I’m a happy polar bunny today. A project I’ve had to keep under wraps for many months is finally launched! I get to brag about it, I get to watch it get funded on Kickstarter (took eight minutes!), and I get to reminisce a bit.
So this is the reminiscing bit – but also a quick list of what I learned while translating one of the novellas in the anthology. As always, this comes in no particular order.
- Lots of Frostpunk fans out there! Playing “Frostpunk” was lots of fun. I knew that 11Bit Studios was on to something good the moment I launched the game. Still, watching the anthology & art book Kickstarter get fully funded in the time it took me to make a cup of tea… proves that fandom power is still strong.
- Vast and well-built worlds invite all kinds of stories. We translated two different stories, at two neighbouring desks in the same room – Marta and I. The world was the same, but the vibes, narrative arcs, events – all different. For me, this meant that the world of the video game was big and robust enough to hold all these tales without appearing contradictory.
- Polish sci-fi and fantasy is definitely alive and kicking. It was good to see some familiar names involved in this project – and also good to know that the interest is still there. “The Invincible”, another 11Bit title, is based on Lem’s classic text. And I’m pretty sure more is yet to come – from past, present and future authors.
- Video games are a fresh and amazing source of momentum. Think about it: Frostpunk, Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077 – all these titles are now inspiring new titles, new translations, new ways of writing about new worlds. And that’s just the Polish market. I’m sure there are more examples out there.
- Immersion changes how I work. If this had been just another project, I might have treated my workflow the way I usually do. But not on this occasion. I was able to play through a few more hours of Frostpunk (”Hey,” I said to Marta, “It’s research now!”), and translate with the soundtrack in my headphones. As a result, I could more easily relate to the story’s tensions, rhythms, menacing moods, and I had a feeling that gamers would, too.
- Design thinking sounds fancy, but when it works, it really works. Here’s what I mean by that: “Frostpunk’s” success led to more than just a pile of cash. There were expansion packs for the game, then a sequel (which I’ve yet to play), and a board game in between. There was the Polish version of the book, and then the English translations. In the meantime, the product and the world didn’t fall apart – it all feels coherent. Polish game producers have certainly come a long way, and I’m here for it.
- Things still take a long time! This was a common gripe back in the world of book publishing: it all took ages before anyone’s idea took the form of a gorgeous, printed book. I thought for a while that I managed to squeeze into the fast lane with some of my projects. Not necessarily, as it turns out. Ah well, this one’s still worth the wait.
- We might need to rethink how we charge for such projects in the future. This was the first thing we both thought of, when we saw the Kickstarter doing such crazy numbers (it’s at 400% target as I’m writing this, 8 hours after launch): “we should have asked for more money.” I’m used to a fee structure, and many translators are – but maybe it’s time to start having different conversations? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.
- Translating for gamer readers is a challenge. I am fond of Sid Meier’s definition of a game as “a series of interesting decisions”. When translating a novella based on a video game, I felt that a lot of the agency was taken away – the plot unfolded, events followed, and I could not speed things up or slow them down. Well… that’s not necessarily true. I was still trying to squeeze whatever I needed out of English – and convey speed, threat, sadness, by trying to use the words that best matched the scene.
- This was SO MUCH FUN. Many thanks to Janusz Cyran for writing a chilling (ahem) story which I hope you’ll all enjoy. Many thanks to Jacek Dukaj for his edits and comments. I know this isn’t the last video-game-related project for me; these will now be my favourite jobs to look out for!
Vic Kostrzewski (cost-chef-ski, he/him) is a Learning Designer, Translator and Project Manager based in South Wales. To discuss a new project, email anytime: vic@cost-chef.ski
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
