--- key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state type: mechanic id: game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state lang: en title: Showing door lock state summary: >- A light, label or icon on a door shows whether passage is available. The player learns its lock state before trying to open it. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state/ jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state.md aliases: - Visible door lock state tags: - Game design techniques - Visual feedback - Doors - Diegetic sourceIds: - source-70d7fe43ceb86d68 - source-4559c3b42209b8c1 - source-1c7c863f35c47763 - source-452a0112e86822ff sources: - id: source-70d7fe43ceb86d68 title: 'Game Mechanics: Showing door lock state' url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state' verifiedAt: null - id: source-4559c3b42209b8c1 title: Doom 3 (2004) url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/doom-3' verifiedAt: null - id: source-1c7c863f35c47763 title: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)' url: >- https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin verifiedAt: null - id: source-452a0112e86822ff title: Dead Space (2023) url: >- https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/dead-space-2023 verifiedAt: null relations: [] placements: - catalogId: game-mechanics id: gm-showing-door-lock-state title: Game design techniques url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-showing-door-lock-state categoryIds: - gm-category-doors - gm-category-diegetic - gm-category-visual-feedback supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Visible door lock state description: >- A light, label or icon on a door shows whether passage is available. The player learns its lock state before trying to open it. image: src: images/mechanics/combat-showing-door-lock-state.webp width: 1107 height: 578 game: Dead Space (2023) sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state' originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/dead_space_door_locked.jpg' credit: Motive Studio / Electronic Arts; 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: LOCKED and UNLOCKED on the door alt: >- Two Dead Space door states: a red LOCKED sign on the left and a blue UNLOCKED sign on the right. markers: - x: 34 'y': 54 label: 'LOCKED: passage unavailable' - x: 86 'y': 58 label: 'UNLOCKED: door available' tips: - 'Supplement color with text, shape or a symbol.' - Update the signal together with the actual lock state. examples: - title: Dead Space (2023) url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state' 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 --- # Showing door lock state id: game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state type: mechanic key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-showing-door-lock-state/ A light, label or icon on a door shows whether passage is available. The player learns its lock state before trying to open it. ## At a glance ![Two Dead Space door states: a red LOCKED sign on the left and a blue UNLOCKED sign on the right.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/combat-showing-door-lock-state.webp) [Dead Space (2023)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state) · 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. LOCKED: passage unavailable 2. UNLOCKED: door available - Supplement color with text, shape or a symbol. - Update the signal together with the actual lock state. - [Dead Space (2023)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state) ## How it works A door's appearance communicates whether it can open. ## Variants ### How the technique works - A door's appearance communicates whether it can open. ## 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: Showing door lock state](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state) (id: source-70d7fe43ceb86d68) - [Doom 3 (2004)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/doom-3) (id: source-4559c3b42209b8c1) - [F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin) (id: source-1c7c863f35c47763) - [Dead Space (2023)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/showing-door-lock-state/game/dead-space-2023) (id: source-452a0112e86822ff) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors