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  1. Beiträge anzeigen #1 Zitieren
    Neuling
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    Squinx ist offline

    Question Gothic 2 NotR: Your Opinion on the English Localization

    What do you think about the localization of Gothic 2 and its add-on Night of the Raven into English?
    I am writing a thesis on the localization of Gothic 2 and would like to hear the opinion of some native speakers on this subject.

    I am not a native speaker of English myself nor am I resident in a country where English is an official language. So I figured it'd be best to ask people who are intimately familiar with the language for their opinion, especially when it comes to the finer nuances of spoken language and the feeling that is conveyed. This way, I might also learn of aspects or issues with the localization that I, not being a native speaker, wouldn't have thought of myself.

    In particular, I am interested in how the localization is received by people in the US. Of course, I will also be happy to hear your opinion if you are not from the US.

    So, what do I actually want to know when I say "localization"?
    Well, one aspect I'm very much interested in is language:

    What's your opinion on things like syntax, spelling, choice of words, cohesion and coherence?
    Is the writing engaging or lackluster? Are stylistic devices like metaphors, proverbs, similes employed to achieve the effect you believe is desired?
    What about humor? Do you think there are parts that are unintentionally funny? Are there parts that are supposed to be funny but aren't really? Are there things that make you laugh or chuckle? Maybe, the game does a great job at presenting its humor? Or maybe you think there is no humor at all?
    What about profanity and swearing in the game? Is it justified given the setting? Is it gratuitous? Is it too little and/or too tame?

    What's your opinion on the voice acting?
    Does what is being said make sense? Does it sound natural? Does it fit the situation?
    What about intonation and stress? Do the voices fit their characters in game? What's your opinion on the accent or idiosyncracies in the speech of in-game characters?

    What's your opinion on the subtitles?
    Do you use them? Are they helpful? Does it matter that (AFAIK) voices and subtitles can only be in the same language, i.e. you can't combine German voices with English subtitles (without mods or tampering with the game files)?

    Other aspects include:
    Depiction of violence, gambling, sexuality, drug use and behavior displayed by characters in the game.
    Do characters in Gothic 2 act in a believable way? Are they presented as holding different or the same values as those that apply in the society you live in? Do you think someone might take offense at the game?

    How "exotic" do you find the game? Think for example of clothes, armor, food, weapons, architecture, vegetation, tools, and wildlife - or the culture shown in the game (crafts, religion, history, behavior, music, and so on).

    The above is not an exhaustive list of aspects that can be subsumed under the term localization, but I hope it gives you an idea of what I am looking for. You don't need to write about every aspect listed and you are also free to write about aspects that aren't mentioned above.

    If you have played both the English and the German version, or any two versions, of the game, what does the English version do better or worse than the other version(s)?
    How strongly does the quality of the localization impact your enjoyment of this particular game, or games in general?

    Thank you very much for your replies!

    As a general rule, I assume that by replying to this post you give me permission to quote your statement or parts of it in my thesis. If you do not want me to quote your reply or parts of it, or do not want your username to appear in my thesis, please let me know and I will respect your wish.

    If you write your opinion on the localization, I'd very much appreciate it if you could include some or all of the following information in your post (descending degree of relevance to me):
    - Your variety of English (the more precise the better, but does not have to be super precise, i.e. "US American English" or "British English" is sufficient, but you can also be as specific as "Boston English" or "Yorkshire English")
    - Your current residence (national level is sufficient, e.g. "USA", "Australia" - as above you can be more specific if you want)
    - Your video game preferences (genres, platforms, favorite titles, etc.)
    - Your approximate age (e.g. younger than 18, 10-20, 50-60; decide for yourself how exact you want to be)
    - Your gender

  2. Beiträge anzeigen #2 Zitieren
    Halbgott Avatar von Kyle07
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    Well, I never played Gothic in English language, since there was always a German version.
    But I enjoyed to look sometimes into this Let's Play by Ichberg (a German User here, his English YouTube-Channel is called "Mahlzeit"), who played Gothic 1 in English.
    [Video]

    He is currently playing Gothic II Night of the Raven. Maybe he or his viewers can tell you more.
    [Video]


    From what I saw in the Gothic I Lets Play: The atmosphere is different, but also good in the English version. Also the voice actors are really good.
    I really stick to the original German voice actors. But somehow the English voice actors did fit very well! Especially Xardas was cool.

  3. Beiträge anzeigen #3 Zitieren
    Sword Master Avatar von Ekimara
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    (Not a native English speaker, but lived in the UK for 3 years.)

    Generally I found the english English localisation fine, but not quite on par with the German one.

    For a few characters the choice of voice over artist seemed a bit weird.

    There's a few characters that feel fairly powerful and a bit intimidating in the german version which completely lack that aspect in the english version.

    Most obvious one for me was Garond. In the german version he really sounds like a tough guy in a powerful position. Sometimes he almost screams at the hero, his voice is very deep and he seems easily irritated and disgruntled. If found all of those aspects completely missing in the english version. He sounds much more like any random guy from the Militia/Paladin hierarchy.

    (This also goes for a few more characters I think, but I can't really remember which ones.)

    There's also Bartok the hunter which has a super weird voice over in the English version. Not sure what they where trying to get across with him. But he seems like a squishy and incompetend character in the english version. In parts they even seem to be hinting at him being a bit insane where he talks about finding the body of his dead friend or something (?) and he ends that sentence with laughing in a very odd voice. Which is very different from the german version where he just comes across as a capable hunter that's a bit affected by some personal tragedy.
    Geändert von Ekimara (13.02.2018 um 15:01 Uhr)

  4. Beiträge anzeigen #4 Zitieren
    banned
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    Moe ist offline
    I have never played the english localized version but maybe you should also post this thread on the Steam and GOG
    Gothic Discussions if you haven't done so already like on reddit.

    There should be a lot more people who can help you than here in this mostly german fansite. The english section of WorldofGothic has been closed for a long time now sadly.

  5. Beiträge anzeigen #5 Zitieren
    Neuling
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    Squinx ist offline
    First of all, thank you everyone for your replies!

    @Kyle07 Danke, die Let's-Play-Reihe kannte ich noch nicht (wenig verwunderlich; will gar nicht wissen, wie viele Gothic Let's Plays es gibt ). Die Kombination aus deutschsprachigem Streamer und englischem Gothic finde ich auf jeden Fall interessant. Vielleicht werde ich mich mal durch die Kommentare arbeiten und jemanden anschreiben.
    Ich habe Gothic 2 auf Deutsch und Englisch gespielt und habe natürlich meine eigene Meinung zu den beiden Versionen. Aber ich würde mich einerseits gerne rückversichern, dass meine Einschätzung nicht völlig abwegig ist und andererseits wissen, ob ich vielleicht irgendeinen Aspekt völlig außer Acht gelassen habe.
    Allerdings wollte ich meine Meinung erstmal nicht posten, um andere nicht in ihrer zu beeinflussen (falls das Sinn ergibt).

    @Telriakar Going by what you wrote, I assume that you understand German so I'll continue in German. Erstmal danke für deine Einschätzung und die Ausführungen zum Voice Acting. Das mit Garond werd' ich mir auf jeden Fall nochmal anhören. Danke für den Hinweis.
    Bei Bartok muss ich dir absolut zustimmen. Ist mir beim ersten Durchspielen gar nicht aufgefallen, aber als ich auf twitch DansGaming zugeschaut habe, hat sich der Chat an der Stelle einen abgelacht. Es ist auch wirklich seltsam.
    Habe Dan auch angeschrieben, aber keine Antwort erhalten. Vielleicht hat er ja bessers zu tun.

    @Sein Name ist Mö Danke für den Hinweis, aber ich hatte den gleichen Gedanken und (fast) exakt den gleichen Post auf Steam, GOG und reddit geschrieben. Wollte es trotzdem mal hier versuchen, auch wenn die English section geschlossen wurde.

    If anyone knows of any active English Gothic fora, please let me know. Thanks!

  6. Beiträge anzeigen #6 Zitieren
    Mythos Avatar von OuterHaven
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    OuterHaven ist gerade online
    Du könntest vielleicht mal im Gothic Reddit fragen: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldofgothic/ Da wird i.d.R. Englisch geschrieben, vielleicht finden sich da einige die Englisch als Muttersprache haben.
    Keine Objektive Meinung. Es ist die Wahrheit.

    Wenn man eine Fata morgana sieht, dann ist das nicht Relevant, denn die Wirklichkeit ist anders. Für mich zählt nur, was der Wirklichkeit entspricht.

  7. Beiträge anzeigen #7 Zitieren
    Neuling
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    Squinx ist offline
    @OuterHaven Danke für den Hinweis, aber hab ich schon (siehe mein vorheriger Post).

  8. Beiträge anzeigen #8 Zitieren
    Abenteurer
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    dorfbengelchen ist offline
    Ok. Dann auf Deutsch.

    Ich habe G3 Englisch online gehört, G2 erst jetzt hier durch die eingestellten Videos.

    Der Unterschied, der sofort "ins Ohr fällt": die gewählten Stimmen spiegeln in keiner Weise die Bandbreite der deutschen Stimmen. Du kannst ja Xardas, Diego, Gorn, Milten, Lester, Lee usw. unverwechselbar sofort hören. Auch an den vielen No-Name-NPC, denen die Stimmen dann zugeteilt wurden, sind sie sofort beim ersten Wort wiederzuerkennen.

    Die englischen Stimmen sind irgendwie ohne Profil. Das sind alles so auf Klischee-männlich-rauh getrimmte Durchschnittsstimmen, an denen ich die einzelnen Personen gar nicht voneinander unterscheiden kann.

    Für die deutsche Version wurden professionelle Schauspieler verpflichtet (wie Christian Wewerka für den Helden), die mit der Stimme auch spielen können; das merkt man ihnen sofort an.

    In der englischen Version scheinen irgendwelche 08/15-Laien angeheuert, vielleicht das Personal des Vertriebsunternehmens, was weiss ich.
    Da fehlt daher die Atmosphäre, die die Zeit im Spiel wie den Aufenthalt in einer echten Welt erscheinen liess.
    Die Gespräche mit den NPC würde ich gar nicht geniessen, sondern immer sofort wegklicken.

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