Player Experience and Quality: Evidence from Persian Game Localization

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Amir Arsalan Zoraqi ¹

Masood Khoshsaligheh ¹

Miguel Ángel Bernal Merino ²

¹ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.2025.92110.1330

Abstract

How the quality of game localization affects players’ experience is an uncharted territory and is yet to be addressed empirically. Thus, 30 casual video game players (two groups of 15) were recruited to participate in the present quasi-experimental study with a between-subjects design to play a high- (Group A) and low-quality (Group B) Persian localization of Mafia: Definitive Edition ( Hangar 13, 2020). The quality issues incorporated into the low-quality stimulus included linguistic issues revolving around incorrect translation, missing translation, game terminology, punctuation, and contextual mistranslation spread across three game situations. Players’ experience was measured through an immersion questionnaire. Additionally, players’ subjective perceptions of the quality issues existing in both Persian localized game versions were gathered. No significant differences were unraveled across the two groups in terms of players’ immersion scores, yet more quality issues were perceived in Group B, particularly in game situations with lower interactivity.

Highlights

 

Keywords

Game Localization

Quality

Player Experience

Immersion

Subjects

• Translation Studies

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References