Top-down action adventure

Courtyard Key

Screen-by-screen exploration, a sword and a boomerang.

Checking this browser…

Loads the game in this page: about 2.1 MB. Keyboard required.

Made for a keyboard

This device does not seem to have a keyboard and mouse. The demos have no touch controls and have not been tested on phones or tablets.

This window is smaller than the demos were tested at.

See screenshots Read the documentation

Have a keyboard connected? (about 2.1 MB; this setup is not validated).

This browser cannot run the demos

The games need WebAssembly and WebGL, which this browser does not offer. They were verified in Chrome and Firefox on desktop.

See screenshots

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Not included in this build

This copy of the site was built without the web packages. Screenshots and controls are below.

Download for your platform

Courtyard Key 1.0.0 · MicroEngine 0.2.0-alpha · release v0.2.0. Each package was played on its own system before it was published: how each platform was checked.

Download for WindowsCourtyardKey-1.0.0-windows-x64.zip · 33 MB
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, a GPU with Direct3D 11, OpenGL or Vulkan.
Install and run
1. Extract the ZIP anywhere.
2. Run CourtyardKey.exe. Windows SmartScreen may say the publisher is unknown, because the program is not signed: choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 13633496b577b3025d6f2872f09b5b7ceee26ce598e2c0088836430c7a5b7cab
Download for LinuxCourtyardKey-1.0.0-linux-x64.tar.gz · 34 MB
A 64-bit x86 distribution with glibc 2.34 or later (for example Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 35 or newer), an X11 or Wayland desktop with OpenGL (Mesa or a GPU driver), and PulseAudio or PipeWire for sound. The alternative --platform raylib needs glibc 2.38 (Ubuntu 24.04 or newer).
Install and run
1. Extract the archive: tar -xzf <file>.
2. Run ./CourtyardKey/CourtyardKey from a terminal or your file manager.
SHA-256 0ea67f32fce88e1d30fd19d97c1dd3fe6f441fa23a30e2c2b8c5229b11e4c909
Download for macOSCourtyardKey-1.0.0-macos-arm64.zip · 31 MB
macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon (M1 or newer). Intel Macs are not packaged.
Install and run
1. Extract the ZIP and move Courtyard Key.app wherever you like.
2. The app is not notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks the first launch. Open it once, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway; or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "Courtyard Key.app" in Terminal.
SHA-256 315a3e869696f22840f24ecd5d33c06f8e9f20088d8db955c51087267dee6ddd
Download for AndroidCourtyardKey-1.0.0-android.apk · 17 MB
Android 7.0 (API 24) or later on a 64-bit ARM or x86 device. On-screen touch controls; a keyboard or gamepad also works.
Install and run
1. Download the APK on the device.
2. Open it. Android asks once to allow installing apps from that source (your browser or file manager); allow it, then install.
3. The APK is signed with MicroEngine's demo key, so later demo versions install as updates.
SHA-256 cf9751cd335d886efe7006e077073bacafcac2035cd514f08b2ff8ce09b22feb

iOS: no download. Installing on an iPhone requires Apple signing, and the build checked in Apple’s simulator cannot run on a device (why).
Direct downloads from GitHub Releases, not store listings: no Steam, Google Play or App Store account is needed. Downloads and installation

About the game

The bells beneath the old ruins rang again. Elder Oswin hands Wren his old sword: cross the vale, descend into the Sunken Courtyard and take the Courtyard Key back from the Moss Warden.

A hybrid: the world, hero, villagers, enemies, boss and all audio are generated in code; one hand-drawn CC0 monster is repainted in the game’s palette when it loads.

Third-party asset credits · How a game is built

Controls

Action	Keys
Move	Arrows / WASD
Sword, talk, read, open chests, confirm	Z / Space / Enter
Throw the Wind Boomerang (once found)	C / X
Pause: inventory, quest items, map	Esc / P

In the browser, Alt+Enter or the Fullscreen button toggles fullscreen. A gamepad was validated by hand in a Chromium-based browser with one controller; other controllers are untested.

Compatibility

Verified In the browser: Chrome and Firefox on desktop, with a keyboard (automated tests and manual play)
Manually tested One gamepad in a Chromium-based browser
Not tested Safari, other browsers, and browsers on phones (the web build has no touch controls)
Emulator only The Android app: generic on-screen controls (d-pad, A, B, X, shoulder, Start); no physical phone has run it

Version: Courtyard Key 1.0.0, MicroEngine 0.2.0-alpha
Browser download: about 2.1 MB, only when you press Play
Content: Hybrid: Procedural world and audio, one CC0 sprite.
Licence: Demo game: all rights reserved (notice). Read its code to learn MicroEngine; do not redistribute or sell it. The engine that runs it is MIT licensed, and its third-party art and audio keep their own licences. The package includes these notices and the third-party notices.
Saves: In the browser, in this site’s storage for each game (clearing site data or a private window removes them). Native builds save in your user data folder; Android in the app’s own storage.
Build: 762ac5595560d1f6 · 6707fcb

Screenshots

Captured from scripted playthroughs of the desktop build, at 3× scale.