In Double Fine’s adventure puzzle game, Keeper [PEGI 7], you control a lighthouse, newly awakened and able to explore. Working with your seabird companion, Twig, you complete puzzles to continue forward on, ‘an odyssey of mystifying metamorphosis’.
Keeper‘s inventive and unconventional control mechanic has created a proportionally simplified control scheme, compared to many third-person games, in terms of the number of inputs required and how these are used.
In this article we will introduce the controls and give an overview of what is required by gameplay, whilst trying to avoid any spoilers. We will primarily reference game controller inputs, but will list the keyboard and mouse controls which are supported on PC, further down. Keeper is available on Xbox Series S/X consoles and Windows PC.
Gameplay & Controls Introduction
In Keeper, the camera is automatically (and cinematically) controlled. This leaves you to focus on movement and aiming your lamp, rather than continuously controlling a camera as you normally might.
As the lighthouse learns to move, so do you. You find yourself in potentially unfamiliar territory, controlling your unsteady movement towards the camera rather than have it track behind you. Movement can soon start to feel more instinctive in-line with the lighthouse’s own familiarity with its newfound autonomy.
Thanks to this controls mechanic, the Right Stick is only used when needed, rather than continuously required. The Left and Right Stick inputs are often able to be used separately. You are often able to switch from one stick to the other, if preferred, rather than using them simultaneously. Other inputs can also often be used in isolation rather than in combination, too.
The pace of the gameplay is exploratory to begin with. As you progress, it can take some unexpected turns and there are some sections that require more accurate timing of inputs. These include some platforming and also some sections with faster movement.
In the platforming sections, there are some instances where you need to Jump and Glide. To make it to some of the platforms, this does require the Left Stick and the A button to be used simultaneously.
Later on, to move at certain required speeds, a hold of A (Boost) alongside use of the Left Stick is also required. This combination is also used to break through obstacles in your path.
There is no speech or written text in the game world. This means that puzzles are worked out through exploration and what you find in front of you, rather than tying information together and following leads.
Whilst you are often free to explore areas of the island at your own pace, for some of the game you are on paths. These have (invisible) guardrails, meaning there is no falling from ledges. There is no ‘failing’ in the gameplay, so you won’t lose health, a life or progress at any stage.
By default, on-screen prompts frequently remind you of the inputs when required. Examples of some of the required controls are shown in the gallery and video below:
Joystick Controls
Left Stick (W,A,S,D) – As you move (using the Left Stick), the camera view will cut between different angles and shots. Sometimes it may be at a fixed point looking down on you as you explore an area. At other times, it will be panning alongside you as you walk. This means that all movement is related to the current camera angle and the direction you move your joystick in relation to this. Movement is assisted to ensure you continue travelling in the intended direction when the camera changes, but this feels natural.
The Left Stick is also used when controlling Twig on a mechanism. This movement is often a ‘Wind’ motion to interact or pull in a direction for a short period to ‘Tug’ at an object. As you progress, the use of the Left Stick requires more accuracy and is often combined with the character action input (A button/space key by default). If using a keyboard and mouse on PC, by default, a winding interaction is done by pressing W to D to S to A etc on the keyboard.
Right Stick (Mouse) – Light plays a large part in the game. One way you have direct control of this is by shining your own lamp. To angle and direct its light, you use the Right Stick. This does also pan the camera slightly. After aiming your lamp, when you start moving it will recentre to be straight ahead in the direction you are facing. This ‘aiming’ is somewhat assisted and locks onto a target when you are aiming nearby when you press/hold RT. You will also use the Right Stick when controlling some of the other light sources you come across.
You can aim your light as you move, but you are usually able to use the Right Stick independently of using the Left Stick. So, you can often move from one stick to the other as you need them, rather than using them simultaneously. For example, you can move to a location in-game using the Left Stick. Then, you can release the Left Stick to aim the lamp using the Right Stick, before returning to the Left Stick to move again. On one occasion later in the game, both sticks need to be used simultaneously to lift an object. However, this incident is isolated and brief.
Button/Trigger Controls
Below is a brief description of how the button and trigger inputs are used. These are the default inputs, however, as there are extensive in-game custom binding options:
RT (Left Shift) – The Right Trigger is held to ‘Focus Light’ when you want to use your lantern. This is combined with the Right Stick to angle the beam of the lamp. However, you can usually move the lamp, then focus it, rather than needing to use these inputs simultaneously. It may be that some interactions are quicker if you are able to focus the lamp to hold back an encroaching obstacle, for example, whilst winding with the Left Stick. However, you should still be able to go back and forth between the inputs to complete the interactions, albeit a little more slowly.
A (Space) – Character actions are done using the A button, which is used to ‘Dash’ or ‘Boost’. Often this enables you to break through a barrier. A press (or a few presses) rather than a hold is usually required to break through. As the game progresses, you need to combine this with a direction on the Left Stick. Further into the game, the use of Boost and the Left Stick simultaneously is needed to get enough speed for some interactions.
X (Left Click) – The X button is for Bird Actions. It is used to send Twig to a mechanism, destination or object and sometimes to interact with them, such as to Shake or Peck. These actions are often prompted on-screen. It is also used to emote with Twig and call out.
B (X) – The B button is used to return Twig to the lighthouse, such as when their interaction with a mechanism is finished.
RB (R) – RB can be used to Centre Lamp, but it is not essential. As you move, your lamp will recentre automatically.
D-pad (Left and Right Arrow) – In a few instances, you use the D-pad to interact and move Twig from one mechanism to another within a puzzle.
Additional Information
The majority of the control bindings for gameplay can be changed in the controls menu, if using a game controller. These include all the controls mentioned above, excluding the interactions using the D-pad. The options to rebind do include each individual direction on the Left and Right Stick. These can be swapped with buttons or triggers on the controller.
If using Mouse and Keyboard on PC, the same inputs can be rebound, including the option to map other keys or mouse button inputs to Aim. However, the mouse input cannot be rebound for any other action from Aim. The Left and Right arrows used for some puzzles cannot be rebound to other inputs either.
Other options include settings to invert the horizontal and/or vertical axes for aiming lamps. You can also adjust how much the camera follows aiming of the lamp. It pans slightly as you aim when on the highest setting and will not pan at all on the lowest. You can also adjust the aim sensitivity when using a game controller and the game controller’s vibration sensitivity. On PC, you can also adjust aim sensitivity for mouse and keyboard.
A game controller and mouse and/or keyboard can be used in combination, simultaneously, as you play. On PC, the on-screen input prompts will change to the last input device used. On Xbox, if you start the game up with mouse and keyboard, a prompt says a controller is needed to play. Once a controller is connected, mouse and keyboard do seem to work in-game on Xbox but this is not officially supported and there are no on-screen input prompts for these. There are no remapping options for mouse and keyboard in the menus on Xbox.
For more information on game accessibility and controls, please use the ‘Games‘ category. For information on controllers, please use the ‘Equipment‘ category.
For more information on the game itself, please visit Double Fine’s website: https://www.doublefine.com/games/keeper Additional information on accessibility in Keeper, can also be found on their site: https://www.doublefine.com/games/support/keeper/accessibility?platform=all
SpecialEffect’s Developer Resource:
For video examples of how developers have improved the motor accessibility of their specific games, please visit https://specialeffectdevkit.info/
For more examples of how developers have allowed players to customise their controller mapping, like Keeper does, please see module 2.5, Interchanging Analog with Digital, within the Action Mapping topic.
To see other examples of how developers have enabled Automatic Analog Actions like Keeper’s automatic camera movement, and its auto-recentre feature for the lamp both do, please see module 7.4, Automatic Analog Actions within the Simplification topic.