---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-keycards
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-keycards
lang: en
title: Keycards
summary: >-
  A card with the required access opens a matching passage. Finding it and
  returning to the lock connects parts of the level.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-keycards/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-keycards.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-keycards.md
aliases:
  - Keycard
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Access & Security
sourceIds:
  - source-3f0b3f3545bbdc27
  - source-5a9ae56504002be7
  - source-f13a7ef902c97bfa
sources:
  - id: source-3f0b3f3545bbdc27
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Keycards'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-5a9ae56504002be7
    title: Duke Nukem 3D (1996)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards/game/duke-nukem-3d'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f13a7ef902c97bfa
    title: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-keycards
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-keycards'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-access-security
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Keycard
    description: >-
      A card with the required access opens a matching passage. Finding it and
      returning to the lock connects parts of the level.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interaction-keycards.webp
      width: 598
      height: 332
      game: Duke Nukem 3D
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/duke_nukem_3d_keycard.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 0.89
      credit: 3D Realms; 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 red card for an access panel
      alt: >-
        The hero’s hand uses a red access panel in Duke Nukem 3D, with Unlocked
        displayed above it.
      markers:
        - x: 48
          'y': 47
          label: Access panel that accepts the card
        - x: 45
          'y': 21
          label: Confirmation that the lock has been released
    tips:
      - Repeat the card’s color or symbol on the matching door.
      - Help players recall where they encountered the matching lock.
    examples:
      - title: Duke Nukem 3D
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards'
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
---
# Keycards

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

A card with the required access opens a matching passage. Finding it and returning to the lock connects parts of the level.

## At a glance

![The hero’s hand uses a red access panel in Duke Nukem 3D, with Unlocked displayed above it.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-keycards.webp)

[Duke Nukem 3D](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards) · 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/duke_nukem_3d_keycard.webm), 0.89 s

1. Access panel that accepts the card
2. Confirmation that the lock has been released

- Repeat the card’s color or symbol on the matching door.
- Help players recall where they encountered the matching lock.

- [Duke Nukem 3D](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards)

## How it works

An access credential unlocks matching routes.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-keycards-rule"></a>

- An access credential unlocks matching routes. <a id="gm-keycards-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: Keycards](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards) (id: source-3f0b3f3545bbdc27)
- [Duke Nukem 3D (1996)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards/game/duke-nukem-3d) (id: source-5a9ae56504002be7)
- [F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/keycards/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin) (id: source-f13a7ef902c97bfa)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors