The Story of "Medicine" (Spoilers Free)

I finally completed one thing that I would regret not doing in my life.

Making my own games has been my long term goal for many years, but I have been unable to put it into practice due to various reasons. It is not totally true that I never produced any works before. I did actually finish some "works" with enthusiasm, but the content and the quality in general are way far from satisfactory. At that time, I was short-sighted and full of myself. Now when I think about my previous "works", it just feels ridiculous.

Later, taking many things as an opportunity, I embarked on the journey of game production again with the feeling of "It's time". Then, it took around 3 months for " Solitary the Medicine" ("Medicine") to be completed and released.

“Medicine” is not a work from scratch. It comes from a short story I published on the Internet with the same name. At that time, I was still a student of Expressive Art Therapy. One night, when I was organizing my own thoughts, I suddenly started typing on my keyboard non-stop, until I finished this short story. That's why I wanted to turn this story into a visual novel.

Many things can be made clear and reasonable in many ways. However, it does not mean that people can be touched after listening to these clear and logical sayings. I did not create this story to teach people something. This story is just the voice of an ordinary person. But I am sure that it is more powerful than telling my feelings directly to others. People's feelings are definitely more complicated than what words can cover. For some people, I believe that "Stories" or other artistic media are the other ways to let others understand them. At least for me.

"Stories" are special. They seldom "preach" to readers. Instead, they hand over the author's thoughts and feelings to fictional characters and plots to convey them. As a person who has been difficult to understand since being young, I treat "Stories" as my last solution to speak out and tell everyone what is in my heart.

Back to "Medicine", I completed this story in one go and never made any major amendments. It is just like a person who can directly speak what is in his heart without beating around the bush or hiding. I always have to think through and observe people's expressions before speaking. Therefore, this is extremely rare and precious for me. In order to share “Medicine” with more people and to make my wish for years come true, I decided to turn it into a visual novel.

Adding images and sounds to a novel that was supposed to be completed. Giving shapes, actions, and expressions to “Doctor” and "Me" to make them appear as vivid as possible for the players. All of these are just like watching an embryo gradually take shape in the mother's womb. They are also like a director repeatedly rehearsing a play until it becomes perfect. “Doctor” and "Me" did not possess shapes. I never imagined their appearances when I was writing the plain text novel. When I was going to draw the images for them, their appearances just came to my mind in a second. The feeling was exactly the same as writing the novel. Perhaps their images are already inside me and I just need to bring them out. Though the content of this work has not been changed much, a lot of new things have been added as well. It is not so much a change as a "continuation" to a certain extent.

I don't know what kind of story "Medicine" is for everyone. However, I have always believed that as long as it is created, it will be enough. Also, it will be enough for "Medicine" as long as it can be witnessed. This will not change for me or my future work. There will be no regrets if I say all that can be said and do all that can be done.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who played "Medicine". It doesn't matter no matter what you think about it. It is an honor to meet one another in this world full of countless outstanding works. If you have never played "Medicine", I am especially grateful that you are willing to read this post and witness this journey.

Hope we will meet again soon.