---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-blood-pools
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-blood-pools
lang: en
title: Blood pools
summary: A surface pool marks an injured or dead character's location.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-blood-pools/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-blood-pools.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-blood-pools.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Blood
sourceIds:
  - source-e6b243e68446b204
  - source-82de3dd0d18b6df3
  - source-58f06cc83b64483e
  - source-4963a076d7675e95
sources:
  - id: source-e6b243e68446b204
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Blood pools'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-pools'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-82de3dd0d18b6df3
    title: 'Hitman: Codename 47 (2000)'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-pools/game/hitman-codename-47'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-58f06cc83b64483e
    title: Stranglehold (2007)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-pools/game/stranglehold'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-4963a076d7675e95
    title: Max Payne 3
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-splatters'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-blood-pools
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-blood-pools'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-blood
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Blood pools
    description: A surface pool marks an injured or dead character's location.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/impact-blood-pools.webp
      width: 498
      height: 264
      game: Max Payne 3
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-splatters'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/max_payne_3_blood.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 1.05
      credit: Rockstar Games; 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 pool beneath a prone character
      alt: 'Max Payne 3: A pool beneath a prone character.'
      markers:
        - x: 62
          'y': 77
          label: Blood on the surface beneath the body
    tips:
      - Match the mark’s shape to the surface and bound its lifetime.
    examples:
      - title: Max Payne 3
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-splatters'
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
---
# Blood pools

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

A surface pool marks an injured or dead character's location.

## At a glance

![Max Payne 3: A pool beneath a prone character.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/impact-blood-pools.webp)

[Max Payne 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-splatters) · 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/max_payne_3_blood.webm), 1.05 s

1. Blood on the surface beneath the body

- Match the mark’s shape to the surface and bound its lifetime.

- [Max Payne 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-splatters)

## How it works

A surface pool marks an injured or dead character's location.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-blood-pools-rule"></a>

- A surface pool marks an injured or dead character's location. <a id="gm-blood-pools-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: Blood pools](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-pools) (id: source-e6b243e68446b204)
- [Hitman: Codename 47 (2000)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-pools/game/hitman-codename-47) (id: source-82de3dd0d18b6df3)
- [Stranglehold (2007)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-pools/game/stranglehold) (id: source-58f06cc83b64483e)
- [Max Payne 3](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/blood-splatters) (id: source-4963a076d7675e95)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors