Videogame localisation, spelling errorsand player reception

Abstract

Positioned against the backdrop of the booming videogame industry, the study sheds light on the relationship between player experience and localisation. The experimental manipulation involved spelling errors serving as a proxy to examine how much reception is reshaped by specific characteristics of the target version. The findings indicate that deficient spelling has no traceable effect on player cognitive load, enjoyment or comprehension. From a complementary perspective, while the author of the target version with typos is deemed less diligent than the one in the typo-free condition, they are not perceived as less experienced or less likely to be considered to be a professional translator. On the other hand, spelling errors result in lower translation quality estimations. The discussion is supplemented by results on typo identification and related to findings from film reception.