NPC Dialogue - Lewis, Emily, and Abigail

In-game dialogue box with a portrait of a man with a mustache, wearing a brown hat, green shirt, and yellow tie, named Lewis, offering livestock feed for sale.
A dialogue box from a video game showing a character named Lewis, a man with a mustache, wearing a brown hat, green shirt, and yellow tie, talking about townsfolk muttering about "term limits."
In-game dialogue box with a portrait of a man named Lewis, wearing a brown cap, green shirt, and yellow tie. The caption reads: "Jojamart has been bringing in big business! But somehow, they've generated fewer taxes than Pierre's shop. Hmn..."
A pixel art screenshot of a dialogue box from a video game featuring a character portrait of a woman with purple hair, smiling. The dialogue box contains text about getting an ad for a clickbait article and dyeing hair with squid ink, signed by Abigail.
A pixel art portrait of Abigail, a young woman with purple hair, wearing a dark blue top, in a wooden frame. Next to her is a dialogue box with text about her pet guinea pig named David, depicting a scene from a video game.
Screenshot of a dialogue box from a video game with a portrait of a woman with purple hair. The dialogue says: 'I gotta get going! It's time for my weekly Easter egg hunt training session.' The name tag reads Abigail.
A pixel art portrait of a woman with blue hair and a red shirt, smiling, next to a text box with the name Emily. The text box contains a message about Hailey and Emily's birthdays and astrology.
Pixel art-style character of a woman with blue hair, wearing a red shirt, smiling, in a game dialogue box. The dialogue reads: "I'm a firm believer that sustainable fashion isn't just good for the environment... It's good for your aura too!"
Screenshot of a dialogue box with a character named Emily, who has blue hair and is smiling, in a farming video game. The dialogue talks about the importance of having a farmer like you in town and the difficulty of sourcing organic, sustainable produce today.

Festival Concept - Founders’ Day

Description

A celebration of Pelican Town’s founding. Takes place on the 17th of Summer. The player can join in on the festivities anytime after 8 PM.  

Activities 

Cookout

Upon approaching Gus at the grill, the player gets to add a meal to their inventory. Each meal comes with a survival burger along with the player's choice of either pepper poppers or a maple bar. 

Firework Show

The player can talk to Mayor Lewis to begin the firework show. Once the scene is initiated, the camera drifts upward toward the night sky, which is cloudless and full of stars. Fireworks are randomly generated across the screen, some of them with special shapes. There is a small chance of one of the following fireworks appearing: Chicken Firework, Junimo Firework, Seashell Firework, Starfruit Firework. The show will always end with a Pelican Firework. 

Shop Inventory 

A table listing Pelican Town-themed items including a sparkler, Pelican Town flag, saltwater taffy, popsickle, and beachy painting, with descriptions and prices in grams.

Festival Dialogue

In-game dialogue box with text about grandpa and grilling, and a portrait of a man with a mustache wearing a cap and green shirt labeled Lewis.
Screenshot from a video game showing a character named Shane with purple hair, wearing a blue jacket and green shirt. The dialogue box says, 'The highlight of this festival really is getting free food from Gus.'
Dialogue box with text about 'Founders' Day' and a portrait of a blonde woman with curly hair named Haley, on a wooden background.
Screenshot of a dialogue box from a video game with a character named Jas, a girl with purple hair and green hair accessories, talking about being burned by a sparkler.
Screenshot of a character named Emily in a video game dialogue, expressing a wish to stargaze instead of setting off fireworks.

NPC Concept - Cecelia

Description

Cecelia is still relatively new in town, and she has had a hard time adjusting to coastal life.

A passionate real estate agent from the big city, she initially settled down in Stardew Valley in hopes of selling quaint little homes in the country. Unfortunately, it just resulted a longer commute for her — few are interested in living in such a remote town.

In hopes of remedying this, Cecelia is constantly pestering Mayor Lewis and trying to push local initiatives that will boost tourism in the area, aiming to bring in potential buyers. So far, nothing has worked.

Relationships 

Cecelia has had a hard time adjusting in Pelican Town, and she doesn’t associate with many of the locals. When at the saloon or attending festivals, she usually sticks to the outskirts and keeps to herself.

Due to her town initiatives, she has developed a hot-and-cold friendship with Mayor Lewis. Though she openly complains about him, she acknowledges that he has sacrificed a lot for the town.

Once 6 hearts have been achieved, Cecelia builds an acquaintanceship with Haley, whom she offers a photography internship through her real estate firm. The two bond over a shared interest in both fashion and professional growth.

Gifting

Table displaying different categories of gifts with corresponding emojis. Loved Gifts include a gold bar, red gem, green gem, purple potion, and diamond. Liked Gifts include a blue potion, red heart, strawberry, green plant, blue and green gemstone. Neutral Gifts include a gingerbread cookie, pineapple, lettuce, small mug, wooden barrel, and honey jar. Disliked Gifts include a four-leaf clover, egg, yellow flower, gold coin, paintbrush, and purple crayon. Hated Gifts include a purple flower, key, purple flower, and purple orb.

Schedule

A schedule outlining daily and weekday activities, including beach visits, leaving for work, meeting the mayor, and bedtime.
Schedule of activities for Friday, including at home, walking to bus stop, taking a taxi to Zuzu City, returning to Pelican Town, lingering in town square, going to Stardrop Saloon, and heading home to bed.
Schedule of activities for Saturday and Sunday, including times and locations such as being at home, walking to Pierre's, dropping off groceries, hanging out in town square, heading to the beach, to Stardrop Saloon, and then heading home to sleep.

Dialogue

Introduction

Dialogue box with the text: "Good luck building rapport with the locals. They don't have much respect for city folk around here." Next to it is an NPC portrait of a woman with dark hair, wearing a jacket, labeled "Cecelia."

Regular 1

Character Cecelia with dark hair, wearing a dark blazer, speaking in a game dialogue box about moving to town and not being the only outsider anymore.

Regular 2

In-game dialogue box with a portrait of Cecelia, a woman with dark hair in a bun, wearing a gray coat and maroon turtleneck, speaking to the player in a farming simulation game.

6+ Hearts

Discord conversation with Cecelia, a young woman with dark hair, wearing a gray jacket and a red sweater, talking about settling in and wishing to speak more slowly.

8+ Hearts

Pixel art image of a conversation with a character named Cecelia, who is smiling with dark brown hair tied back, wearing a dark gray jacket and a red shirt. The dialogue box reveals Cecelia expressing her desire for the other person's possessions and making a joke.

Luau

Character portrait of Cecelia, a woman with dark brown hair in a bun, wearing a gray jacket and maroon turtleneck, next to a dialogue box with text about Mayor Lewis and education.

Heart Events

2 Hearts 

When the player enters the town square, they catch Cecelia and Lewis in a heated debate concerning the town’s budget. Cecilia thinks that some of the annual festival funds should go toward developing an inn so that tourists who attend can have a place to stay. She argues that it will bring in more money for the town. Lewis is not convinced that there are enough tourists to warrant such a venture. Eventually, Cecelia drags the player into the argument and asks for their opinion:

  • “Shouldn’t we prioritize the people already living in Pelican Town over tourists?” (-20 friendship points)

  • “Why not leave it up to a local vote?” (no friendship point change)

  • “Maybe there’d be more tourists if they had a place to stay, Mayor.” (+20 friendship points)

4 Hearts 

A brief cutscene is initiated as the player enters the beach area. Cecelia is picking up trash that has floated to shore. Eventually, she turns and sees the player. A little flustered, she explains that she’s not dumpster diving or anything of that sort — Pelican Town simply does not have a proper sanitation department, so somebody has to be willing to get their hands dirty.

  • “What’s the point? More trash floats to shore every day.” (-20 friendship points)

  • “I just wouldn’t have expected you to be the one to do it.” (no friendship point change)

  • “Let’s get our hands dirty together, then.” (+20 friendship points)

7 Hearts 

After reaching 7 hearts with Cecelia, she will send you a recipe for Chocolate Covered Strawberries in the mail with the following message:

I’m not much of a cook, but this is an easy little luxury. Figured you might have the ingredients on hand to try it yourself.

-Cecelia

10 Hearts 

Cecelia is sitting at the bus stop. Usually, she would have already taken a taxi to Zuzu City. She notices the player and calls them over, then explains that her client cancelled their showings for the day. This is her first Friday off since moving to Pelican Town, and she’s at a loss with what to do with the extra free time.

  • “I don’t get much free time either, so I can’t really offer any recommendations.” (-20 friendship points)

  • “You could go pester Lewis some more.” (no friendship point change)

  • “If you don’t mind getting your hair wet, Willy rents out snorkling gear.” (+20 friendship points)

Regardless of what the player says, Cecelia comes to the conclusion that she’d like to go snorkling with the player. A scene plays out of the two finding a myriad of odd fish, but the fun ends when she realizes the tide has pulled away her swimsuit top. Cecelia and the player hide under Willy’s dock until nightfall, when all of the beachgoers have gone home so that she can sneak back to shore with the player unseen.