---
key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-tire-tracks
type: mechanic
id: game-mechanics--gm-tire-tracks
lang: en
title: Tire tracks
summary: Wheels leave a readable trail of vehicle movement on a surface.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-tire-tracks/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-tire-tracks.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-tire-tracks.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Game design techniques
  - Immersion
  - Environmental traces
sourceIds:
  - source-f6ccc9dc4fb07ff3
  - source-0a5cc09918818366
  - source-4baebb70f935092d
sources:
  - id: source-f6ccc9dc4fb07ff3
    title: 'Game Mechanics: Tire tracks'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tire-tracks'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-0a5cc09918818366
    title: Rage 2 (2019)
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tire-tracks/game/rage-2'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-4baebb70f935092d
    title: MudRunner
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/675010/MudRunner/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: game-mechanics
    id: gm-tire-tracks
    title: Game design techniques
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-tire-tracks'
    categoryIds:
      - gm-category-immersion
      - gm-category-environmental-traces
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Tire tracks
    description: Wheels leave a readable trail of vehicle movement on a surface.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/mudrunner-tire-tracks.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: MudRunner
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/675010/MudRunner/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/675010/ss_06a211b2c74b30ff539339e9a87f69f2272c5dbb.1920x1080.jpg?t=1784714181
      credit: >-
        Saber Interactive / Focus Entertainment; screenshot from the publisher’s
        Steam gallery
      rights: >-
        MudRunner imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        screenshot; all rights reserved and excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Wheel ruts in soft ground
      alt: >-
        A MudRunner truck follows a muddy road with deep wheel ruts visible
        ahead of its tires.
      markers:
        - x: 39
          'y': 82
          label: Wheel ruts along the road
        - x: 54
          'y': 69
          label: Wheels in the deformed ground
    tips:
      - Connect tracks along wheel paths and account for turning.
    examples:
      - title: MudRunner
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/675010/MudRunner/'
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
---
# Tire tracks

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

Wheels leave a readable trail of vehicle movement on a surface.

## At a glance

![A MudRunner truck follows a muddy road with deep wheel ruts visible ahead of its tires.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/mudrunner-tire-tracks.webp)

[MudRunner](https://store.steampowered.com/app/675010/MudRunner/) · MudRunner imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved and excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Wheel ruts along the road
2. Wheels in the deformed ground

- Connect tracks along wheel paths and account for turning.

- [MudRunner](https://store.steampowered.com/app/675010/MudRunner/)

## How it works

Wheels leave a readable trail of vehicle movement on a surface.

## Variants

### How the technique works

<a id="gm-tire-tracks-rule"></a>

- Wheels leave a readable trail of vehicle movement on a surface. <a id="gm-tire-tracks-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: Tire tracks](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tire-tracks) (id: source-f6ccc9dc4fb07ff3)
- [Rage 2 (2019)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tire-tracks/game/rage-2) (id: source-0a5cc09918818366)
- [MudRunner](https://store.steampowered.com/app/675010/MudRunner/) (id: source-4baebb70f935092d)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors