---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors
lang: en
title: Automatic doors
summary: >-
  A door opens on approach or another defined condition. The player passes
  through without a separate handle interaction.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors.md
aliases:
  - Automatic door
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Doors
sourceIds:
  - source-838a29040f8d5ba7
  - source-bd4311476fbee045
  - source-73a9d32f33ae1574
sources:
  - id: source-838a29040f8d5ba7
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Automatic doors'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-bd4311476fbee045
    title: Doom 3 (2004)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors/game/doom-3'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-73a9d32f33ae1574
    title: 'Alien: Isolation (2014)'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors/game/alien-isolation'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-automatic-doors
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-automatic-doors'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-doors
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Automatic door
    description: >-
      A door opens on approach or another defined condition. The player passes
      through without a separate handle interaction.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interaction-automatic-doors.webp
      width: 600
      height: 340
      game: Doom 3
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/doom_3_open_doors.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 0.88
      credit: id Software; 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: Door panels clear the passage
      alt: >-
        Automatic door panels have moved apart to reveal a maintenance corridor
        in Doom 3.
      markers:
        - x: 51
          'y': 48
          label: The opened passage
        - x: 77
          'y': 34
          label: A panel moved out of the way
    tips:
      - Trigger early enough for normal movement speed.
      - Avoid trapping characters or carried objects between closing panels.
    examples:
      - title: Doom 3
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors'
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
---
# Automatic doors

id: game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-automatic-doors/

A door opens on approach or another defined condition. The player passes through without a separate handle interaction.

## At a glance

![Automatic door panels have moved apart to reveal a maintenance corridor in Doom 3.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-automatic-doors.webp)

[Doom 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors) · 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.

[Source recording](https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/doom_3_open_doors.webm), 0.88 s

1. The opened passage
2. A panel moved out of the way

- Trigger early enough for normal movement speed.
- Avoid trapping characters or carried objects between closing panels.

- [Doom 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors)

## How it works

A door activates on proximity or another specified condition.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-automatic-doors-rule"></a>

- A door activates on proximity or another specified condition. <a id="gm-automatic-doors-definition"></a>

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [Game Mechanics: Automatic doors](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors) (id: source-838a29040f8d5ba7)
- [Doom 3 (2004)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors/game/doom-3) (id: source-bd4311476fbee045)
- [Alien: Isolation (2014)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/automatic-doors/game/alien-isolation) (id: source-73a9d32f33ae1574)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors