---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire
lang: en
title: Clearing obstacles with fire
summary: >-
  Fire destroys a flammable barrier and opens a passage. The player connects a
  fire source to a suitable environmental material.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire.md
aliases:
  - Clear obstacles with fire
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Progression
  - Obstacles
  - Fire
sourceIds:
  - source-f38ab4a09566585c
  - source-f01c051e8f073b0a
  - source-b98b4112cda9855d
sources:
  - id: source-f38ab4a09566585c
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Clearing obstacles with fire'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f01c051e8f073b0a
    title: 'Uncharted: Drake''s Fortune (2007)'
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire/game/uncharted-drakes-fortune
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-b98b4112cda9855d
    title: Tomb Raider (2013)
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire/game/tomb-raider-2013
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire
    title: Game design techniques
    url: >-
      https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-progression
      - gm-category-obstacles
      - gm-category-fire
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Clear obstacles with fire
    description: >-
      Fire destroys a flammable barrier and opens a passage. The player connects
      a fire source to a suitable environmental material.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interaction-clearing-obstacles-with-fire.webp
      width: 598
      height: 334
      game: 'Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune'
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/uncharted_clearing_with_fire.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 6.51
      credit: >-
        Naughty Dog / Sony Computer Entertainment; frame from clip via
        GameMechanics.org; visible recording watermark: MKIceAndFire
      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 burning barrier ahead of Drake
      alt: >-
        A wooden barrier burns inside a stone passage ahead of the hero in
        Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
      markers:
        - x: 53
          'y': 41
          label: The barrier’s burning material
        - x: 64
          'y': 69
          label: The route opened by the fire
    tips:
      - Signal flammable materials before fire is applied.
      - Communicate when burning ends and passage becomes available.
    examples:
      - title: 'Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune'
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire'
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
---
# Clearing obstacles with fire

id: game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire/

Fire destroys a flammable barrier and opens a passage. The player connects a fire source to a suitable environmental material.

## At a glance

![A wooden barrier burns inside a stone passage ahead of the hero in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-clearing-obstacles-with-fire.webp)

[Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire) · 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/uncharted_clearing_with_fire.webm), 6.51 s

1. The barrier’s burning material
2. The route opened by the fire

- Signal flammable materials before fire is applied.
- Communicate when burning ends and passage becomes available.

- [Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire)

## How it works

Ignition removes a flammable obstacle from a route.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire-rule"></a>

- Ignition removes a flammable obstacle from a route. <a id="gm-clearing-obstacles-with-fire-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: Clearing obstacles with fire](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire) (id: source-f38ab4a09566585c)
- [Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire/game/uncharted-drakes-fortune) (id: source-f01c051e8f073b0a)
- [Tomb Raider (2013)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/clearing-obstacles-with-fire/game/tomb-raider-2013) (id: source-b98b4112cda9855d)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors