The LucasFilm Games shortcuts with your layout would have been:
Q - Push
A - Pull
Z - Give
W - Open
S - Close
X - Look At
E - Walk To
D - Pick Up
C - [no verb there]
R - Use
F - Turn On
V - Turn Off
T - Talk To
G - Think
B - [no verb there]
As you can see they mirror on the keyboard exactly what's in the UI:
| Q - Push | W - Open | E - Walk To |
| A - Pull | S - Close | D - Pick Up |
| Z - Give | X - Look At | C - [no verb] |
| R - Use | T - Talk To |
| F - Turn On | G - Think |
| V - Turn Off | B - [no verb] |
This approach is used in Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken and Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.
When LucasFilm Games got renamed to LucasArts, the style of verb shortcuts started being like this (these are from Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis):
G - (G)ive
O - (O)pen
C - (C)lose
T - (T)alk to
L - (L)ook at
U - (U)se
and in cases where there are conflicts, you'd have to choose another letter for the conflicting verbs:
P - (P)ick Up
S - Pu(s)h
Y - Pull
However, I think this way is WAY worse for the following reasons:
1) The games of the LucasArts era have less verbs than the games of LucasFilm Games era, so there are less conflicting verbs but in your case they would be more
2) The more 'modern' way may seem more intuitive but in reality requires more movement to hit the right key, whereas the old CGA/EGA layout above is way more comfortable because it corresponds exactly to the layout of the verbs in the UI
3) Your game isn't trying to be a callback to the VGA LucasArts era anyway, so I think the old layout would be more appropriate even just for historical reasons.
Regarding the puzzle, I'll suffer a bit more when I find the time and then I'll probably drop in for a hint in your Discord. Thanks!
