--- key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait type: mechanic id: game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait lang: en title: Health-based character portrait summary: >- The hero’s face changes as health is lost. Increasing injury turns the portrait into an expressive status indicator. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait/ jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait.md aliases: - Health-based portrait tags: - Game design techniques - Health - Damage sourceIds: - source-d4792d47ac6c0f2a - source-7fe47f347747e347 - source-40ef72c32c514fc1 sources: - id: source-d4792d47ac6c0f2a title: 'Game Mechanics: Health-based character portrait' url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait' verifiedAt: null - id: source-7fe47f347747e347 title: Wolfenstein 3D (1992) url: >- https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait/game/wolfenstein-3d verifiedAt: null - id: source-40ef72c32c514fc1 title: Doom (1993) url: >- https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait/game/doom verifiedAt: null relations: [] placements: - catalogId: game-mechanics id: gm-health-based-character-portrait title: Game design techniques url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-health-based-character-portrait categoryIds: - gm-category-health - gm-category-damage supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Health-based portrait description: >- The hero’s face changes as health is lost. Increasing injury turns the portrait into an expressive status indicator. image: src: images/mechanics/combat-health-based-character-portrait.webp width: 900 height: 506 game: Doom (1993) sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait' originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/doom_health_portrait.jpg' credit: id Software; image via GameMechanics.org rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses. caption: Doomguy’s face at different health levels alt: >- A comparison of Doomguy portraits from healthy to badly wounded over a Doom gameplay screen. markers: - x: 18 'y': 43 label: Portrait at high health - x: 80 'y': 43 label: Severe facial injuries tips: - Retain a numeric or another precise health indicator. - Make stages distinguishable without relying on color alone. examples: - title: Doom (1993) url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait' 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 --- # Health-based character portrait id: game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait type: mechanic key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-health-based-character-portrait/ The hero’s face changes as health is lost. Increasing injury turns the portrait into an expressive status indicator. ## At a glance ![A comparison of Doomguy portraits from healthy to badly wounded over a Doom gameplay screen.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/combat-health-based-character-portrait.webp) [Doom (1993)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses. 1. Portrait at high health 2. Severe facial injuries - Retain a numeric or another precise health indicator. - Make stages distinguishable without relying on color alone. - [Doom (1993)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait) ## How it works A face portrait changes with the character's health condition. ## Variants ### How the technique works - A face portrait changes with the character's health condition. ## 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: Health-based character portrait](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait) (id: source-d4792d47ac6c0f2a) - [Wolfenstein 3D (1992)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait/game/wolfenstein-3d) (id: source-7fe47f347747e347) - [Doom (1993)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/health-based-character-portrait/game/doom) (id: source-40ef72c32c514fc1) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors