TRANSLATION OF NARRATIVE LINES IN COMPUTER GAME LOCALIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF SPLIT FICTION (SPANISH–RUSSIAN)

Abstract

The research analyses translation decisions made when working with narrative lines in an independent (amateur) localization of the computer game Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios, 2025) from Spanish into Russian. The material of the study consists of 377 text strings from the prologue of the game (approximately five thousand words), extracted by the authors from the game archives using the FModel utility. Four problem areas of the narrative layer are examined: rendering of colloquial speech, humour and irony, adaptation of lines to the Russian-language gaming discourse, and work with emotionally charged scenes. It is shown that domestication is the leading translation strategy for the narrative layer of the game, and transcreation is the main tool for rendering humour and culture-specific elements. The decontextualization of the source material, characteristic of independent localization without developer support, is shown to become a translation task in its own right: the reconstruction of the plot order and the identification of speakers rely on technical identifiers, grammatical gender markers and dialogue logic. The article argues that the Spanish version should be regarded not as the primary source but as an independent adapted work, which makes the resulting translation indirect (relay): the Russian version inherits certain decisions made by the Spanish localizers. The results can be applied in training specialists in game localization and in the practice of independent localization projects.