Thus, the developer of a video game may enforce two sets of rights with one game. What is known is that video games fall into two categories of copyrightable works listed in section 102(a): audiovisual works, as embodied by the sights and sounds that display on the screen and speakers, and literary works, as embodied by the source code 16. Therefore, how copyright applies to a text-centric video game, as opposed to a book, is a matter of ongoing debate 15. Video games differ from other copyright-protected media (such as books and paintings) in that they contain audiovisual elements generated according to the source code and input from the player. The Copyright Act 12, contains the statutory rules for copyright protection of “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression.” 13 Section 102(a) contains a nonexclusive list of the works eligible for protection, which include literary, musical, and audiovisual works 14. How Are Video Games Protected Under United States Copyright Law? Releasing only the patch, which is useless without the original game, is one of the unwritten rules of fan-made translations 11.ī. The user is left to acquire the original ROM, whether through legitimate import or illegal downloading.
The process is similar to how Apple updates iPhones, in that Apple provides software (a patch) which changes the way their phones (the game) behave 10. The patch alters the code of the original ROM to display the English text stored in the patch 9. Once complete, another piece of software called a patch is created, which can be applied to any original version of the ROM 8.
From this file, the translator does a traditional translation, as one would with the text from a book. Once all the text is located within the source code, it is extracted and put into a separate file 7. In the case of older games stored on a cartridge, as opposed to a CD or DVD, transferring the ROM to a computer adds an additional step 6. Finding and isolating the text requires the skills of a software engineer, rather than a translator 5. Rather, it is scattered throughout the source code 4. Because video games are really programs or ROMs 3, the text is not stored in one central location. Compared to translating a book, which at its most basic level can be done with a pen and paper, translating a video game is significantly more complex 2. In the case of most American translation efforts, the alteration is from Japanese to English, since Japanese games are popular candidates for translation 1. Translating a video game, of course, requires altering the text from one language to another.
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