ones, even if
they differ. This will help the player connect and identify itself to the game’s story, characters, and context. Despite
the different tone, voice, posture etc. that may come from the different accents from one language to another, the
player should be able to associate the voice with the character’s personality, habits, background, origin, and overall
story development and context, as if it was the originally conceived one.
Fig. 79 – Screenshot of Willis’ accent in a secondary quest “Firestarter” (n.d.).
Lastly, regarding the Graphical content, based on the recovered feedback but not direct contact from
players with these kinds of adaptations, the idea and act of actively changing, censoring, and removing content
or materials from a video game is frowned upon. Of course, this is tolerated in order to distribute the same
video game worldwide, allowing anyone to access it, but if they prominently, and evidently, change the originally
developed lore, concept, or features intended for the game, and if the players are aware of such a difference, then
this may impact the way they perceive and interpret the story, thus affecting their immersion during gameplay.
Although complying with certain cultural contexts and market demands, further communication and
compromise should be reached or established in the video game world, concerning localisation, so that there is the
possibility of releasing a video game anywhere without making lore essential adaptations or modifications that prevent
the player from having the most original experience possible. There should be greater efforts toward a standardisation
or acceptance – in video games – of what is originally created and brought into another country, and therefore language
and culture. The goal is to try and give the players more freedom of choice, whether they are aware of it or not, regarding
the version of the game they are playing, because the interpretation each player makes from these adaptations may vary
and some may feel they are losing content compared to other countries, affecting their immersion and appreciation for
the game, while others may not feel as they change a lot. However, and although incredibly hard to achieve, the player
should be the one to choose whether they want any level of censorship, visible change or obliteration of content made to
the game version they are playing (sometimes the only version available in their country).
128
Limitations
5.4 LIMITATIONS
One of the greatest limitations of this research was, as I perceive, and can still be in the future, the conditions in
which the study was conducted and the size of the sample available. The block appeared right from the beginning
as it was no longer viable, due to pandemic restrictions and video game licensing constraints, to prepare and design
the study with the desirable conditions. I had to let go of many of the available participants at the time and had to
conform to the fact that the place for the study would depend entirely on everyone’s individual choice. I started
with 283 participants but finished the entire study with a total of 41 active players. The conditions were not ideal,
given the initially planned idea, but I wonder what would have happened if I were to conduct the same study under
different conditions and contexts.
I can only speculate on how big a difference there would be if, for example, this study had been conducted
both at home and at FEUP, but if the facilities at FEUP had high-technology equipment and a setup capable of
emulating the most comfortable and immersive, deepening environment possible. However, one can also debate
that the conditions, as they were, had no influence from me or the environment, so they were as natural and
unbiased as possible, whereas in the suggestion of a controlled environment I would be changing certain aspects
purposefully and deliberately. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see the contrast of results between these two
conditions, or perhaps something that would be set in a more balanced environment, mixing the “ideal” setup while
still maintaining the idea and sensation of “power” or agency the player has over its surroundings and space.

Finally, I believe this study scratches but the surface of a much larger, endless world of possibilities within
the video game world and the areas here explored – storytelling, immersion, and localisation. This dissertation has
its focus set on one particular video game, within one specific genre, and only two localised languages. I believe it
accomplishes the objectives it set successfully, but it also opens countless other doors into other combinations,
either within the same video game, genre, and languages, or broadening into other options as well.
129
Guidelines for Future Research
5.5 GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

As verified, the broad spectrum of research concerning the cosmos of this dissertation is as endless as the
dwarven catacombs. There is still a lot more to be explored and analysed with the combination and relation of
storytelling, immersion, and localisation, applied to The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, the RPG/ARPG genre, but also to
other possibilities, video game genres, and examples this study may have brought forth. This research has revealed
itself as fruitful and innovative work, capable of carrying deep potential, so it is deemed worthy of further design
developments and considerations.

I would like to leave a final guideline for future research, which is the idea and possibility of this study
being recreated and further explored with the other available languages in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt video game
and other RPGs or ARPGs that encompass a different structure, as well as other genres, especially ones that can
differ greatly from the one approached here. I believe this would allow for a remarkably interesting and diversified
contrast and comparison of results, allowing for the development of a broader study which can analyse how big a
difference there is and is felt in immersion, between these genres, when one observes the impact or influence that
localisation has on their storytelling component.
I will conclude with some final ideas for you to ponder over, directed to the comparison between the
English and Portuguese languages, but capable of expanding to different languages as well: Does the RPG feel these
changes more greatly than other genres? In other types of games, such as tabletop games, the differences between
the use of Portuguese and English can be evident as well, but the enjoyment may not vary as much as in a video
game. Is it because of the interactivity component that comes with the video game? In games of pure strategy or
low-text component MOBAs, although lighter in the narrative aspect, is immersion as gravely affected by the change
of language as in the other genres?
It would be interesting to pick prominent titles from different genres, such as Bioshock (2007) (Fig. 80),
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007) (Fig. 81), Horizon Zero Dawn (2017), and Deponia (2012) (Fig. 82), and see how
the same study from this dissertation would develop in their contexts. The latter because it’s a video game heavy
in text, but inserts itself in the Puzzlers genre (point-and-click), whereas the former, for example, because it is
also a boundless RPG which, curiously, has an option of European-Portuguese localisation (same can be said of
Uncharted) and it evokes many questions as to what the reactions would be to this experience.
Fig. 80 – Bioshock. Fig. 81 – Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Fig. 82 – Deponia.

2007 2007 2012
Lastly, if I were to handle a game in the Horror genre, such as Until Dawn (2015), would the diversity and
duality in opinions be as prominent in this genre, when comparing the immersion felt in two different languages,
such as English and Portuguese? And even regarding a very noticeable factor that connects immersion directly,
which is the players’ attention span and concentration. In RPGs, the players are usually wandering more loosely
through the in-game world, easily distracting themselves in-game, but outside the game as well if one is prone to
these breaks of attention. However, what if, as suggested before, the environment and setup were to be more
“controlled” or “specific”, or what if the genre was something a little different from the RPG, for example, Horror.
In Horror games, the players’ attention and immersion can, usually, be linked to the fear or awareness of pursuits,
130
Guidelines for Future Research
jump scares, or unexpected events, whereas in RPGs normally you can expect a certain easiness or less “on-
edge” gameplay, constantly. If so, this would make for an interesting future investigation. This way, by means of
comparison, it would be possible to, perhaps, assess whether this localisation impact on story and immersion is
dependent only on language, for example, or if it also had certain intricacies and specificities inherent to the game’s
genre that also affected the immersion a player feels during gameplay.
Fig. 83 – The Seven Cats Inn (2022c).
As this long quest now draws to a close, it is time to receive your long-awaited reward. You have been brave,
Witcher, proving your worth countless times as you dulled the blade of your sword fighting countless dangers and
adding yet another scar to your collection. The path was ruinous and exhausting but you continued, bereft of any
thoughts of giving up or taking the easy way out. It is now time for you to take the quest’s contract and deliver it at
the Seven Cats Inn (Fig. 83) in exchange for an overflowing mug of fresh Temerian Rye and a heavy sum of gold.
I deeply appreciate your patience and perseverance during this arduous adventure and hope to see you
once again, be it in the sparring yard of Kaer Morhen, in the streets of the great city of Novigrad, or at the great
Mahakam Ale Festival.
Va fail, Vatt’ghern
131
Introduction

132
Bibliography
Bibliography
REFERENCES
Aarseth, E. (2006). Genre Trouble. In N. Wardrip-fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First Person – New Media as Story, Performance and Game (p.
p.45). MIT Press.
Aarseth, E. (2012). A narrative theory of games. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, 129–133.
Adams, E., & Dormans, J. (2012). Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design (Vol. 1–1). New Riders.
Agrawal, S., Simon, A., Bech, S., Bæntsen, K., & Forchhammer, S. (2020). Agrawal, Sarvesh, et al. “Defining immersion: Literature review
and implications for research on audiovisual experiences. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 68(6), 404–417.
Albaek, K. R., Arsovski, A., Baceviciute, S., Chu, X., Lancor, T. B., & Zilmer, L. (2011). The Influence of Interactivity on Immersion Within
Digital Interactive Narratives. Aalborg University Copenhagen.
AlexGM24. (2021). The Witcher 3 Player finds Horse in Unexpected Location.

https://game-news24.com/2021/10/08/the-witcher-3-player-finds-horse-in-unexpected-location/
Almeida, J. P. (2017). The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Melhor diálogo do Jogo (video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwYLmthv_cg
Anonymous. (2018). Schrodinger’s cat reference in Witcher 3. https://9gag.com/gag/a2Zr0oE
Aristotle, & Butcher, S. H. (1961). Aristotle’s poetics. Hill and Wang.
Beresford, B. (1983). Tender Mercies.

https://musings.oscilloscope.net/post/147002242556/sing-it-the-way-you-feel-it-forgiveness-and
Bergman, I., & Svensk Filmindustri. (1966). Persona. https://personaunesp.com.br/persona-55-anos/
Bernal-Merino, M. Á. (2006). On the Translation of Video Games. The Journal of Specialised Translation, 6, 15.
Bernal-Merino, M. Á. (2008). Creativity in the Translation of Video Games. XIII(14), 57–70.
Bernal-Merino, M. Á. (2011). Breve historia de la localización de videojuegos. Trans. Revista de Traductología, 15, 11–17.
Bernal-Merino, M. A. (2013). The Localisation of Video Games. https://doi.org/10.25560/39333
Besmond, S. (2019). Narrative Structures of Videogames Basics and Analysis [Bachelor’s thesis]. Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.
Bjork, S., & Holopainen, J. (2005). Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media.
Blaszczak, M. (2016). The Witcher III - NPC’s outfits. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/8Pr2G
Blizzard Press Center. (2016). 2016 World of Warcraft Arena World Championship Images.
https://blizzard.gamespress.com/pt-BR/2017-World-of-Warcraft-Arena-World-Championship-Press-Kit
Bode, C., & Dietrich, R. (2013). Future Narratives: Theory, Poetics, and Media-Historical Moment. De Gruyter.
Bostwick, M. (2004). What is immersion. Academia.Edu.
Brand, J. E., & Knight, S. J. (2005). The narrative and ludic nexus in computer games: Diverse worlds II. DiGRA ’05 - Proceedings of the 2005
DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play. DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play.
Braum, B. (2012). Chaos auf Deponia, S. 1: Ein Hort der Skurrilitäten. https://www.gamersglobal.de/angetestet/chaos-auf-deponia
Brown, E., & Cairns, P. (2004). A grounded investigation of game immersion. CHI 04 conference on human factors in computing systems,
Vienna, Austria.
Burke, K. (1973). Literature as equipment for living. The Philosophy of Literary Form, 293–304. University of California Press.
Cambridge Dictionary. (2021a). Immersion. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/immersion
Cambridge Dictionary. (2021b). Narrative. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/narrative
Campbell, J. (1972). The Hero with a Thousand Faces (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press.
134
Bibliography
Campbell, J. (2014). The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work (3rd ed.). New World Library.
CD Projeckt RED. (2015). The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. https://thewitcher.com/pt-br/witcher3/
Chandler, H. M., & Deming, S. O. (2011). The game localization handbook (2nd ed). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Chatman, S. (1978). Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Cornell University Press.
Christou, G. (2013). The interplay between immersion and appeal in video games. In Computers in Human Behavior (Vol. 32, pp. 92–100).
Coleridge, S. T. (1985). Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Oxford University Press.
Crawford, C. (2003). Chris Crawford on Game Design (1st ed.). New Riders Publishing.
Crawford, C. (2013). Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling (2nd ed.). New Riders.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2020). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. Hachette UK.
Dansky, R. (2007). Introduction to Game Narrative. In C. Bateman, Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames (2nd ed., pp. 1–23).
Charles River Media Game Development.
Dille, F., & Zuur Platten, J. (2007). The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design. Lone Eagle Publishing company.
Domsch, S. (2013). Storyplaying: Agency and Narrative in Video Games. De Gruyter.
EAG2 user. (2007). The Witcher. Fundos De Papel De Parede. https://br.pinterest.com/pin/259308891
Editors, History. com. (2017). Video Game History. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/history-of-video-games
Edwards, D. (1986). Looking Back to 1986 with Bubble Bobble – Forever Bursting Bubbles.
https://www.thexboxhub.com/looking-back-to-1986-with-bubble-bobble/
Enix, & White, N. (1986). Dragon Quest. https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/dragon-quest-msx/
Ermi, L., & Mäyrä, F. (2005). Fundamental components of the gameplay experience: Analyzing immersion. Digital games research
association’s second international conference.
Eskelinen, M. (2004). Towards Computer Game Studies. In N. Wardrip-fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First Person: New Media as Story,
Performance, and Game (pp. 36–44). MIT Press.
Esposito, N. (2005, January 1). A Short and Simple Definition of What a Videogame Is.
Esselink, B. (2003). Localisation and translation. In H. Somers (Ed.), Computers and Translation—A translator’s guide (pp. 67–86). John
Benjamins Publishing Company.
Felizol, A. M. B. B. (2017). A importância da narrativa nos jogos digitais: O caso Heavy Rain [Bachelor’s thesis]. Universidade da Beira
Interior.
Finegan, P. (2006). Games: Quality, localization and the world market. Multilingual, 84(17), 56–61.
Ford Coppola., F. (1974). The Godfather, part II. https://destinocinema.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/the-godfather-part-ii-1974/
Fortune, T. W. (2012). What the research says about immersion. Chinese Language Learning in the Early Grades: A Handbook of Resources
and Best Practices for Mandarin Immersion, 9–13.
Gamer Info. (2004). World of Warcraft Screenshots. https://gamerinfo.net/game/world-of-warcraft/
Gamer Info. (2008). Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. https://gamerinfo.net/game/warhammer-online-age-of-reckoning/
GamerBolt. (2018). World of Warcraft gameplay 2.

https://www.gamerbolt.com/the-best-mmo-games-to-play-in-2018/world-of-warcraft- gameplay-2/
Gamersyde. (2009, November 3). Stream and download Harvest or save from BioShock 2 in very high quality. Gamersyde.
https://www.gamersyde.com/video_bioshock_2_harvest_or_save-13518_en.html
135
Bibliography
Generic Gaming. (2013). The Wolf Among Us—Woodsman Fight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Green, A. M. (2017). Storytelling in Video Games: The Art of the Digital Narrative. McFarland.
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives. 79(5), 701–721.
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2013). Transport Narrative Questionnaire. Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Science.
www.midss.ie
Guides4gamers. (n.d.). Twisted Firestarter. https://guides4gamers.com/witcher-3-wild-hunt/quest/twisted-firestarter/
Gygax, G. (2021). Dungeons & Dragons (1974). In Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dungeons_%26_Dragons_(1974)&oldid=1049972107
Handwritten Games. (2020). Interactive Structures. Handwritten Games. https://www.handwrittengames.com/interactive-structures
Heussner, T., Finley, K. T., Hepler, J. B., & Lemay, A. (2015). The Game Narrative Toolbox. Routledge.
Hevia, C. M. (2007). Video Games Localisation: Posing New Challenges to the Translator. Perspectives, 14(4), 306–323.
Hosch, W. L. (2021). Role-playing video game | History & Examples. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/role-playing-video-game
IGN staff. (2015, March 23). How CDPR Localised The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. IGN Middle East.
https://me.ign.com/en/the-witcher-3/103946/news/how-cdpr-localised-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt
IJsselsteijn, W., de Kort, Y., & Poels, K. (2013). The Game Experience Questionnaire. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven.
IMDB. (2007). The Lord of the Rings Online (2007). https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0974590/mediaviewer/rm3274761472
Ince, S. (2006). Writing for Video Games. A & C Black Publishers Limited.
Jacobs, S. (2007). The Basics of Narrative. In C. Bateman, Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames (2nd ed., pp. 25–41). Charles River
Media Game Development.
Jarrier, E., Bourgeon, D., Derbaix, M., & Petr, C. (2018). Narrative Transportation Scale: Measure Development for Transmedia Experience.
International Conference on Arts and Culture Management.
Jenkins, H. (2004). Game design as narrative architecture. Computer 44, 3, 118–130.
Jennett, C., Cox, A. L., Cairns, P., Dhoparee, S., Epps, A., Tijs, T., & Walton, A. (2008). Measuring and defining the experience of immersion in
games. 66(9), 641–661.
Jung, C. G. (1969). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton University Press.
Juul, J. (2005a). A Dictionary of Video Game Theory. Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds.
Juul, J. (2005b). Half-real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press.
Karolewski, M. (2016). The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Project. https://www.behance.net/gallery/35151563/The-Witcher-3-Wild-Hunt
Kent, S. L. (2010). The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1: From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond . . . the Story Behind the Craze That
Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. Crown.
Konami. (1986). Game: Castlevania [NES, 1986, Konami]. https://br.pinterest.com/pin/800514902502597864/
Language Services. (2020). GALA Global. https://www.gala-global.org/knowledge-center/about-the-industry/language-services
Laure-Ryan, M. (2001). Narrative as virtual reality (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lindley, C. A. (2005). Story and narrative structures in computer games. Bushoff, Brunhild. Ed.
Literary Devices. (2013, July 12). Narrative—Examples and Definition of Narrative. Literary Devices. https://literarydevices.net/narrative/
Lowood, H. (2021). Electronic game. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/electronic-game
136
Bibliography
Lu, K. (1962). Spacewar on the Computer History Museum’s PDP-1. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-spacewar-1992412
Lucas, G. (1973). Cover of The Star Wars “Story Synopsis” from May 1973.
https://medium.com/@Oozer3993/the-scripts-of-star-wars-56b030095dc
Lucas, G. (1974). Star Wars Original 1974 Script—’’The Star Wars / Rough Draft’’.
http://natedsanders.com/star-wars-original-1974-script---the-star-wars---lot16536.aspx
Luz, F. (2009). Videojogos: Narrativas, espetáculo e imersão. Movlab: Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias.
Mangiron, C. (2004). Localising Final Fantasy – Bringing fantasy to reality. LISA Newsletter Global Insider, 13(1.3), 5.
Mangiron, C., & O’Hagan, M. (2006). Game localisation: Unleashing imagination with “restricted” translation. The Journal of Specialised
Translation, 6, 10–21.
Masadi, S. (2010). ‘Play Along’ with the Authors: Half-Life 2, BioShock, and Video Game Narrative. Honors Projects Overview, 71.
Maziarz, P., & Onik, D. (2019). Cultural Barriers in Equivalence - The English Localization of the Video Game Wiedźmin 3: Dziki Gon.
Explorations: A Journal of Language and Literature, 7(2019), 45–57.
McKee, R. (1997). Story: Substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting. (1st ed.). Regan Books; Library of Congress
Cataloging in Publication Data.
McMahan, A. (2013). Immersion, engagement, and presence: A method for analyzing 3-D video games. In The Video Game Theory Reader
(pp. 89–108). Routledge.
Mello, M. (2011). Gameplay de The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. https://metagalaxia.com.br/games/gameplay-de-the-witcher-2/
Mestre, D., Fuchs, P., Vercher, J. L., & Berthoz, A. (2006). Immersion et présence. Le Traité de La Réalité Virtuelle., 309–38. Paris: Ecole des
Mines de Paris.
Michailidis, L., Balaguer-Ballester, E., & He, X. (2018). Flow and Immersion in Video Games: The Aftermath of a Conceptual Challenge.
Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1682.
Miller, C. H. (2019). Digital Storytelling: A creator’s guide to interactive entertainment (4th ed.). CRC Press.
Mitra, R. (2020). The Witcher: 10 Unanswered Questions We Still Have About Ghouls.
https://www.thegamer.com/the-witcher-ghouls-unanswered-questions/
Motta, L. (1985). Tetris Electronika 60 por Alexey Pajitnov (1984).

https://www.cutedrop.com.br/2015/09/5-games-inesqueciveis-dos-anos-80-e-90-que-continuam-vivos-ate-hoje/
Mukherjee, S. (2015). Video games and storytelling: Reading games and playing books. Springer.
Munday, R. (2016, August 8). A Guide to Interactive Documentary—A How to manual for Web docs. Directors Notes.
https://directorsnotes.com/2016/08/08/interactive-documentary-guide/
Murray, J. (1997). Chapter 5: Agency. In Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace (p. 128). MIT Press.
Nakevska, M., van der Sanden, A., Funk, M., Hu, J., & Rauterberg, M. (2014). Interactive Storytelling in a Mixed Reality Environment: The
Effects of Interactivity on User Experiences. Entertainment Computing, 21, 52–59.
Nintendo. (2022). The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo of Europe GmbH.

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/NES/The-Legend-of-Zelda-796345.html
Nintendo, & Arrioja, P. (1983). Super Mario Bros. https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/mariobros--650699846142445899/
Noclip - Video Game Documentaries. (2017a, October 11). Translating & Adapting The Witcher 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxg5INjNopo
Noclip - Video Game Documentaries. (2017b, October 13). The Details of The Witcher (Music, Combat, Gwent & More).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDQPScB3bYA
Nordin, A. (2014). Immersion And Players’ Time Perception in Digital Games [PhD].
O’Hagan, M. (2005). Multidimensional translation: A game plan for audiovisual translation in the age of GILT. MuTra 2005 – Challenges of
137
Bibliography
Multidimensional Translation: Conference Proceedings, 76–87.
O’Hagan, M., & Mangiron, C. (2004). “Games localization: When Arigato gets lost in translation”. New Zealand Game Developers
Conference Proceedings. New Zealand Game Developers Conference, Otago: University of Otago.
PCgameshardware. (n.d.). Uncensored/Censored Yennefer.

https://www.pcgameshardware.de/commoncfm/comparison/juxtapose.cfm?article=1159184&page=1&draft=-1&rank=1
PlayStationStore. (2007). UnchartedTM: Drakes Schicksal Remastered.

https://store.playstation.com/de-ch/product/EP9000-CUSA03280_00-UNCHARTEDFORTUNE
Riggin, P. F. (2016). Always a Lighthouse, Toujours un homme: Exploring Non-Literal Translation Techniques in Video Game Localizations or
the Purposes of Second Language Acquisition. 49.
Rodriguez, J. (2019, March 26). The Walking Dead: The Final Season Review - A Fitting End. PC Invasion.
https://www.pcinvasion.com/walking-dead-final-episode-review/
Rodriguez, T. (2016). Momento “Eai novinha?!” em Bioshock 2. https://medium.com/@TallesRodriguez/bioshock-2-%C3%A9-aquela-e-ex-

namorada-o-legal-mas-por-algum-motivo-voc%C3%AA-n%C3%A3o-gosta-de-manter-contato-61c534e83ed9
Sarkar, S. (2013, August 29). The Witcher 3 developer explains the game’s non-linearity. Polygon.
https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/29/4671802/the-witcher-3-non-linearity
Savage Entertainment. (1987). Arcade Sega Shinobi 1987 Longplay (video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Bvqs9tJ7w
Shuller, D. (2017). What is an Action RPG? | How to Make an RPG. http://howtomakeanrpg.com/a/what-is-an-action-rpg.html
Skolnick, E. (2014). Video Game Storytelling. Watson-Guptill Publications.
Solarski, C. (2017). Interactive Stories and Video Game Art: A Storytelling Framework for Game Design (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://www.
routledge.com/Interactive-Stories-and-Video-Game-Art-A-Storytelling-Framework-for-Game/Solarski/p/book/9781498781503
Somerdin, M. (2016). The Game Debate: Video Games as Innovative Storytelling. 16.
Steam. (2007). Bioshock. https://store.steampowered.com/app/7670/BioShock/
Stockley, G. (1971). Computer Space. https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/317714948692335367/
The Complete Witcher. (2020). https://www.gollancz.co.uk/titles/andrzej-sapkowski/the-complete-witcher/9781473232488/
The Cyber Nerds. (2017). Horizon Zero Dawn. http://www.thecybernerds.com/review/horizon-zero-dawn/
The Official Witcher Wiki. (2015). TW3 screen-Novigrad. https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Novigrad
The Official Witcher Wiki. (2022a). Language—Two humans talking in Novigrad, using the language known as Common Speech.
https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Language
The Official Witcher Wiki. (2022b). Manticore. https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Manticore
The Official Witcher Wiki. (2022c). Seven Cats Inn. https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Seven_Cats_Inn
The Strong. (2021). Video Games Archive. The Strong: National Museum of Play. https://strong-wp.prod.fruition.net/video_games/
TNG Technology Consulting GmbH. (2015, August 27). The Witcher 3: Crafting a compelling narrative in a believable open world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcRC02jl8E8
Unicorn Lynx. (2015). The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Screenshots.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/witcher-3-wild-hunt/screenshots/gameShotId,783203/
Verseker. (2015). Misión secundaria sobre la escuela del gato.

https://www.mediavida.com/foro/juegos-comunidad/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-ho-483130/312
Vickery, N., Tancred, N., Wyeth, P., & Johnson, D. (2018). Directing narrative in gameplay: Player interaction in shaping narrative in the
witcher 3. Proceedings of the 30th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, 495–500.
138
Bibliography
Winn, B. M. (2009). The Design, Play, and Experience Framework [Chapter]. Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming
in Education.
Xavier, G. (1978). Space Invaders. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Figura-18-Space-Invaders-da-Taito-e-tido-como-primeiro-jogo-

eletronico-de-grande_fig14_230705556
Zimmerman, E. (2004). Narrative, Interactivity, Play, and Games: Four Naughty Concepts in Need of Discipline. In N. Wardrip-fruin & P.
Harrigan (Eds.), First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game, London (pp. 154–163). MIT Press.
139
Cited Works
CITED WORKS
VIDEO GAMES
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. 2015. CD Projekt RED.

Tennis for Two. 1958. William Higinbotham.
Spacewar!. 1962. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Pong. 1972. Atari Corporation.
Space Invaders. 1978. Taito Corporation.
Computer Space. 1971. Syzygy Engineering.
PAC-MAN. 1980. Bandai Namco Corporation.
Ms. PAC-MAN. 1982. Namco.
Donkey Kong. 1981. Nintendo.
Tron. 1982. Disney Interactive Studios.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. 1982. Atari.
The Legend of Zelda. 1986. Nintendo.
Super Mario Bros. 1983. Nintendo.
Metroid. 1989. Nintendo.
Mega Man. 1987. Capcom.
Castlevania. 1986. Konami.
Final Fantasy. 1987. SquareSoft.
Dragon Quest. 1986. Enix Corporation.
Tetris. 1984. Alexey Pajitnov.
Super Mario Bros. 3. 1988. Nintendo.
Sonic The Hedgehog. 1991. Sega.
Street Fighter II. 1991. Capcom.
Crash Bandicoot. 1996. Naughty Dog.
Final Fantasy VII. 1997. SquareSoft.
Angry Birds. 2009. Rovio Entertainment.
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. 2011. Activision.
Bubble Bobble. 1986. Taito Corporation.
Shinobi. 1987. Sega.
Battle Chess. 1988. Interplay Entertainment.
Sim City. 1989. Will Wright.
Bomberman. 1990. Hudson Soft.
Super Mario Kart. 1992. Nintendo.
Lemmings. 1990. DMA Design.
Pang. 1990. Mitchell Corporation.
Bloodborne. 2015. FromSoftware.
Final Fantasy XV. 2016. Square Enix.
Uncharted 4. A Thief’s End. 2016. Naughty Dog.
Horizon Zero Dawn. 2017. Guerrilla Games.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 2017. Nintendo.
God of War. 2018. Santa Monica Studio.
Red Dead Redemption 2. 2018. Rockstar Games.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. 2019. FromSoftware.
Death Stranding. 2019. Kojima Productions.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. 2019. Respawn Entertainment.
The Last of Us Part II. 2020. Naughty Dog.
Cyberpunk 2077. 2020. CD Projekt RED.
Half-Life: Alyx. 2020. Valve Corporation.
Hitman 3. 2021. IO Interactive.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. 2021. Insomniac Games.
Resident Evil Village. 2021. Capcom.
Guardians of the Galaxy. 2021. Square Enix.
Monster Hunter Rise. 2021. Capcom.
Tomb Raider. 1996-. Core Design.
Assassin’s Creed. 2007-. Ubisoft.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. 2014. Monolith Productions.
Psychonauts. 2005. Double Fine Productions.
League of Legends. 2009. Riot Games.
Dota 2. 2013. Valve Corporation.
Smite. 2014. Hi Rez Studios.
Half-Life 2. 2004. Valve Corporation.
140
Cited Works
Bioshock Infinite. 2013. Irrational Games.

F.E.A.R. 2005. Monolith Productions.
DOOM. 1993. id Software.
Gears of War. 2006. Epic Games.
Resident Evil IV. 2005. Capcom.
Jak and Daxter. 2001-. Naughty Dog.
Football Manager. 1992-. Sports Interactive.
Forza Motorsport. 2005-. Turn 10 Studios.
Farming Simulator. 2018. Giants Software.
Tekken 7. 2015. BANDAI NAMCO Studios.
Mortal Kombat. 1992. Midway Games.
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. 2016. Capcom.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm. 2008-. CyberConnect2.
Mario’s Picross. 1995. Nintendo.
Portal 2. 2011. Valve Corporation.
The Talos Principle. 2014. Croteam.
Minecraft. 2011. Mojang Studios.
Grand Theft Auto. 1997-. Rockstar Games.
The Sims. 2000-. Maxis.
Warcraft. 1994. Blizzard Entertainment.
World of Warcraft. 2004-. Blizzard Entertainment.
Age of Empires. 1997-. Ensemble Studios.
StarCraft. 1998. Blizzard Entertainment.
Command & Conquer. 1995. Westwood Studios.
Dragon Age. 2009-. BioWare.
Mass Effect. 2007-. BioWare.
Fallout 4. 2015. Bethesda Game Studios.
The Elder Scrolls. 1994-. Bethesda Softworks.
Fallout. 1997. Interplay Entertainment.
Fallout 2. 1998. Black Isle Studios.
The Elder Scrolls Online. 2014. ZeniMax Online Studios.
RuneScape. 2001. Jagex.
XCOM. 2013. Firaxis Games.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus. 2018. Bulwark Studios.
The Binding of Isaac. 2011. Edmund McMillen & Florian Himsl.
Rogue Legacy. 2013. Cellar Door Games.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. 2010. Frictional Games.
Alien: Isolation. 2014. Creative Assembly.
Don’t Starve. 2013. Klei Entertainment.
The Long Dark. 2014. Hinterland Studio.
Resident Evil. 1996-. Capcom.
Evil Within. 2014. Tango Gameworks.
Ori & The Blind Forest. 2015. Moon Studios.
Cuphead. 2017. Studio MDHR.
Gossip. 1983. Chris Crawford.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. 2011. Naughty Dog.
Heavy Rain. 2010. Quantic Dream.
Bioshock. 2007. 2K Boston (Irrational Games).
Bioshock 2. 2010. 2K Marin.
Until Dawn. 2015. Supermassive Games.
The Wolf Among Us. 2013-. Telltale Games.
Star Wars Battlefront. 2015. DICE.
The Walking Dead. 2012. Telltale Games.
Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea. 2013. Irrational Games.
Final Fantasy X. 2001. SquareSoft.
Ultima. 1980. Origins System.
Wizardry. 1981. Sir-Tech.
Pokémon. 1995. Nintendo,
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. 2003. BioWare.
Diablo. 1997. Blizzard North.
Ultima Online. 1997-. Electronic Arts.
Everquest I. 1999. Verant Interactive.
Everquest II. 2004. Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).
Final Fantasy XI. 2002. SquareSoft.
Lord of the Rings Online. 2007-. Standing Stone Games.
Warhammer Online. 2008-. Mythic Entertainment.
141
Cited Works
Terranigma. 1995. Quintet.

Final Fantasy VI. 1996. SquareSoft.
Deus Ex. 2000. Ion Storm.
The Witcher. 2007. CD Projekt RED.
Secret of Mana. 1993. SquareSoft.
Dark Souls. 2011. FromSoftware.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. 2011. Bethesda Game Studios.
Genshin Impact. 2020. miHoYo.
Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. 2011. CD Projekt RED.
Metro 2033. 2010. 4A Games.
Yakuza. 2005. Sega.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. 2007. Naughty Dog.
Deponia. 2012. Daedalic Entertainment.
MOVIES
The seven samurai. (Japan, 1954). Akira Kurosawa.

The Godfather, part II. (USA, 1974). Francis Ford Coppola.
Thelma & Louise. (USA, 1988). Ridley Scott.
Four weddings and a funeral. (UK, 1994). Mike Newell.
La passion de Jeanne D’arc. (France, 1928). Carl Theodor Dreyer.
Tender Mercies. (USA, 1983). Bruce Beresford.
To live. (China, 1994). Zhang Yimou.
Monty Python and the holy grail. (UK, 1975). Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones.
Last Year at Marienbad. (France, 1960). Alain Resnais.
Persona. (Sweden, 1966). Ingmar Bergman.
After Hours. (USA, 1985). Martin Scorsese.
142
143
Introduction

144
Introduction
Annexes&
Appendices
145
Annexes
ANNEX 1 - GAME EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE – CORE MODULE
Please indicate how you felt while playing the game for each of the items, on the following scale:
not at all slightly moderately fairly extremely

0 1 2 3 4
< > < > < > <> <>
1 I felt content
2 I felt skilful
3 I was interested in the game’s story
4 I thought it was fun
5 I was fully occupied with the game
6 I felt happy
7 It gave me a bad mood
8 I thought about other things
9 I found it tiresome
10 I felt competent
11 I thought it was hard
12 It was aesthetically pleasing
13 I forgot everything around me
14 I felt good
15 I was good at it
16 I felt bored
17 I felt successful
18 I felt imaginative
19 I felt that I could explore things
20 I enjoyed it
21 I was fast at reaching the game’s targets
22 I felt annoyed
23 I felt pressured
24 I felt irritable
25 I lost track of time
26 I felt challenged
27 I found it impressive
28 I was deeply concentrated in the game
29 I felt frustrated
30 It felt like a rich experience
31 I lost connection with the outside world
32 I felt time pressure
33 I had to put a lot of effort into it
146
Annexes
ANNEX 2 - TRANSPORT NARRATIVE QUESTIONNAIRE
Circle the number under each question that best represents your opinion about the narrative you just read.
1. While I was reading the narrative, I could easily picture the events in it taking place.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
not at all very much
2. While I was reading the narrative, activity going on in the room around me was on my mind.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I could picture myself in the scene of the events described in the narrative.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. I was mentally involved in the narrative while reading it.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. After the narrative ended, I found it easy to put it out of my mind.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. I wanted to learn how the narrative ended.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. The narrative affected me emotionally.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. I found myself thinking of ways the narrative could have turned out differently.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. I found my mind wandering while reading the narrative.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. The events in the narrative are relevant to my everyday life.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. The events in the narrative have changed my life.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
147
Annexes
12. I had a vivid mental image of [character name].

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Notes: Items 2, 5, and 9 are reverse-scored.

Item 12 can be repeated for the number of main characters in the story, substituting a different character name for
each item.
148
Appendices
APPENDIX A - INITIAL SURVEY FOR THE WITCHER III: WILD HUNT STUDY
149
Appendices
APPENDIX B - GAMEPLAY QUESTIONNAIRE SAMPLE (EN)
APPENDIX C - GAMEPLAY QUESTIONNAIRE SAMPLE (PTBR)
150
Appendices
APPENDIX D – SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW SCRIPT
Interview questions
1. While doing both gameplays, did you play with everything in the specified languages, as requested? (Audio,
interface, subtitles), or did you have to make it differently (for example, changing the idiom of the subtitling in any of
the versions).
2. Do you feel that the language had a big impact on your feeling of immersion as you played the game?
3. In which version did you feel the most immersion, sense of belonging, and connection with the world, the story,
and the characters?
4. What do you think was weirdest for you, when comparing how you felt when playing both versions?
5. What version did you like best overall and think has the best conveyance of the story and the adaptation of some
of the games’ aspects?
6. Unless you’ve already done it, in which version would you rather play the entire game?
7. Do you think the English version is well conceived? Regarding storytelling, character interactions, environment
and narrative immersion, and overall transmission and adaptation of content?
8. Do you think the Portuguese version is well conceived? Regarding storytelling, character interactions,
environment and narrative immersion, and overall transmission and adaptation of content?
9. What did you like less, or hated in both versions? And what did you love?
10. As a player, how do you think playing the game in English may impact (positively, negatively, neutrally) the way
you perceive and immerse yourself in the narrative being told?
11. As a player, how do you think playing the game in Brazilian-Portuguese may impact the way you perceive and
immerse yourself in the narrative being told?
Do you think it would be different if it were European-Portuguese?
12. Do you think the language you play this or any other game in makes a difference in the way you’ll immerse
yourself in the gameplay, the narrative, or the game world? How so?
13. How big a difference/influence do you think there would be, regarding content, and adaptation of content,
jokes, expressions, locations, names, if you played the game in Polish (as source of inspiration and original language
of studio, novels etc), Japanese (no intestine gore) or Arabic (censorship), for example. Aka censorship or cultural
adaptations.
151

The Art of Storytelling:: Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

The Art of Storytelling:: Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

MASTER’S DEGREE

MULTIMEDIA – SPECIALISATION IN CULTURE AND ARTS

The Art of Storytelling: its

Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro

THE ART OF STORYTELLING:

Mariana Cardoso Ribeiro

Master in Multimedia, University of Porto

Supervisor: Dr. Vanessa Quintal Cesário (Invited Assistant Professor)

Approved in public defense by the jury:

Supervisor: Dr. Vanessa Quintal Cesário (Researcher), ITI/LARSyS

Através de um estudo cuidadosamente desenhado, desenvolvido, e aplicado, inspirado em teoria

Os resultados permitiram a criação de um conjunto de padrões (Localisation patterns to enhance video

67 Fig. 47 – First steps of the methodology process

ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

Roach – Geralt’s horse companion.

Caedmill, Gwynbleidd – Elder Speech or Elvish for “Greetings, White Wolf”.

Va fail, Gwynbleidd – Elder Speech or Elvish for “Goodbye, White Wolf”.

Va fail, Vatt’ghern – Elder Speech or Elvish for “Goodbye, Witcher”.

Modded screenshots from The Witcher III:

1.1 MOTIVATION AND CONTEXT

We have witnessed games, especially video games,

1.2 DISSERTATION STRUCTURE

CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5

General Introduction Literature Review Methodology The Main Quest! Conclusion

Modded screenshots from The Witcher III:

2.1 THE ART OF STORYTELLING

Stories are equipment for living.

Joseph Campbell’s (2014) The Hero’s Journey combines the

What separates ‘The Monomyth’s’ theory from

2.2 (IMMERSIVE) VIDEO GAMES

2.2.1 Brief History

With all the whiz, bang, pop,

Fig. 8 – Spacewar! Fig. 9 – Computer Space. Fig. 10 – Space Invaders.

Fig. 11 – Super Mario Bros. Fig. 12 – Castlevania Fig. 13 – Dragon Quest

and Sony’s Playstation 5.

Fig. 14 – Tetris. Fig. 15 – Bubble Bobble. Fig. 16 – Shinobi.

BRIEF TIMELINE The Sims Mass Effect

Jak and Daxter Assassin’s Creed

Tennis for Two World of Warcraft Naruto Shippuden:Ultimate

Half-Life 2 League of Legends

Spacewar! Psychonauts Dragon Age

F.E.A.R Angry Birds

Computer Space Space Invaders Forza Motorsport Skylanders:

Tetris Final Fantasy Bioshock Infinite God of War

Sonic The Hedgehog

DOOM Age of Empires Cyberpunk 2077 Guardians of the Galaxy

Crash Bandicoot StarCraft Half-Life: Alyx Monster Hunter Rise

1990 Hitman 3 Resident Evil Village

Fig. 17 – Short timeline of video games.

Types and Genres

Adventure-action MOBA Shooters MMORPG

Fighting Puzzler & Sandbox Real-time strategy RPG & TRPG

Fig. 18 – Genres of video games.

2.2.2 Storytelling in video games

What about agency and interactive storytelling?

The complexity and length of a narrative with this structure depends

Branching narratives are the best at simulating freedom of choice,

Fig. 22 – Fishbone Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).

Fig. 23 – Parallel Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).

Fig. 24 – Threaded Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).

Fig. 25 – Concentric Narrative model, based on Munday’s. (2016).

The essence of localisation

Within video games