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February 5, 2026Translation Spaces0 citations

Worldbuilding, narrative, and agency in the intersemiotic translations of ‘The Witcher’

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ZPZoran PoposkiMTMarija Todorova

Key Points

  • The research aims to explore how narrative and worldbuilding elements transform through intersemiotic translations across different media.
  • Analyzed multiple adaptations of The Witcher including novels, video games, and a television series.
  • Utilized an interdisciplinary framework involving Translation, Adaptation, and Game Studies.
  • Focused on the interplay between narrative fidelity, player autonomy, and adaptation effects.
  • Successful adaptations manage to balance medium-specific features with core themes of the original.
  • Reinterpretation of narrative and worldbuilding elements differs significantly across formats.
  • Insights gained contribute to understanding contemporary practices in transmedia storytelling.

Abstract

Abstract This study examines the complex intersemiotic translations of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series across multiple media platforms: from novels to video games and subsequently to a Netflix television adaptation. Through an interdisciplinary framework drawing on Translation, Adaptation, and Game Studies, this research investigates how narrative structures, worldbuilding elements, and audience agency transform across different media. Particular attention is paid to how game developers navigate the tension between narrative fidelity and player autonomy, as well as how the television adaptation further reinterprets these elements. The analysis reveals that successful adaptations balance medium-specific affordances with core thematic and narrative elements of the source material. This interdisciplinary approach offers valuable insights into contemporary transmedia storytelling practices and provides a theoretical model for understanding the multifaceted nature of adaptation in convergent media environments.

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Cite This Study

Poposki et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/698434dff1d9ada3c1fb3863https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.23053.pop
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