---
key: mechanic/survival-construction--t125
type: mechanic
id: survival-construction--t125
lang: en
title: 'Hunting, ecosystems and predator-prey relationships'
summary: >-
  Hunting uses prey traces and behavior, while population changes affect future
  food availability and hazards.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/survival-construction--t125/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/survival-construction--t125.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/survival-construction--t125.md
aliases:
  - Hunting and predator-prey interactions
tags:
  - 'Survival, crafting and construction'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-2350e106ed66faaf
  - source-f7441d52b2ede78b
sources:
  - id: source-2350e106ed66faaf
    title: 'Klei: Don’t Starve'
    url: 'https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f7441d52b2ede78b
    title: Bulletstorm
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: survival-construction
    id: t125
    title: 'Survival, crafting and construction'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/survival-construction/#t125'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Hunting and predator-prey interactions
    description: >-
      Hunting uses prey traces and behavior, while population changes affect
      future food availability and hazards.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/world-feeding-enemies-to-creatures.webp
      width: 498
      height: 276
      game: Bulletstorm
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/bulletstorm_feeder.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 0.6
      credit: >-
        People Can Fly / Epic Games; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org;
        visible source watermark: GRAVITY BOOTS
      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: The player sends a target toward a carnivorous plant
      alt: The player sends a target toward a carnivorous plant
      markers:
        - x: 43
          'y': 48
          label: Enemy airborne after the hit
        - x: 45
          'y': 25
          label: Carnivorous plant beside the target
    tips:
      - Let players predict prey behaviour from observable cues.
    examples:
      - title: Bulletstorm
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/survival-construction
---
# Hunting, ecosystems and predator-prey relationships

id: survival-construction--t125
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/survival-construction--t125
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/survival-construction--t125/

Hunting uses prey traces and behavior, while population changes affect future food availability and hazards.

## At a glance

![The player sends a target toward a carnivorous plant](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/world-feeding-enemies-to-creatures.webp)

[Bulletstorm](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures) · 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/bulletstorm_feeder.webm), 0.6 s

1. Enemy airborne after the hit
2. Carnivorous plant beside the target

- Let players predict prey behaviour from observable cues.

- [Bulletstorm](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures)

## How it works

Hunting uses prey traces and behavior, while population changes affect future food availability and hazards.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t125-variants"></a>

- Tracks indicate movement direction and recency. <a id="t125-v1"></a>
- Bait uses preferences of a particular species. <a id="t125-v2"></a>
- Wind changes the success of a concealed approach. <a id="t125-v3"></a>
- Population recovery connects yields to hunting pace. <a id="t125-v4"></a>

## Design example

Depleted small prey causes predators to approach the camp more frequently.

Prototype check: Test whether observed behavior supports useful predictions and the ecosystem persists while the player is absent.

## Context and limits

Survival connects supply consumption, environmental conditions and preparing a safe return; construction changes that relationship. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Klei: Don’t Starve](https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve) (id: source-2350e106ed66faaf)
- [Bulletstorm](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures) (id: source-f7441d52b2ede78b)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors