KEYSTONES: DEAD ZONE RUNNER
============================

Drive. Adapt. Survive.

An original, free, local-first top-down action-driving game. No account,
no install, no ads, no tracking, no internet connection required or used.


HOW TO PLAY
-----------
Double-click "START HERE - Dead Zone Runner.html". It opens in your
browser and the game starts. That's it — one file, nothing else to run.

The whole game is inside that one file. No Node, no npm, no GitHub
download, nothing to install. Works fully offline.


CONTROLS
--------
Steer................. Arrow keys (or A / D)
Accelerate............ Up arrow (or W)
Brake.................. Down arrow (or S)
Fire equipped weapon... Space
Switch weapon.......... C (previous) / V (next)
Secondary / EMP Pulse.. B
Turbo Boost............ Shift
Pause / Resume.......... P or Esc
Start / Restart......... Enter or R

Gamepad: left stick or D-pad to steer, right trigger to accelerate, left
trigger to brake, A to fire, X/B to switch weapons, Y for the EMP
special, bumpers to boost, Start to pause. Controllers with rumble
support get haptic feedback on hits and game over. (Implemented in
software; not yet confirmed on physical controller hardware.)

Your equipped weapon cycles through Autocannon (fast, unlimited),
Rocket Pod (heavy, costs energy), Oil Slick (stuns pursuers, costs
energy), and Smoke Screen (blinds pursuers, costs energy). The EMP
Pulse is a separate fixed special.


WHAT YOU'RE DRIVING THROUGH
----------------------------
Every run starts on a daytime New-Mexico-style desert highway. Drive far
enough and the road itself visibly splits: stay right to keep driving,
or steer hard left onto the water-access branch, where a shoreline ramp
carries your car into a boat for an open-water crossing before rejoining
the road further on. The desert eventually gives way to a night storm
corridor, then back to daylight — a real day/night loop, not a random
palette shuffle.

Neutral traffic, hostile interceptors, raiders, jammers, motorcycles,
heavy trucks, fuel tankers (which explode into salvage when destroyed),
an aerial bomber, and an armored road enforcer share the route with
friendly supply trucks that hand you armor and energy on contact. Oil
slicks are a real handling hazard — hit one and your car loses traction.
Roadside service bays automatically grant you whatever you need most as
you pass — armor, energy, or a gadget recharge — without ever stopping
the run.

Your local high score is saved only in your own browser on your own
device. Nothing is ever sent anywhere.


CREDITS & LICENSE
------------------
Created by Keystones Management Group LLC. Released under the MIT
License — see LICENSE.txt. All art, vehicles, terminology, and audio
are original to this project.
