{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trackable-footprints","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-trackable-footprints","lang":"en","title":"Trackable footprints","summary":"Persistent footprints reveal a character’s route. They communicate movement direction even after the target leaves sight.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trackable-footprints/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trackable-footprints.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-trackable-footprints.md","aliases":["Track footprints"],"tags":["Game design techniques","Stealth","Environmental traces"],"sourceIds":["source-34bdbb62989edcc0","source-7a51e8e25a7a9eae"],"sources":[{"id":"source-34bdbb62989edcc0","title":"Game Mechanics: Trackable footprints","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trackable-footprints","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-7a51e8e25a7a9eae","title":"Metal Gear Solid (1998)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trackable-footprints/game/metal-gear-solid","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Persistent prints let the player reconstruct a target's route."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-trackable-footprints-rule\"></a>\n\n- Persistent prints let the player reconstruct a target's route. <a id=\"gm-trackable-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-trackable-footprints","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-trackable-footprints","categoryIds":["gm-category-stealth","gm-category-environmental-traces"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Track footprints","description":"Persistent footprints reveal a character’s route. They communicate movement direction even after the target leaves sight.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/interaction-trackable-footprints.webp","width":400,"height":298,"game":"Metal Gear Solid","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trackable-footprints","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/metal_gear_solid_footprints.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":4.3,"credit":"Konami; 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":"Footprints in snow beside crates","alt":"Dark footprints mark the snow beside crates in Metal Gear Solid, with a guard nearby.","markers":[{"x":30,"y":64,"label":"A trail of footprints in the snow"},{"x":56,"y":50,"label":"Character beside the readable trail"}]},"tips":["Make trail direction and age readable at the chosen scale.","Define who can read the footprints and how long they persist."],"examples":[{"title":"Metal Gear Solid","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/trackable-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"}}