Keeper Dev Talks Creating a Dreamlike World, Speculative Biology, and More

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Double Fine’s new game, Keeper, promises a unique experience for players who enjoy bizarre and imaginative worlds. You’ll explore a silent world guided by an unusual duo: a walking lighthouse and a seabird. Keeper is sure to be a memorable adventure.

Available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, *Keeper* is a unique adventure game set in a strange, silent world. Players will follow a living lighthouse and a shy seabird as they journey through beautiful, dreamlike landscapes. Game Rant recently spoke with creative director Lee Petty about the game’s story and how it plays. This conversation has been edited to be clear and concise.

Keeper Creative Directive Talks Crafting A Surreal World Without Words

Game Rant wants to know what makes the world and story of *Keeper* so unique. What central idea connects all of its strange and dreamlike elements?

There are two main things I wanted to share. First, this project really comes from my personal love of the outdoors – I enjoy hiking and backpacking, and that’s where I do a lot of my thinking. Especially during the pandemic, I spent a lot of time outside, and it got me thinking about things a lot of people were considering: how important it is to connect with others, what that connection means, and what the future might look like if humanity weren’t around – whether life would still strive for connection.

At its heart, the game is also about friendship. *Keeper* focuses on friends uniting in extraordinary situations—like a fantastical world—and working together to solve problems. This is beautifully shown through the game’s central characters, a lighthouse and a bird named Twig, and even forms the core of how the puzzles work.

The lighthouse also felt significant because the game takes place long after humans are gone, leaving it as a relic of the past. It no longer serves its original purpose – there are no ships to guide. This led us to explore themes of change and finding new meaning, which became central to the game’s story. Essentially, those are the two main ideas we wanted to convey.

Game Rant: To what extent would you consider Keeper to be ‘dreamlike’?

Absolutely! We’re aiming for something surprising and unexpected—we want players to be delighted and constantly guessing what will happen next. While the story will still offer satisfying conclusions and emotional connections with the characters, it won’t necessarily follow predictable paths. To help achieve this, we’re creating a dreamlike atmosphere through various techniques, including visuals inspired by surrealist art. We’re combining seemingly unrelated elements to create a unique and unusual experience.

The game’s structure also plays a big role. There’s an overall objective – reaching the peak, like the lighthouse – but the journey is filled with random encounters, small towns, and ruins from the past. Many of these areas are open to interpretation. Because the game doesn’t have any words, I often think of them as representing the lighthouse keeper’s inner thoughts, not necessarily physical places. We don’t tell the player this directly, and there are countless ways to understand each segment. I enjoy how the game blurs the line between reality and imagination. It’s not a completely nonsensical or surreal experience; it maintains just enough connection to the physical world to feel dreamlike.

Game Rant asked if the unsettling and strange elements in *Keeper* are likely to disturb players.

Yes, I agree. It’s interesting because while it shares some similarities with the ‘cozy’ genre, it’s definitely not a cozy game. We’ve started calling it ‘Weird but Chill’ – it’s a strange and memorable experience, but still accessible to a lot of players. Unlike cozy games that usually stick to a narrow range of emotions, *Keeper* really takes you on a rollercoaster. We have moments of pure happiness, but also unsettling ones, and that contrast actually makes the joyful moments even more impactful.

Aside from the main ‘bad guy’ – which is more like a whole environment than a single creature – all the beings in the game are surprisingly friendly. I was really interested in exploring that idea. The game challenges typical character designs; we often assume large, spiky, or triangular creatures are dangerous, but that’s not the case here. It might be a comment on how video games usually portray enemies, or maybe just on how our brains are wired to react to certain shapes. Players might initially feel wary, but they’ll quickly discover these creatures have their own lives, concerns, and a connection to the player that grows throughout the game.

Game Rant noted that the trailer perfectly captures the strange and dreamlike atmosphere described for the game. They asked what influenced the game’s visual style, and how the team ensured all the different environments and creatures felt unified and consistent with that style.

That’s a really good question! When designing the lifeforms in this world, I played around with the idea of hybridization. Many of the creatures aren’t strictly animal, plant, or mineral – they’re combinations of organic and inorganic materials, almost fused together. This was partly inspired by surrealist art, which often combines unexpected elements, and I wanted to convey the sense that life could exist in everything around us.

The art style was heavily influenced by the desire to make everything feel handcrafted. Instead of assembling pre-made assets, our digital artists individually sculpted every detail in the world – every rock, every small object. This led us to focus on painting as well, because paintings naturally show the artist’s touch. We wanted to capture that organic, gestural quality throughout the game, not just in the overall look of the world and characters, but also by incorporating visible brushstrokes that soften the sharp edges of the computer-generated imagery. This approach gives the game a unique style and makes the world feel carefully crafted and personal. We believe this emphasis on the human touch conveys a sense of life and even hope, even within something mechanical.

Game Rant: Would you say there’s a ‘speculative biology’ element to Keeper then?

I’ve come across a few things like that, actually. A few years ago, I watched a movie called *Fantastic Fungi* which was really interesting. It focused on mushrooms and how they’re connected through a network called mycelium. The movie explained how different plants and organisms can use this network to share nutrients – it was fascinating to learn how different species can help each other in that way.

I’ve also been reading books like *After Man*, which was a really thought-provoking look at science. It reminded me of old Victorian-era animal illustrations – they were beautifully done, but often clearly drawn by artists who’d never actually *seen* the animals they were depicting. I remember one giraffe that looked more like a dog with a really long neck! I found that whole idea fascinating – taking something familiar and reimagining it in a strange, almost illogical way. We explored that concept a lot when designing our game’s characters. For example, the first level features living rocks with unusual, ostrich-like feet. We also have characters that resemble walking tubers or fruit, and a giant tree missing its three eye-shaped blue gemstones, which the player needs to find and return to help the tree. It’s definitely more about imaginative speculation – a kind of fever dream – than strict biological accuracy.

Keeper And Its Characters

Game Rant asks: The lighthouse character in *Keeper* has a surprisingly strong personality, considering it’s not a traditional character. Could you talk about how you designed it, and how you arrived at the final design?

Right from the start, we knew this game would be different. We told the animators we weren’t going to rely on any spoken words – no dialogue at all! So, the challenge was to make players connect with this lighthouse and this little bird character. We designed the bird to be a bit more familiar, something people could easily relate to emotionally, to help them care about the lighthouse too. When we first started building the lighthouse, we spent a ton of time experimenting with its design – things like how large to make the base compared to the tower, and how much of the actual workings of a Fresnel lens to show off. We really wanted to get the scale and mechanics just right.

So, we started with a basic idea of how we wanted this character to move, but we tweaked it a lot! One of the coolest things we did was make the body feel… less solid than you’d expect. We basically created these three main areas where it could bend and flex. The outer shell is broken up, which lets it move more organically, and we filled the gaps with something that looks like rock. Even though it’s still pretty sturdy, those broken sections give it points where it can really bend and curve, creating these cool ‘C’ shapes as it moves. As for the light, we didn’t go for super realistic science. Lighthouse lenses vary a lot, and I found an old picture of one that was a bit unusual – it only focused light on one side. Most lenses are designed to shine in all directions with reflectors, but because we wanted the light to be a central part of the gameplay, we decided to make it work more like a stage spotlight. It just felt right for what we were going for!

We created a special lens and quickly realized we wanted the ability to focus on details – both during cutscenes and while exploring the game world. We wanted this to feel natural, not exaggerated. So, we modified the metal structure supporting the lens, allowing parts of it to move, almost like expressive eyebrows. It’s incredible how much emotion our animators could convey with such a simple tool. It really highlights their skills in a way that’s different from, say, a visual artist. They’re masters at using limited resources to create compelling characters and feelings. I’m very proud of their work. During playtesting, we were surprised to find that players were genuinely concerned about the lighthouse, even in early stages of development. That told us we were heading in the right direction.

Game Rant asked: What led the developers to include Twig, the seabird and co-protagonist of *Keeper*, in the game? How does Twig contribute to the story and gameplay experience?

The game begins with Twig running from the Wither, which isn’t one monster, but a dangerous, spreading force made up of many creatures. It appears as either a tangled, thorny growth or a swirling mass of dark purple beings, and Twig needs to get away. During the escape, Twig crashes into a lighthouse, accidentally turning it on. Luckily, the lighthouse’s light can defeat the Wither, giving Twig a reason to remain and fight.

Twig and the lighthouse develop a close relationship throughout the game, spending almost all their time together. The game begins with Twig separated from their flock, leading players to expect they’ll eventually reunite. However, Twig and the lighthouse quickly become friends. It’s unique because the lighthouse can’t communicate traditionally, while Twig can. Players can use a dedicated button to have Twig make sounds and gestures, both for fun and to interact with other creatures, who will often respond. This highlights Twig’s ability to connect with the world in a way the lighthouse can’t. Twig can also fly and manipulate objects the lighthouse can’t reach, and they must combine their abilities to solve puzzles – each offering something the other lacks.

Throughout the game, you’ll notice Twig experiencing moments of hesitation and fear, especially in dark environments. This is reflected in its animation and sounds, which change when it’s inside or in shadowy areas – it tends to huddle near the lighthouse for comfort. Interestingly, the lighthouse itself represents safety and isn’t afraid of the dark, creating a nice contrast and showing how the two characters complement each other as the story unfolds.

A Story Without Words

Game Rant wonders if the game *Keeper* will rely on a detailed story and setting to make sense, or if its visuals are meant to be understood as symbols and metaphors instead.

It’s a combination of things, really. We’ve created a story with a sense of completion, so you’ll generally understand what the characters go through. But we didn’t want to provide all the answers; the story is meant to be open to interpretation. We hope people will connect with it based on their own lives and perspectives, finding meaning that resonates with them personally.

Everything in *Keeper* has a purpose. Purely random experiences usually lose people’s attention quickly – most people prefer some kind of structure. We aimed for that balance, and by avoiding spoken words, we’ve created a more mysterious and open-ended experience. There *is* established backstory, though. Throughout the game, you can find broken sculptures called Glyphs. The lighthouse can restore these Glyphs with light, revealing images that hint at the island’s history and past events. While there’s no direct text, these images piece together the story.

I hope players will generally understand the game’s main ideas – the feelings, atmosphere, and overall mood. However, I expect some details will be open to individual interpretation, and I’m excited to see what different people think. That’s what I love about art – sharing experiences and hearing other perspectives. Ultimately, we want to create a game that’s both meaningful and allows for personal understanding.

Game Rant asked: The marketing for this game highlights that it’s ‘a story told without words.’ Was the decision to have no dialogue made early in development, and how difficult was it to build a narrative without using any spoken or written language?

Double Fine is known for games with rich stories and lots of dialogue, something I’ve always enjoyed working on. For me, the inspiration for this particular game really began during the pandemic. There was a strange stillness to the world then, despite everything being difficult for so many. I wanted to capture that feeling and really focus on creating a strong atmosphere through visuals and sound – the music and sound effects are a big part of that. The idea was that if one sense is diminished, the others become more intense. By intentionally not overloading the player with reading, I hoped to create a more immersive and emotional experience.

Many games wouldn’t function this way, but we specifically built ours to. We didn’t want the puzzles to be overly hard, so we avoided things like hints, waypoints, or mission markers. You can’t actually lose or fail, which allows for interesting exploration and experimentation without focusing on skill or becoming a power fantasy. I believe this design works well with the game being completely without words. Taking a game like *Brutal Legend* and simply removing all text wouldn’t work at all; it relies too heavily on narrative. It was definitely a challenging process.

Early on in development, we made a big decision: no dialogue. I definitely experimented with it at first, even trying to figure out how the lighthouse itself could ‘speak’ through words. But honestly, I’m so glad we dropped it. There are other games that don’t use dialogue, but I think it really sets *Keeper* apart. It gives the game this almost meditative quality, even when things are getting intense. It’s a key part of what makes playing it such a unique experience.

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2025-10-14 21:14