Paper Letter: When the Lights Return

About Paper Letter: When the Lights Return

Paper Letter: When the Lights Return is an illustrated interactive story set in Gannet Reach, a seaside town in winter whose radio relay on Lantern Head loses a bar of signal every night. You are the archive's oral historian, sent to collect the town's diary pages about the Night of the Late Launch, when a lifeboat left its slip too late for a trawler's flare. Six people each hold a page: the relay keeper, the lifeboat coxswain, the harbour clerk, the chip shop owner, a sixteen-year-old who minds the pier kiosk, and the vicar. Every page remembers the night in its own kinder way. You have only five evenings, and each evening is one visit, so you cannot hear everyone. At every door you choose to ask kindly or to press, and the people of the town hear about it and bring it up the next time you meet. Hold two pages side by side to work out what the diaries disagree about: when the power went off, who switched what, when the slipway was clear. On the last night the pier lights return and you tell the town what happened, in one of four ways, from the whole truth to saying nothing at all. A new twist each session changes the number of nights or what is in your way, and there is a daily challenge. Nothing is timed against you, you can go back to an earlier choice, every line is announced to screen readers, and the text goes up to Largest.

How to play

Press Continue or tap the text to read on, and tap a choice (or press 1 to 5) to answer. Z or the Back button returns to your last choice.
Each evening you visit one person. The signal on the relay drops by a bar each night, and the pier lights return when the nights run out.
At each door, ask kindly or press for a second page. The person remembers, and so does the town.
Open the pages (E, or the Pages button) and pick two to hold side by side. A pair that fits tells you something the diaries hide.
On the pier, tell the town what happened. You can speak early once you have heard three people. The ending depends on what you worked out and what you chose to say.
Change the text size with T or the Text button. Your story saves as you go, and Restart begins a new one with a new twist.

Controls

Tap the text, or press Enter, Space or Ⓐ — continue
Tap a choice, or press 1 to 5 — choose
Z, Backspace or Ⓑ — go back to the last choice
E or Ⓨ — pages; L or Ⓧ — what the tape has printed so far; T — text size
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How long is a story?

About fifteen to twenty-five minutes, over five nights. There are four ways to tell the night, so you will want to spend your evenings differently and play again.

What happens when the nights run out?

The signal fades one bar a night and the pier lights come back on the last. You can also speak early once you have heard three people. Running out of nights never ends the game badly: it brings you to the pier.

Is anything timed?

No. A few choices show a quick-answer window for a small extra, but a slow answer loses nothing and never removes a choice. You can turn the window off in Settings.

Can I take a choice back?

Yes. Press Z or the Back button to return to your last choice with everything as it was, as often as you like.

Can I play with a keyboard or a screen reader?

Yes. Every line, choice and page is announced, every button works with the keyboard or a controller, the text size goes up to Largest, and reduced motion shows each line at once.

Does it save?

Yes, in this browser: the story you are in, the endings you have seen and your settings. Nothing is uploaded.