Disco Elysium Localization Study Case

It is no secret that game localization is far more complex than simple word-for-word translation, and the emergence of Disco Elysium - the multi-award-winning game by ZA/UM Studio has forced the gaming community to re-evaluate this work. With a volume of up to over one million words, the internationalization project of this title not only set a record for scale, but is also a project of deciphering the deepest layers of psychiatry, politics and poetry.

Right from the very first basic mechanics, Disco Elysium is completely different from traditional RPG titles. Building a character in the game, instead of upgrading physical stats like strength or speed, players are required to manage 24 “skills” - which are actually 24 fragments of the mind existing inside detective Harry Du Bois.

Each personality fragment represents a psychological state and continuously converses with the main character. Imagine the scene where our detective is standing confused in the middle of a room at the Whirling-in-Rags hostel. On the floor is a broken coffee cup. Just that tiny little scene alone, the 24 fragments of the mind in the detective's head have started to speak up. Logic brings a cold, analytical tone, reacting like a computer. Conceptualization has a soaring tone, deeply characteristic of an artist. While the Inland Empire skill carries the tone of a paranoid, dreamy and surreal person.

Standing before this “multiple personality” mountain, the translator's goal is not purely to “cross the mountain”, but also to prepare the items for each obstacle of every stage. They are forced to transform into psychological experts, detaching and meticulously analyzing 24 different personality fragments.

Speaking of the pressure and this colossal workload, Manuel Jimenez Verdinelli, a representative from Testronic - the partner responsible for localizing Disco Elysium into multiple languages - emphasized in an in-depth analysis on GamesIndustry:

“The fact that the game draws from a variety of influences and fields, and requires advanced literacy to be enjoyed fully, also meant that its players are rightfully demanding in their expectations... Understanding and conveying every little nuance [is] a respectable challenge, even if you do fancy yourself a seasoned linguist.”

The act of mistranslating the nuances, even in just a few short dialogues, is enough to shatter the character's essence that the writers have built.

Besides the psychological element, Disco Elysium also possesses a satirical angle looking at modern world political history. The game puts the player into a maze of countless ideologies: From Capitalism, Fascism, to Moralism and Ultraliberalism.

However, the biggest barrier for the localization team is that ZA/UM Studio rarely uses real-life terms. Instead of mentioning Karl Marx, they created the concept of Mazovian Socio-Economics. Accompanying that are dozens of slang words heavily influenced by politics, class terms that are delusional but possess the weight of reality.

In practice, the handling process requires the team to thoroughly apply transcreation. They don't just purely create a translation, but they also have to execute a comprehensive adaptation of a multi-layered script, rich in philosophy and politics.

The act of “inventing” new terms in the target language is not simple at all, it must ensure these factors: Both keeping the natural feel, making sense ideologically, and fitting the context. While also transmitting the “harshness” coming from the irony, the sarcasm of the original language. To solve this problem, ZA/UM launched “The Great Internationale” campaign, combining translation experts and the fan community itself.

The clearest proof of this is their collaboration with Clan DLAN, a veteran Spanish translation community. Recognizing the exceptional quality of the group's past projects, ZA/UM Studio reached out to “formalize” the relationship, transforming the fans' volunteer effort into an official, properly compensated contract, while also granting them access to internal localization tools.

Furthermore, the workflow was deeply collaborative. Professional translators did not simply translate the text and hand it off for community evaluation. They worked in tandem with fans to share feedback and ideas. These fans served as essential lore consultants, ensuring that the game's dense political slang and philosophical dread fully retained the “soul” of the source material.

This campaign was an excellent move to solve the colossal volume of text and the complexity of the game. Instead of completely relying on outside companies, the studio handed the tools to passionate players. The fans understand the plot, the humor, and the messages of the game more clearly than anyone else.

Robert Kurvitz - Lead Designer and Lead Writer of the game - once affirmed that every single word in Disco Elysium is meticulously polished. The work wears a melancholic tone, regretful of a glorious past, cleverly integrating elements of dark poetry.

One of the biggest challenges in the localization effort is translating the concept of “The Pale”. This is not merely a geographical boundary dividing the continents in the game, but also a philosophical concept representing oblivion. Translating an invisible, deeply existential philosophical concept without losing the mystical, dark feeling is a job that demands translators to utilize their entire brainpower.

In Spanish, “The Pale” is translated as La Palidez (The Pallor). This term does not only describe a color, it evokes the imagery of a terminal illness slowly consuming the world.

In Simplified Chinese, “The Pale” is translated as 灰域 (The Grey Domain). Rather than adapting it as an adjective, the localization team transformed it into a spatial noun, emphasizing the emptiness, ash-like desolation, and the physical boundary of nothingness.

Adding to that, the fact that the game uses interwoven original French dialogue also puts translators at a difficult crossroads: Keep the original text to preserve the mysterious beauty, or prioritize translating into the target language to ensure a fully empathetic experience for the masses?

The localization process of Disco Elysium is the clearest proof that translation in the gaming industry has stepped far beyond the normal concept of translation. It is a creative art, draining the mind to transform into psychologists, philosophers, poets or politicians to ensure that no matter the language, players still fully feel the essence coming from the developer.

Information sources:

1. The manifold challenges of localising Disco Elysium - GameIndustry
2. Choose your own misadventure - Part 1 - Disco Elysium Steam Community
3. Choose your own misadventure - Part 2 - Disco Elysium Steam Community
4. The Delicate Process of Localizing Disco Elysium - 80.lv