Casual Keyboard Game with Stories and Art

Steam Page Community Page

Synopsis [link]

Far away in a magical place there is a waterfall with a small door under it which leads to an amazing library called Keystone Library. Within the library you can see all types of characters from all walks of the imagination.

Each book in the library is a different storybook with it's own custom art, music and story. Each chapter of each book is a different type of game designed to fit the storyline.

Each book has RPG style elements which allow you to build your character for the story. You can also build your library character over time as you advance your book achievements.

Finish the quests and stockpile your achievements as you play and learn new things in this magical keyboard driven adventure.

Gameplay [link]

The casual goal of the game is to renovate the library to bring it back to life and attract more guests. In order to do this you must earn credits to purchase upgrades for the library. Credits are earned by "reading". Although reading in this case is actually playing one of several games which are labeled as books.

Each book is based upon a story or book-like theme. It could be anything from a fantasy adventure to a sci-fi drama, or even just a selection of history and cultural tales.

Just like an ordinary book, each book in Keystone Library has many chapters. Each chapter is a unique type of game scene, designed to fit the narrative of the story - RPG style quest and battles, puzzles, typing challenges, and more. The challenges build up over time but will most likely be narrowed to a limited set over time so as not to overwhelm or annoy the reader and so as not to distract from the main purpose of the game - which is to enjoy the story.

Scene Types [link]

There is currently a limited but growing set of chapter scene types.

Chapter Intro Scene

While not a play scene, the Chapter Intro Scene is pivotal to the game. Every chapter begins at the Chapter Introduction Scene. Here you can read a brief on the story chapter, upgrade your character and stock your inventory and supplies at the shop - and you can communicate with your companion for support, tips and dialogue for the story. Then finally you will start your next chapter from this introduction scene.

1 - Travel Scene

A travel scene is a typing challenge designed to emulate the "grind of travel" we often find in stories. You must type the words on the screen before the time runs out, while dodging attacks and picking up loot along the way.

2 - RPG Quest Scene

The Quest Scene is a place where you can explore the territory and interact with characters with our keyword based dialogue system. Travel from area to area looking for clues, interacting with the environment, picking up inventory, and communicating with characters to complete your Quest Objectives.

3 - RPG Battle Scene

With your character upgraded and properly equiped you will have to survive a battle scene. The battles are turn-based RPG style interactions. Equip your weapon. Choose your target enemies. Use your inventory. And survive the battle by defeating your opponents.

4 - Image Puzzle Scene

The image puzzle scene is a recreational game with an image puzzle. The puzzle is usually an illustration suited to the story or theme of the book. Flip the pieces and move them to the correct location on the board to solve the puzzle.

5 - Memory Game Scene

Based on the classic card game of memory. You will see many cards faced down, the cards are all set into pairs, you may only flip 2 at a time, and you must find the match for each pair. So your memory becomes very important.

6 - Dice Game Scene

A game of pure chance for that old-school casino feel. Roll the dice against your opponent and try to beat their score. The highest roll wins, but doubles of any kind will beat individual numbers. If both players roll doubles the highest number wins.

7 - Archery Boss Scene

An escalating typing challenge with three stages. Dodge the falling boulders, break the shield, and timed sentence typing. Designed to be managed by a smaller protagonist against a single bigger protagonist in the background.

8 - Word Scramble Boss Scene

A word scramble challenge against a single protagonist. Includes three escalating phases - two types of word sentence completion and mi oving word scramble.

9 - Survival Scene

Gather resources and build things to keep your hunger and thirst at bay while defending yourself from the elements, building a shelter, and fighting off preditors.

10 - Siege Scene

Tower Defense. Defend the home base from waves of enemies using a variety of tools, weapons and inventory based upon your character build.

11 - Management Scene

You have to establish a business or create a system with limited supplies. Use your management skills to prove your economics and succesfully build an establishment from the ground up. Businesses. Farms. Villages. and more.

12 - Dungeon Scene

Get through the dungeon. Similar in style to the Quest scene, but more focused on text and a map. Explore the dungeon, find the keys, open the doors, get to the end of the labyrinth without getting yourself killed.

13 - Gambling Scene

Choose from a list of dice or card games and beat your opponent. Poker. Blackjack. War. This could make the dice game obsolete.

Trailer Script [link]

• [PART 1 - Trailer Intro]
• Far away in a magical place [...] there is a small path under a waterfall [...] which leads to a magical foundation.
• Welcome [...] to Keystone Library.
• [PART 2 - Library Introduction]
• Within the library you can see all types of characters from all walks of the imagination.
• A casual keyboard console game with dedicated illustration and music.
• Browse a selection of stories, each with unique adventures and art.
• We currently have works in Mythology [...5 secs] Fantasy [...5 secs] and Cyberpunk [...5 secs].
• We hope to grow our selection over time [...] But we need your help.
• [PART 3 - Gameplay Details]
• Renovate the establishment as you complete your achievments.
• Help attract new guests and make them feel at home.
• Role playing themed chapters - with quests, [...] battles, [...] puzzles [...] and games of chance.
• Learn new things. See new places. Meet new characters.
• Build your characters, [...] fulfill your achievements, [...] customize your library, [...] or just wander around and play.
• [PART 4 - Exit]
• Stop on by and have a look.
• Keystone Library.

Old Trailer

Library Features [link]

• In the lobby you might see some characters walking about and you can talk with the help desk.
• The physical library has (1) an outdoor entrance, (2) a lobby, (3) a terrace, (4) a book hall, (5) a managers office, (6) and a great hall for extensions.
• Originally you will always have access to the above rooms, but much of it in bad shape or off limits for renovation.
• As you progress you can add rooms for entertainment and for show. Under construction and in consideration...
  • Lounge - just for looks and guest attraction.
  • Reading Room - You can actually read stories, no games attached.
  • Sound Room - Listen to music, play with sound, maybe even some instruments.
  • Pet house - a mini zoo and pet farm.
  • Card room - for deck-building mini games.
  • Arcade - some mini games.
  • possibly more as time goes on...
• All areas, especially the library, start off simple and can be upgraded.

Current Work [link]

• Working on illustrations for the library.
• New trailer. Not just a promotional piece. It helps define the game.
• [Tab] feature. To call up the Chapter Guide for profile, inventory, instructions, etc.
• Mapping out library upgrade and play features.

History [link]

Keystone Library was inspired by a love of keyboards, illustration, music and storytelling.

I actually started this game as a simple web project. I was experimenting with some new coding frameworks and simultaneously I was looking for something to do with all these illustrations I had made over the years. So I started making this typing game with illustrations as a background. And it was fun! It was cool! So I kept working on it and kept adding features as I went along.

I wanted to make it into a fully-fledged game that I could share online, but I already had some bad experience with bloated game engines, and Flash had gone out of style. Then I stumbled upon Godot, an open source game engine project, backed by Google. And from there it was history.

Now it’s been over two years and I’m still working on it.

The original philosophy of the game is to make an environment where everyone can login to the "Library" and choose a book with a theme they like - mythology, cyberpunk, fantasy, etc. And each book will have it’s own story to follow while you play casual keyboard interface games.

So far here, I think the idea is pretty simple. It’s a game with various stories and mini games for each story. So it’s a library of story-based mini-games.

Oh! But I couldn’t just leave it there, could I? No way. Let’s spice it up a bit more!

Since I’ve been studying illustration and storytelling for a great many years, I wanted each story to be really immersive and engaging. I’m hoping that each story will be like reading a book, watching a movie, really draw you into the world of the story. So I started collaborating with a music composer and she is composing all these awesome songs and environmental sound and sound effects to compliment the stories!

Now, we have Keystone Library. That is the dream. The dream has come to fruition!

In addition to this, there is also the keyboard element of the game which needs some attention. I wanted to do something different from the usual game, something unique.

As a developer, as a Linux enthusiast, and as a lover of matrix-style consoles and terminals, I thought I could try to bring my love of keyboards to the game. So I designed the entire game to be mouse-free, keyboard-only. This could possibly change in the future, but so far it this is how it remains, and it has been really fun to design the game like this. I like to see it as a type of "Matrix-style Dream Interface" where you can feel like a hacker typing commands into a terminal, but with tons of visual and audio effects to enhance the experience.

Using a keyboard as an interface for a game offers so much more than the usual game too. You can type commands to interact with the scene and characters, which opens up the door for all types of creativity. Imagine having an interactive chat with a character? Imagine an open-ended experience where you have to guess the right thing to say? Imagine the ability to control the environment with more than just a mouse motion and a button click?

This offers a creative environment with much more than just menu options. You can potentially type all types of commands and interact with the characters, the environment, and become more immersed in the story.

But much of this is still aspiration and food-for-thought. I am pushing the limits of this idea as far as I can, but not quite there yet. It will take a little more time to build the game beyond the appearance of "just a typing game". And that’s basically my main focus right now.

Other than that last hurdle. I’m extremely happy how things have come along and I am looking forward to sharing more of the game with you soon.

You can find an aspirational feature list of the game here in this blog, as well as an ongoing log on the daily/weekly updates to the game. Links below.

Keystone Feature List

Keystone Log

Achievements

A certain number of achievements is always nice. It helps to give the player a sense of... achievement.

Here is a rough idea of what types of achievements might be added for future reference.

Full Feature List (Archive)

This is a ‘somewhat’ full list of expected features upcoming in the game Keystone Library. Some are already done, some are anticipated.

• Keyboard console interface.
• A small library of books to choose from. Currently focusing on 3 major books. Mythology. Cyberpunk. Fantasy.
• Each book with immersive theme, illustration, design and music for the story or genre.
• Layered 2D illustration and graphics effects for all stages.
• RPG Quest mode with ongoing stories and exploration and character interactions.
• Advanced keyword controlled character communication system.
• RPG Battle mode with flexible arsenal / inventory system and multiple enemy challenges.
• Typing challenges to represent “grind and exploration”.
• Puzzle stages to satisfy the PvE experience.
• Currency system with shop, inventory, and character upgrades.
• Interactive companion system who is helpful and gives both assistance and tips.
• Linear chapter based progression with replay value for all chapters.