Letters with riddles instead of names, and no map marker

· 3 min read · game-design, game-dev, cozy-game, quests

A delivery quest in most games is a line on the map. A marker says where to go, you go, you press a button, and you get a reward. It works, and it is also the exact moment a game stops looking at its world and starts looking at an interface.

The mail quest in Lantern Valley is built to do the opposite. There is no marker. On each envelope there is a riddle, and the player has to know who it is about.

The tradition of the valley #

Cadu is the mail boy of Breeze Village, a kid with a blue cap and a bag. In the first conversation he explains the tradition: around here, nobody writes the name of the person who gets the letter on the envelope. They write a riddle. Whoever gets the answer knows who it is.

He has five letters and two tired legs, and he gives them to Tina:

Letter The riddle It is for
Blue "Mends whatever the sea tears, and lives on the sand next to a boat that has seen better days." Old Knot, on the beach
Lilac "Looks after the valley's light and sleeps where four roads meet." Master Ember, at the crossroads
Yellow "Where the wind turns the sails lives someone who knows what a morning of wheat weighs." Mrs. Wheat, at the mill
Pink "Weaves when nobody is looking, with a loom by the front door." Aunt Wool, at the other end of the mill
Green "Among the pines, someone tends a fire that never goes out and always keeps a marshmallow." Pinha, in the Clearing

Each letter has a paper color, and the riddle lives in its description in the bag, so you can read it again at any moment.

Delivering is talking #

You deliver a letter by talking to who you think it is. If you are right, the person reads the letter and reacts, and each one says something different, often mentioning an island that has not arrived yet. The letter leaves the bag, you hear a soft stamp, the bell of the bicycle, a handful of paper bits fly and a chip says "Letter delivered! 2/5". The five can be delivered in any order.

If you are wrong, nothing happens. The villager says, once and kindly, "A letter? It is not for me, I am afraid. Read the riddle again and try someone else." The letter stays in the bag. The important characters simply carry on with the conversation they always have.

What helps those who are stuck #

A player who is blocked goes back to Cadu and asks again. He gives a hint about the first letter that is still in the bag. For the blue one, for example, he points at the harbor and at whoever mends nets. The hint is always about a letter you have not solved yet.

This is the part I would copy. A riddle without a hint turns a kind game into a barrier, and a hint with a marker turns the riddle into a decoration. Cadu's hint lives in the world, it is spoken by a character, and it costs a short walk back.

The reward is a hat #

When the fifth letter is delivered, the chip tells you to go back to Cadu. He has a "?" over his head and a small fanfare plays: a short stair in the valley's scale, the bell and a chord. He says he heard the bicycle bell from there, and gives you a mail carrier's cap, a collectible.

Where the quests show up #

The same system answered another question: where do the side quests appear? In front of the Lighthouse Keeper's house there is a notice board and a mailbox. Reading either one lists the open side quests: "New:" for the ones not accepted yet, "In progress:" for the ones in the journal and a line with how many were solved. It only lists what can be done now.

The red flag of the mailbox goes up, with a tin "clack" if you are near, when there is a note you have not read, and a "!" shows over the board. Reading it lowers the flag. It is a to-do list that does not look like one.

There is also the bicycle bell. Press E near it and it rings, and the bicycle sways. It does nothing. It is there to be rung.

You can try it at lanternvalley.vercel.app.

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