{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-vending-machines-props","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-vending-machines-props","lang":"en","title":"Vending machines (props)","summary":"A vending machine establishes an inhabited setting without necessarily offering purchases.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-vending-machines-props/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-vending-machines-props.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-vending-machines-props.md","aliases":["Vending machine as a prop"],"tags":["Game design techniques","Worldbuilding"],"sourceIds":["source-7d535bdf88f3bb92","source-1d6034c511985553","source-fd61e4f729696229","source-f7e4eaa2ef065e14","source-4f3b6a9de5778906","source-5f4751ea036511f6","source-26bf6915361dded1","source-d2eba344790361a2"],"sources":[{"id":"source-7d535bdf88f3bb92","title":"Game Mechanics: Vending machines (props)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-1d6034c511985553","title":"Deus Ex (2000)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/deus-ex","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-fd61e4f729696229","title":"Doom 3 (2004)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/doom-3","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-f7e4eaa2ef065e14","title":"Condemned: Criminal Origins (2006)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/condemned-criminal-origins","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-4f3b6a9de5778906","title":"Stranglehold (2007)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/stranglehold","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-5f4751ea036511f6","title":"F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-26bf6915361dded1","title":"Duke Nukem Forever (2011)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/duke-nukem-forever","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-d2eba344790361a2","title":"Outlast (2013)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props/game/outlast","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"A vending machine establishes an inhabited setting without necessarily offering purchases."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-vending-machines-props-rule\"></a>\n\n- A vending machine establishes an inhabited setting without necessarily offering purchases. <a id=\"gm-vending-machines-props-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-vending-machines-props","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-vending-machines-props","categoryIds":["gm-category-worldbuilding"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Vending machine as a prop","description":"A vending machine establishes an inhabited setting without necessarily offering purchases.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/world-vending-machines-props.webp","width":1331,"height":748,"game":"Outlast","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/outlast_vending_machines.jpg","credit":"Red Barrels; image via GameMechanics.org; visible source watermark: SHIRRAKO","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":"Drink machines in an abandoned room","alt":"Two drink machines stand in an abandoned room beyond a partly open door in Outlast.","markers":[{"x":35,"y":55,"label":"A vending machine as an everyday detail of the room"}]},"tips":["Avoid active interaction highlighting for a purely decorative object."],"examples":[{"title":"Deus Ex","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/vending-machines-props"}]}},"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"}}