RPG Maker Plugin for Furigana

Hello there, heroes! Runa here with a quick devlog to showcase the RPG Maker plugin for furigana that will be used in JRPG Japanese: A Language Learning Adventure!

In a completely unrelated note, but update nonetheless, I wanted to let you all know that my Instagram account is down. No, I did not delete it. Instagram did on grounds of “violating terms”, which I haven’t. No luck with any of my appeals yet. So if/when I ever get my Instagram account back, you can STILL keep in touch with me on Twitter.

Now that THAT sorry news is out of the way, it’s time for the plugin introduction.

The RPG Maker furigana plugin: Torigoya_TextRuby

This plugin is called Torigoya_TextRuby by ru_shalm. Though it’s simple, it’s also ABSOLUTELY necessary for making this game accessible to beginner language learners.

Through ruby code magic, this plugin lets me add furigana to the Japanese characters in my game.

Furigana is a Japanese reading aid. It’s the little text on top that help you read the pronunciation or catch the meaning of those tough characters below them.

How it will appear in JRPG Japanese

The way Torigoya_TextRuby will appear in JRPG Japanese is the “tough characters” or big characters on the bottom will be written wholly in the Japanese writing systems (hiragana, katakana, and kanji). Instead of aiding kanji, I will use the furigana for romanji only. This way, intermediate and advanced learners can get their fix of real Japanese, while the beginners can read along on top.

Note: If JRPG Japanese were an RPG enemy, it’d be a skeleton right now. Very bare-bones. As me and my map-maker lay down rough drafts with default assets, please note that the graphics below are NOT actual representations of a finished game!

See that beautiful furigana? Can you read it? Good!

I haven’t formatted the font yet, but I will the furigana larger, change the font face, and adjust the line height on it so it’s not covering up the main text. But for now, this plugin is exactly what I need to get my dialogues at least set in the game.

How to implement the plugin

If you want to use this plugin for a game of your own, the programming behind-the-scenes is very simple:

\ruby[ルビを振りたい単語](ふりがな)

Here’s the code I used for the screenshot above:

{ “startmessage”: “\\ruby[ようこそ](youkoso)、\\ruby[主人公](shujinkou)!”}

My goal of this devlog is to provide updates, not tutorials (I just don’t have the time). But if you’d like to get your hands on this plugin and try it out yourself, see ru_shalm’s Torigoya_TextRuby website!