{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state","lang":"en","title":"Showing door lock state","summary":"A light, label or icon on a door shows whether passage is available. The player learns its lock state before trying to open it.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state.md","aliases":["Visible door lock state"],"tags":["Game design techniques","Visual feedback","Doors","Diegetic"],"sourceIds":["source-70d7fe43ceb86d68","source-4559c3b42209b8c1","source-1c7c863f35c47763","source-452a0112e86822ff"],"sources":[{"id":"source-70d7fe43ceb86d68","title":"Game Mechanics: Showing door lock state","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-4559c3b42209b8c1","title":"Doom 3 (2004)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/doom-3","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-1c7c863f35c47763","title":"F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-452a0112e86822ff","title":"Dead Space (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/dead-space-2023","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"A door's appearance communicates whether it can open."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-showing-door-lock-state-rule\"></a>\n\n- A door's appearance communicates whether it can open. <a id=\"gm-showing-door-lock-state-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-showing-door-lock-state","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-showing-door-lock-state","categoryIds":["gm-category-doors","gm-category-diegetic","gm-category-visual-feedback"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Visible door lock state","description":"A light, label or icon on a door shows whether passage is available. The player learns its lock state before trying to open it.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/combat-showing-door-lock-state.webp","width":1107,"height":578,"game":"Dead Space (2023)","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/dead_space_door_locked.jpg","credit":"Motive Studio / Electronic Arts; image via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses.","caption":"LOCKED and UNLOCKED on the door","alt":"Two Dead Space door states: a red LOCKED sign on the left and a blue UNLOCKED sign on the right.","markers":[{"x":34,"y":54,"label":"LOCKED: passage unavailable"},{"x":86,"y":58,"label":"UNLOCKED: door available"}]},"tips":["Supplement color with text, shape or a symbol.","Update the signal together with the actual lock state."],"examples":[{"title":"Dead Space (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state"}]}},"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"}}