{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/keyboard--family-space","type":"mechanic","id":"keyboard--family-space","lang":"en","title":"Keyboard as a spatial surface","summary":"Key positions become a map of actions. The announced Keyboard Sports builds its game space around the whole keyboard.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/keyboard--family-space/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/keyboard--family-space.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/keyboard--family-space.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Physical keyboard interactions","Space"],"sourceIds":["source-2d8fd1f6427b91cb"],"sources":[{"id":"source-2d8fd1f6427b91cb","title":"Keyboard Sports - Saving QWERTY (announced)","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/700720/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The physical layout of the keys becomes part of the playing field or interface."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-space-variants\"></a>\n\n- Each key is a cell. Action: Objects are directly tied to physical keyboard positions. Application: Protect base keys, grow a garden, manage mini-map cells. Conditions: Geometry must be described for supported form factors. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k049\"></a>\n- Transitions between neighbors. Action: The next key must be adjacent to the previous one. Application: Finding a path, spreading fire, moving a snake across the keyboard. Conditions: The neighborhood is set by the author; the letter row has physical offsets. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k050\"></a>\n- Rows are like paths. Action: Horizontal rows or groups of keys represent individual lines. Application: Rhythmic tracks, floors of a building, rows of manufacturing machines. Conditions: Linking to rows may require a separate circuit for a non-standard keyboard. Equipment: Conventional keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k051\"></a>\n- Columns are like a scale. Action: Vertical or conventionally vertical groups correspond to levels of value. Application: Pitch, destination floor, immersion depth, power level. Conditions: On a conventional keyboard, the columns are geometrically offset. Equipment: Conventional keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k052\"></a>\n- Zones as separate devices. Action: Different sections of the keyboard control different subsystems. Application: Left and right engines, several musical instruments, dispatcher posts. Conditions: Circuits are needed for compact keyboards without part of the blocks. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k053\"></a>\n- Spatial drawing. Action: You need to press keys of a given shape sequentially or together. Application: Draw a rune, assemble a contour, repeat a symbol. Conditions: The program sees a set of events, and not the movement of a finger between the keys. Equipment: A regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k054\"></a>\n- Distance between targets. Action: The value or difficulty depends on the distance between successively required keys. Application: Reach emergency buttons, take a short route for the hand. Conditions: The actual distance differs from device to device; This is an approximate model. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k055\"></a>\n- Transformation of space. Action: The key map is reflected, rotated in a conditional grid or rearranged. Application: Mirror room, perspective change, matching puzzle. Conditions: The game map is transformed; The position of the physical keyboard is not automatically detected. Hardware: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k056\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Author's working classification for designing games and interactions. Options can overlap and combine; the list is not a generally accepted standard or proven exhaustive list. Application examples are conditional unless a specific verifiable observation is indicated nearby. Sources support individual techniques and technical limitations."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"keyboard","id":"family-space","title":"Physical keyboard interactions","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/keyboard/#family-space","categoryIds":["section-3"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Keyboard as a spatial surface","description":"Key positions become a map of actions. The announced Keyboard Sports builds its game space around the whole keyboard.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/control-keyboard-sports-0.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Keyboard Sports - Saving QWERTY (announced)","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/700720/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/700720/ss_ce8309932b1d8f2c20bd60058d242cd14bc069e0.1920x1080.jpg?t=1787144101","credit":"Triband","rights":"Imagery © Triband. Developer-distributed screenshot or frame; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Keyboard Sports: an announced scene with a keyboard-shaped field","alt":"Keyboard Sports: an announced scene with a keyboard-shaped field","markers":[{"x":43,"y":75,"label":"The long Space area is part of the scene’s layout"}]},"tips":["Account for ANSI, ISO and compact keyboard layouts."],"examples":[{"title":"Keyboard Sports - Saving QWERTY (announced)","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/700720/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/keyboard"}}