The Shadowkey: a golden dragon-winged key with a violet gem, above the title The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey

Status: In development

Shadowkey Reforged

Rebuilt for Mac and PC

A new engine for the 2004 Nokia N-Gage game. It runs the original game files and scripts in widescreen, with recreated artwork, new lighting and controller support. You need your own copy of the original game files to play.

Gameplay video Features
  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Browser soon

Gameplay video

About the project

Shadowkey came out in 2004 on the Nokia N-Gage. It was drawn in software on a 176 × 208 screen at a low frame rate, and today it only runs on N-Gage hardware or in an emulator.

Shadowkey Reforged is a new engine for it, written from scratch for Mac and PC. It doesn't emulate the phone. It reads the original game files and runs the game's 1,533 original scripts unchanged, so the quests, dialogue and world are the ones from 2004.

The project is free, unofficial and not for sale. You need your own copy of the original game files to play.

What's new

Features

Everything here is in the current build unless it says planned.

High resolution artwork

Sprites, menus, the HUD and weapons have been recreated at up to 4K, following the style of the original art.

Up to 120fps support

The game logic still runs at the original's 25 updates a second, so it plays the same. The picture is drawn at your display's refresh rate.

Modern and Classic modes

Most changes can be turned off. Classic keeps the original look and behaviour, Modern uses the new versions, and lighting, combat, menus and music can each be set separately.

Improved hit detection

Melee hits are worked out more accurately. It's optional: Classic hit detection keeps the original combat.

New lighting

Bloom, haze and in-scattering around lights, ambient occlusion and smooth light falloff, tuned to suit the original levels.

Crisp font rendering

The Nokia N-Gage's bitmap fonts are replaced with scalable fonts that render sharply at any resolution.

Controllers with rumble

Xbox, PlayStation and third-party controllers, wired or Bluetooth, with rumble. Settings for dead zone, look speed and invert, and every key and button can be remapped.

Cheats menu

The original game's cheat menu, available in the new engine: invincibility, peaceful monsters and travel to any level. Off by default.

Original or Morrowind soundtrack

Use the original soundtrack, or the higher quality versions of the same tracks and sounds from Morrowind, taken from your own copy of that game.

Widescreen

A wider field of view, a HUD laid out for 16:9 and widescreen menus, at any window size or resolution.

Original rules and scripts

The game rules were worked out from the original program, and the original scripts run unchanged. All six of the original languages are included.

More features
  • Mouse look with keyboard and mouse controls
  • Rebind every action, with conflict warnings
  • Sprint (new, optional)
  • Classic or widescreen menu backgrounds
  • Torch flicker and distance darkening in Classic lighting
  • Screenshot key
  • Four save slots
  • Longer view distance
  • Fixes for original bugs, each behind an option
  • Planned: quicksave, autosave and a minimap
  • Planned: online co-op, after launch

Then & Now

Original and new, side by side

Screenshots from the original game files and from the new engine. Drag the handle to compare.

Modern lighting: warm torchlight, soft shadows
Classic lighting, as in the original
Classic Modern

Status

Progress

Shadowkey Reforged is in development. There is no release date yet.

  1. I

    Game files decoded

    Levels, models, textures, sprites, sounds and text are all read from the original game files.

  2. II

    New engine

    Levels are drawn in widescreen at high frame rates.

  3. III

    Game systems

    Movement, doors, characters, monsters, combat, dialogue and the original scripts.

  4. IV

    Full playthrough and fixes

    Playing through the whole game, fixing bugs, and finishing the new lighting and hit detection.

  5. V

    First release

    Mac and Windows downloads, setup instructions and the feedback board.

  6. VI

    Later

    A browser version, quicksave and a minimap, possibly co-op, and possibly sharing some of the new artwork with members of the community.

Requirements

System requirements

These are provisional. The original game ran on a 104 MHz phone, so most computers from the last ten years should run it.

Mac

System
macOS 13 Ventura or later
Processor
Apple silicon (M1 or later) or Intel
Graphics
Any Mac that supports Metal
Memory
4 GB
Storage
1 GB, plus the high resolution art pack

PC

System
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
Processor
Any dual-core from the last ten years
Graphics
DirectX 12 or Vulkan capable
Memory
4 GB
Storage
1 GB, plus the high resolution art pack

You'll also need

  • Your own copy of the original N-Gage game files. Shadowkey Reforged does not include any of the original game data.
  • Optional: your own copy of Morrowind, for the full quality soundtrack.
  • Optional: a controller. Keyboard and mouse are fully supported.
  • For 120fps, a 120 Hz display.

Install

Installing and setup

Full instructions will be added with the first release. This is the expected process.

  1. Download

    Get Shadowkey Reforged for Mac or Windows from this page.

  2. Point it at your game files

    On first launch, choose the folder with your own copy of the original N-Gage files.

  3. Optional extras

    Add Morrowind's music and sounds, and pick Modern or Classic for each setting.

  4. Play

    Create a character and start playing.

Feedback

Bugs, requests and comments

A public board for bug reports, feature requests and comments will open with the first release. You'll be able to see what has already been reported and add to it.

Report a bug

Something broken, stuck or different from the original. Say where it happened and what you were doing.

Request a feature

An option you'd like to see, or something from the original that is missing.

Leave a comment

General comments about the project or the original game.

Donations

Support the developer

Donations support me as a developer. They are separate from Shadowkey Reforged, which will be free for everyone. Donating does not buy the game, early access, artwork or anything else.

Whether or not you donate, you need to supply your own copy of the original game files to play.