not!key.studio is a french independent video game studio.

Who is behind not!key.studio ?

My name is Alex, and I’m almost entirely self-taught. I spent two years studying 3D art, then worked in web marketing for three years before moving into entrepreneurship since two years, where I developed a successful hiking website along with various client projects. Driven by curiosity and a desire to explore new creative fields, I made the decision to move into game development, a medium that has always fascinated me. Most of what I know today, especially on the technical side, comes from passion, experimentation, and a constant urge to learn by myself.

Why especially video games ? Because I believe they are the richest medium, both artistically and technically: a space I’ve always been drawn to, and not so far from web development after all. Creating a game means shaping a compelling art direction, animating expressive characters, writing an engaging story, designing intuitive interfaces, building engaging gameplay systems, structuring a complex project, implementing it technically, crafting soundscapes, handling communication, marketing and so much more…

In short, countless fascinating skills, all united in a medium I’m truly passionate about.

You can expect games crafted with care, refinement, and a genuine love for the medium. My favorite studios and titles have always been those where the developers’ passion shines through:

• The Ori series and No Rest for the Wicked by Moon Studios
• The Hollow Knight series by Team Cherry
• Hades I & II by Supergiant Games
• Little Nightmares I & II by Tarsier Studios
• Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar Games
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall Interactive
• Divinity: Original Sin I & II and Baldur’s Gate III by Larian Studios
• The Last of Us part I & II by Naughty Dog

I also grew up with classics that shaped my taste and creativity: the early generations of Pokémon, Final Fantasy Tactics, Dofus, Skyrim, and of course, Minecraft. These are the games that made me fall in love with video games.

So, not!key.studio will focus on very few games, placing quality over quantity, just as I’ve always done in everything I create. A piece of each of these experiences, inspirations, and memories will naturally find its way into the studio’s future projects.

What is your first project ?

Name: The Reaping Company

Description: A 2D narrative-driven platformer blending action RPG and metroidvania design, focused on narrative depth and the player’s freedom to experiment with reality, where every action carries lasting consequences. The player embodies a recently deceased soul, recruited for eternity as a reaper within The Reaping Company, a vast bureaucratic enterprise governing death itself. However, a critical anomaly occurs: the protagonist awakens in a ghostly state, retaining their memories and the ability to interact with the living world, something that should be impossible.

Refusing to accept their own death, the player exploits reaper contracts that allow time travel across multiple eras in an attempt to undo the fatal event. Through missions spanning different points in history, the player subtly, or recklessly, alters past events while struggling to preserve a stable present. Every action generates branching realities, forcing the player to navigate alternate timelines through trial, failure, and discovery in search of a viable temporal outcome.

The game emphasizes meaningful narrative choices, reactive dialogue, and carefully staged contract scenes where ghostly abilities manipulate the physical world: objects, environments, and characters respond dynamically to the player’s interference. These powers progressively evolve throughout the adventure, allowing deeper and more tangible interaction with the living world. Each new ability unlocks novel forms of alteration, capable of reshaping events and spawning new branches of alternate realities. Combat abilities also develop alongside these powers, evolving according to the player’s preferred playstyle and tactical choices. Constantly pursued by hostile enemies, the player must balance combat mastery, contract objectives, and timeline integrity, all while challenging an organization that exists outside of time itself.

Current development status: Very early stages.

Main tools: Godot 4.5, Clip Studio Paint.

Yes, or at least I’ll try my best without letting it slow down the development itself. I’d like to share timelapses of asset creation, occasional progress summaries similar to devlogs, and small behind-the-scenes about specific techniques or interesting aspects of the process. They might satisfy your curiosity about how a game is made, or even give you a few tips for creating your own.

Feel free to bookmark this website, it will evolve quickly, and follow at least one social network of your choice.