Translation appeal on video game

The game has proved popular among adult gamers, says Arberth Studios

A company behind a popular computer game based on Celtic mythology is appealing for Welsh speakers to help translate it.

Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches is based on the medieval Welsh folk tales The Mabinogion, and has been translated into German, French and Russian.

But Arberth Studios said a limited market means it cannot justify £16,500 Welsh translation costs.

The Ceredigion firm said about 30,000 words would need turning into Welsh.

The Mabinogion first came to general prominence in the mid 19th Century, when Lady Charlotte Guest published her translation of 11 medieval Welsh folk tales.

The game has been translated into Russian and German

Arberth Studios, from Cardigan, is appealing to a school, a language society or a group of Welsh-language adventure gamers who might be able to help.

"We have to try and translate this game into Welsh, but there's just not enough Welsh speakers in the gaming market to justify the translation costs," said the firm's Noel Bruton.

"Sources suggest there are around 600,000 Welsh speakers overall. A lesser number would be gamers, and only around one in 20 gamers might be interested in an adventure game.

"So a Welsh version is probably not commercially viable via conventional publishing routes. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done."

He added: "If we did find people to translate it perhaps we could give them something if we made something out of the sales.

"Although the company is based in Wales, all three members are England born and raised and what little Welsh we have is not up to the subtleties of the 30,000 or so words contained in the Rhiannon materials."