From the Developer
Next week you'll be able to play Multiplayer Mini-Games! Since PLAYNESE revolves around your own personalized save file, with your own progress, scorecards, shops, difficulty settings, story progression and much more, it isn't practical to simply turn the entire game into a shared world. BUT...
Instead, I've begun building a separate online Game Center where players can enjoy multiplayer mini-games together while keeping their personal worlds completely separate.
This is the foundation I'd like to build upon over time.
Please keep in mind that this is the very first implementation of multiplayer coming to PLAYNESE in next weekends update.
Multiplayer Mini-Games
Unlike many of the game's features, multiplayer has required a huge amount of work behind the scenes. Because of this, new multiplayer content will be added gradually over time rather than all at once starting next weekend. I have already finished two multiplayer mini-games, but still working on the code.
・Players will be able to meet inside an online lobby before starting multiplayer games.
・Online games are marked with オンライン above the arcade machine.
・There may not always be players online yet while PLAYNESE continues to grow, so inviting a friend, study partner, family member or Discord community member will be the best way to enjoy multiplayer together.
・Choose between Challenging or Teamwork games where you compete, or work together to gain money.
・I would really like to have some multiplayer card battles and maps. Let's see what the future holds.
Multiplayer Features
Peer-to-peer multiplayer
Invite players directly from the lobby
Notification sound when receiving an invitation
Automatic rewards are kept if a match ends early
If another player disconnects, you automatically win the match
Online-only games are clearly marked inside the Game Center
No in-game chat (to help keep the game family friendly)
For now, communication can be done through the PLAYNESE Discord or your own voice chat while playing together.
Important Notes
Since this will be the first online feature added to PLAYNESE, please expect occasional bugs or connection issues.
The multiplayer system has primarily been tested within Japan, so I'd greatly appreciate bug reports from players around the world.
Please remember to save your game before playing online if possible, just in case something unexpected happens within the first week.
If you encounter any issues, have ideas for new multiplayer games, or simply want to help improve the system, please join the Discord community.
Your feedback will directly help shape future multiplayer updates. :)
Multiplayer Roadmap
The online Game Center is only getting started.
Adding multiplayer takes considerably longer than creating normal game content, so rather than rushing lots of unfinished features, I'd prefer to expand it carefully over time.
My goal is to keep adding more multiplayer mini-games, challenges and cooperative activities as development continues.
Thank you for your patience while I build this challenging system.
Anki Idle Update / Auto Anki (Top right)
The JLPT N5 deck has received a huge expansion.
JLPT N5
520 new cards added
Increased from 180 → 700 cards
More decks will continue receiving additional content in future updates, as well as the actual Anki study decks.
Inventory Improvements
The inventory has received a major usability update although one change still needs to happen. In the hotbar at the bottom the quantity and shortcut button numbers overlap, which will be fixed in next week's update.
Changes
Added one extra inventory column
Added two additional rows (20 extra slots before changing pages)
Larger item quantity text
Quantity moved to the bottom-right corner for improved visibility
Slightly larger item icons
Larger description font (Requested by "whereitsatvending" on Discord)
Item descriptions now appear beside the selected item instead of at the top of the screen
New category button colors
Updated inventory background
Managing items should now feel a bit cleaner and easier.
Development Notes
Many additional story events, Kanji Tower floors, learning materials and other content are already completed but still require balancing, testing and polishing before release.
As a solo developer, I sometimes switch between programming, art, music, writing and gameplay systems to keep development moving forward and avoid burnout. While that can make updates seem varied from week to week, it also means PLAYNESE continues growing in many different areas at once.
Thank you to everyone reporting bugs, sharing ideas, leaving reviews and supporting PLAYNESE throughout Early Access.
Every review helps more players discover the game, which in turn helps justify spending more time building larger features, like the multiplayer Game Center that will continue expanding over the coming months.
See you next weekend for the next major update!
ライト = Light 🎮