{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-magnifying-glass-effect","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-magnifying-glass-effect","lang":"en","title":"Magnifying glass effect","summary":"An optical surface magnifies the scene viewed through it.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-magnifying-glass-effect/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-magnifying-glass-effect.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-magnifying-glass-effect.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Game design techniques","Worldbuilding","Visual effects"],"sourceIds":["source-6956234e3b61f66c","source-ae330ea8877d0670"],"sources":[{"id":"source-6956234e3b61f66c","title":"Game Mechanics: Magnifying glass effect","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/magnifying-glass-effect","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-ae330ea8877d0670","title":"Half-Life 2 (2004)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/magnifying-glass-effect/game/half-life-2","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"An optical surface magnifies the scene viewed through it."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-magnifying-glass-effect-rule\"></a>\n\n- An optical surface magnifies the scene viewed through it. <a id=\"gm-magnifying-glass-effect-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-magnifying-glass-effect","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-magnifying-glass-effect","categoryIds":["gm-category-worldbuilding","gm-category-visual-effects"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Magnifying glass effect","description":"An optical surface magnifies the scene viewed through it.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/impact-magnifying-glass-effect.webp","width":600,"height":350,"game":"Half-Life 2","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/magnifying-glass-effect","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/half_life_2_magnifying_glass.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":4.15,"credit":"Valve; 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 lens magnifies part of the laboratory","alt":"Half-Life 2: A lens magnifies part of the laboratory.","markers":[{"x":55,"y":71,"label":"Magnified view within the lens boundary"}]},"tips":["Match magnification to lens position and keep its boundary readable."],"examples":[{"title":"Half-Life 2","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/magnifying-glass-effect"}]}},"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"}}