Entre a localização e a subversão: o queer na tradução dos videogames

Abstract

This study examines the translation of queer content in video games, focusing on the interplay between language, identity, and politics in immersive and interactive gaming narratives. Beyond linguistic transposition, video game translation involves cultural adaptation to maintain the player's experience across diverse markets. This process, however, is often constrained by censorship and the imperative to align with prevailing social norms. Queer representations, in particular, are at risk of erasure or stereotyping, frequently reshaped to fit cisheteronormative values and the commercial priorities of industry leaders. Drawing on insights from translation studies and queer theory, the analysis reveals how localisation can both perpetuate hegemonic norms and serve as a site for resistance. Examples such as the recharacterization of Vivian in Paper Mario (2004) and Beauty Nova in Pokémon X and Y (2013) illustrate how translation practices may distort or erase queer identities. The study underscores the tension between authentic representation and the structural constraints of capitalist and colonialist dynamics in localisation, highlighting both the mechanisms of marginalization and the potential for subversion.