Lots of people working in RPG Maker, Ren’Py and similar engines seem to have some very basic knowledge of the Japanese language (or someone who can help them with Japanese text in a pinch). However, for various reasons, utilizing the resources that can be found on Japanese websites can still prove challenging.
The main reason, I think, is that while it’s easy to learn the basics (just about anyone seriously interested in Japanese-style games seems to have either taken a basic Japanese class, went trough some free online lessons or even just picked up a phrase or two from their favourite anime), it’s much more difficult to learn specialized vocabulary related to game-making, especially since there seem to be no books available in English dealing with the subject of Japanese game-making terminology. The terms are sometimes counter-intuitive for an English speaker – when looking for character graphics to put in your visual novel, for example, you don’t search for キャラクター (although the term does mean “characters”) but for 立ち絵 (“standing pictures”). To complicate matters further, the “English” on Japanese websites doesn’t necessarily mean what it says (“free” being a good example of this).
While I think the information presented here will be especially useful for people looking for high quality free graphics for non-commercial projects, I also included other keywords.
So here is how to find game assets on the Japanese part of the Internet (provided, of course, you can read some very basic Japanese):
1. If you aren’t using it already, install rikaichan (a Firefox add-on for reading Japanese). If you can’t do that (using a public computer etc), access Japanese sites through rikai.com or a similar site. While tools like Rikai cannot help you look for content (you have to know which search terms to use – see 2.), they make reading what you find much easier.
2. Here is a basic glossary / list of words to use in search (depending on what you’re looking for):
General:
- 素材集 …… A collection of materials / assets. Comes in combinations like 背景素材集 (backgrounds), 効果音素材集 (sound effects) etc. 集 is sometimes used on its own, for example BGM集 (background music pack)
- ゲーム用 …… for use in games (also ゲーム製作用, “for use in game-making”) as opposed to ホームページ用 (for use as web graphics) – it sometimes happens you find nice materials, but the licence doesn’t cover games! 用 (or sometimes 向け) is added as a suffix indicating something is to be used in whatever it’s appended to. For example, ツクールXP用 would mean “for use in RPG Maker XP” – see next example.
- ツクール …… RPG Maker (if you’re looking for materials for RMXP, for example, try ツクールXP用素材)
- 体験版 …… trial version, demo (the word is used not only for trial versions and demos of games, but sometimes also for samples or previews of commercial graphic packs / clipart)
- 講座 …… tutorial – a useful word to know if you intend to produce your own graphics and want to see how the Japanese do it. Try CG背景講座 for backgrounds, ドット絵講座 for pixel art etc. (While 講座 originally means lecture or course, it is used in this context (learning how to make game graphics etc) in the same way the word “tutorial” would be in English. チュートリアル (the literal transcription of “tutorial”) has a different meaning and isn’t very useful for our purpose.) 描き方 (“way of drawing”) can also be used, for example 背景の描き方 (“how to draw backgrounds”) or 漫画の描き方 (“how to draw manga”).
Sound:
- 効果音 …… sound effects
Graphics:
- 背景 …… background (also 背景イラスト or CG背景 in case of drawn backgrounds (not photos))
- 立ち絵 …… characters ( literally: “standing pictures”) as they are presented in visual novels (almost full body (usually from the knees up), not the small square portrait that goes with a dialogue box – that’s 顔グラ, see next entry).
- 顔グラ …… character portraits ( literally: “facegra(phics)”)
- ドット絵 …… pixel art ( literally: “dot picture”)
Style and setting:
- 和風 …… Japanese-style (as in traditional-looking architecture, clothing, weapons etc.)
- ファンタジー …… fantasy
- 現代風 …… modern
- SF風 …… SF-style
Genre:
- ノベルゲーム or simply ノベル …… visual novel (ビジュアルノベル is also used, but not as common.)
- SLG …… Sim. Short for “simulation game”. シミュレーション is also used.
- 恋愛ゲーム …… dating sim (“love game”)
Legal / licence -related:
- 著作権フリー …… royalty-free (not copyright-free, although that’s the literal meaning – more about this in part 2)
- 利用規約 …… terms of use (Once you find something you even remotely like, you should locate these on the site and read them thoroughly before investigating further – terms of use vary widely from website to website so don’t assume you can use the graphics the way you intended to (even if it says “free” somewhere on the site) until you read them!)
- 無料 …… free of charge (the opposite is 有料)
Does all this sound complicated? Well, it certainly takes time and patience (and basic knowledge of Japanese). But don’t give up! Some of the free materials out there are of almost professional quality and would make any game look nice.
Questions? Comments? Post them on the forum ^_^
