{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-footprints","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-footprints","lang":"en","title":"Footprints","summary":"Foot contact leaves marks recording movement across a surface.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-footprints/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-footprints.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-footprints.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Game design techniques","Immersion","Environmental traces","Satisfying"],"sourceIds":["source-2736dd2d7aa2a738","source-4dc25312620bb883","source-17588fd82990f395","source-2823dd7eae64d9d6"],"sources":[{"id":"source-2736dd2d7aa2a738","title":"Game Mechanics: Footprints","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/footprints","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-4dc25312620bb883","title":"Duke Nukem 3D (1996)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/footprints/game/duke-nukem-3d","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-17588fd82990f395","title":"Red Dead Redemption 2 (2019)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/footprints/game/red-dead-redemption-2","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-2823dd7eae64d9d6","title":"Metal Gear Solid (1998)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/footprints/game/metal-gear-solid","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Foot contact leaves marks recording movement across a surface."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-footprints-rule\"></a>\n\n- Foot contact leaves marks recording movement across a surface. <a id=\"gm-footprints-definition\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"game-mechanics","id":"gm-footprints","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-footprints","categoryIds":["gm-category-immersion","gm-category-satisfying","gm-category-environmental-traces"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Footprints","description":"Foot contact leaves marks recording movement across a surface.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/atmosphere-footprints.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Duke Nukem 3D","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/footprints","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/duke_nukem_steps.jpg","credit":"3D Realms; image via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Sole prints remain on a wooden floor","alt":"Duke Nukem 3D: Sole prints remain on a wooden floor.","markers":[{"x":68,"y":69,"label":"A sole print left by a step"}]},"tips":["Match the print to the surface material and timing of foot contact."],"examples":[{"title":"Duke Nukem 3D","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/footprints"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/game-mechanics"}}