Drake’s Blog

In about two weeks is the first birthday of Songs of Araiah. Despite almost having not thought about it at all this month so far, I am suddenly swept up by these feelings of nostalgia and looking back. Probably because I just finished my article for BTW about Araiah, but anyway… I actually decided to write an article for it for once, because I felt like I could actually say something about the theme, even if my article is more narrative than informative. In a beautiful coincidence, the month I wrote the article about Araiah for just so happens to be the month of Araiah’s release… I revisited a lot of different moments and feelings tonight, and I have to say it was a fun trip.

I thought of doing something to celebrate. But what more is there to do? I have said on a few occasions that there’d be nothing of a sequel from me, even though some people feel some things were left unfinished. I’ve moved on from Araiah already, and I don’t have any regrets about it. It’s fine as it is and I’m quite proud of how it turned out and how it was received. Of course, that isn’t to say there weren’t efforts to add more to Araiahverse. When I started the project, now three years ago (holy hell!), I had always kept in the back of my mind the idea for a sequel. But I quit that before I quit the story proper. When Enerccio and Yvanc started their revival, and the script itself was mostly complete, Enerccio and I killed some time by writing side stories that were due to be featured in the vn after the main story was played through. But we had to drop that during the release crunch of course, and many of them were just left undone anyway. A few weeks after Araiah was released, Enerccio mentioned a revised or deluxe edition of Araiah, featuring all the things we left out and all the details people mentioned in their critique of the work, like the menu customizations and so on. I even agreed to write one longer side story detailing the day Denz and Melissa met, probably the only serious side story we were going to add, because I felt that that was a scene that would be nice to have. But I only got a few lines in and the whole deluxe Araiah idea just fell to the side in the face of more important things and new creative endeavors.

Araiah wasn’t meant to have more. For me, now, it’s a complete experience and there isn’t room for other words or images or moments or minutes. Just moments before I made this post, joining me in my looking back, Enerccio suggested a manga side story featuring Melissa and Hanasia. A few days ago, Yvanc approached me about writing a story in the Araiah universe. Of course, I OK’d both projects, but I don’t plan on actively participating. For me, Araiah really should’ve ended that two or so years ago when I quit it, and I feel extremely fortunate that wasn’t the case at all. I’m really glad this game was pulled together in the end. But a year ago was the real end of it for me, and I’m not going back anymore. Even just now, I had to fight off the urge to finish that Denz/Melissa story and even simply posting it here in the blog. But it didn’t take me more than a minute to realize that wasn’t going to happen. I don’t have to do it, and upon thinking on it, I realized I didn’t want to. I just wanted to celebrate Araiah. So this here, this blog post, and the BTW article too, is my gift to Araiah on its first birthday, after so much time I’ve put into it. And I’m moving on for good, this time. I’m not letting those two teammates of mine talk me into anything, or let anyone else do it either. Jason may be able to live a life trapped in that mansion for eternity, but I can’t do it. I gotta move on and tell other stories. Sing other “songs”, in a sense. The end is the end, no matter how happy I am because I made it… it’s gotta end, right?

So, Happy Birthday, Araiah. See ya around, kid… or maybe not…