KeyStrokes

There is a fair chance that the idea of becoming a professional gamer has crossed your mind, if you are playing various video games daily. Since not all can make it to the various gaming tournaments overnight, a good place to start is to consider live-streaming or creating tutorials.

Since your audience can be very varied, you will need all the help you can get, and a visual assistant is one way to ensure that you convey your ideas clearly. KeyStrokes is a lightweight, open-source app that displays the keys pressed while playing within a tiny GUI.

It is important to note that the program is not for very complex or advanced games that typically features dozens of macros and hotkeys. Instead, it is a tool designed for regular games that use basic mouse buttons and the classic A, S, D, W and Space keys.

While the interface is sleek and stylish, it is also minimalistic, and you can tell right away that the tool is not for MMORPGs or other advanced games. The GUI consists of the aforementioned keys that are going to be highlighted whenever pressed. By pressing the Insert key, you can pop a menu where you can specify whether you want to display the mouse or keyboard strokes only.

The GUI is designed to be always on top and, because it opens in the middle of the desktop, it can be bothersome. You will be happy to learn that you can move it to a more convenient location. You can change the color, so that it is more visible during your live-stream or tutorial, as well as apply a color gradient.

The idea behind the tool is nice and, it can become quite a hit if it included all the mouse and  keyboard keys or at least, the common ones used in popular games. It would also be nice if the app allows you to record the keys pressed, as it can lend a hand with improving your gaming skills.

Nevertheless, if you are looking for something simple to highlight keys pressed during a relatively simple game playing sessions, then perhaps you can consider giving KeyStrokes a try.