{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-forced-path","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-forced-path","lang":"en","title":"Forced path","summary":"Level structure leaves the player a single route forward.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-forced-path/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-forced-path.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-forced-path.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Game design techniques","Low agency","Immersion killers"],"sourceIds":["source-956fae1086b6dbb9","source-e7f06326ef53d425"],"sources":[{"id":"source-956fae1086b6dbb9","title":"Game Mechanics: Forced path","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/forced-path","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-e7f06326ef53d425","title":"Dead Island 2 (2024)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/forced-path/game/dead-island-2","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Level structure leaves the player a single route forward."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-forced-path-rule\"></a>\n\n- Level structure leaves the player a single route forward. <a id=\"gm-forced-path-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":[{"type":"explains","direction":"incoming","label":"Understand the principle","key":"lesson/level-blockout","title":"Blockout: test space before art","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/level-blockout/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/level-blockout.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/level-blockout.md"}],"placements":[{"catalogId":"game-mechanics","id":"gm-forced-path","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-forced-path","categoryIds":["gm-category-immersion-killers","gm-category-low-agency"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Forced path","description":"Level structure leaves the player a single route forward.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/impact-forced-path.webp","width":796,"height":446,"game":"Dead Island 2","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/forced-path","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/dead_island2_opening.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":31.08,"credit":"Dambuster Studios / Deep Silver; frame from clip 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":"A passage through wreckage defines the opening route","alt":"Dead Island 2: A passage through wreckage defines the opening route.","markers":[{"x":48,"y":65,"label":"Allowed passage through the wreckage"}]},"tips":["Keep the usable route consistent with what the visible environment suggests."],"examples":[{"title":"Dead Island 2","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/forced-path"}]}},"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"}}