Amberlight Postcard: When the Lights Return

About Amberlight Postcard: When the Lights Return

Amberlight Postcard: When the Lights Return is an illustrated interactive story set in Amberlight, a fishing town at the head of a northern fjord, six weeks into the polar night. The town’s radio station is the back room of the post office, and its signal reaches the farms up the fjord through a relay mast on the mountain, which is icing up: every day fewer farms can hear. In three days the sun comes back over the mountain, and by custom the radio reads the town’s postcards to the sun at noon while everyone stands on the quay. You are the postmistress. On your counter sits an old valve wireless with a brass dial that can wind the afternoon back to noon, once a day; but the afternoon always keeps one thing from the first time. Each day one person comes in: Aud, the relay engineer the council let go; Tormod, sixteen, the best climber in town, who wants to leave; and Elfrida, eighty, who has not written a Sun Day card in thirty years. The first try never quite works. Turn the dial back and keep what you learned, and the second try can; keep how they felt instead, and they will remember a kindness that never happened. What is mended and who is warmed by Sun Day decides one of five endings, two of them hidden. A new twist each week and a daily challenge keep it fresh. You can also go back to any choice, every line is announced to screen readers, the text goes up to Largest, and nothing is timed.

How to play

Press Go on or tap the postcard to continue, and tap a choice (or press 1 to 5) to answer. Z or the Back button returns to your last choice.
Each afternoon one person comes into the post office. Choose how to talk to them.
If the afternoon goes wrong, choose Turn the dial back to noon (once a day). Then choose one thing the afternoon keeps: something you learned, or how they felt.
On the second try, a thing you kept opens a new thing to say. A feeling you kept instead stays with them until Sun Day.
Things the dial kept go on the board (E, or the Papers button). On Sun Day, what you mended and who you warmed decide the ending.
Change the text size with T or the Text button. The week saves as you go, and Restart begins a new week with a new twist.

Controls

Tap the postcard, or press Enter, Space or Ⓐ — go on
Tap a choice, or press 1 to 5 — choose
Z, Backspace or Ⓑ — go back to the last choice
E or Ⓨ — what the dial kept; L or Ⓧ — the week so far; T — text size
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How long is a story?

About fifteen to twenty-five minutes for three afternoons and Sun Day. There are five endings, two of them hidden.

How does the dial work?

Once an afternoon you can turn it back to noon and try again. The afternoon keeps one thing from the first try, and you choose it: something you learned, or how the person felt.

Is the Back button the same as the dial?

No. Back simply returns to your last choice, as if it never happened. The dial is part of the story: the afternoon replays, and it remembers one thing.

Do my choices matter later?

Yes. What you win each afternoon and the feelings you keep decide what happens on Sun Day, and one person’s help can open a new way to talk to the next.

Can I play with a keyboard or a screen reader?

Yes. Every line and choice is announced, every button works with the keyboard or a controller, the text goes up to Largest, and nothing is timed.

Does it save?

Yes, in this browser: the afternoon you are on, the endings you have found and your settings. Nothing is uploaded.