{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t032","type":"mechanic","id":"stealth-infiltration--t032","lang":"en","title":"Suspicion, alerts and searching","summary":"Suspicion moves observers from routine behavior through investigation, alerts and searching for a last known target.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t032/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t032.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t032.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Stealth, infiltration and escape","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-f3ed8d6e91e4574f"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3817d420df0baa92","title":"Robert Nystrom: State","url":"https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-f3ed8d6e91e4574f","title":"Deus Ex","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/surveillance-cameras","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Suspicion moves observers from routine behavior through investigation, alerts and searching for a last known target."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t032-variants\"></a>\n\n- Investigation approaches an unusual signal source. <a id=\"t032-v1\"></a>\n- Alerts spread through available communication channels. <a id=\"t032-v2\"></a>\n- Search expands from the last known contact. <a id=\"t032-v3\"></a>\n- Returning to routine preserves memory of a threat. <a id=\"t032-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A guard investigates an open door, calls a partner and then searches nearby rooms.\n\nPrototype check: Test that a searching guard cannot obtain the hidden player's exact position without observing a new signal."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Stealth manages what observers know through visibility, suspicion, traces, decoys and escape routes. 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."}],"relations":[{"type":"uses","direction":"outgoing","label":"Sources in the selection","key":"resource/state-pattern","title":"State: Game Programming Patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md"}],"placements":[{"catalogId":"stealth-infiltration","id":"t032","title":"Stealth, infiltration and escape","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/stealth-infiltration/#t032","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Suspicion, alerts and searching","description":"Suspicion moves observers from routine behavior through investigation, alerts and searching for a last known target.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/interaction-surveillance-cameras.webp","width":900,"height":499,"game":"Deus Ex","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/surveillance-cameras","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/deus_ex_surveillance_camera.jpg","credit":"Ion Storm; image 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 camera above a door watches the approach","alt":"A camera with a green indicator is mounted above a passage in Deus Ex.","markers":[{"x":54,"y":28,"label":"Camera lens above the passage"},{"x":50,"y":73,"label":"Watched route beside the door"}]},"tips":["Distinguish a noticed signal, confirmed alarm and search of the last known position."],"examples":[{"title":"Deus Ex","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/surveillance-cameras"}]}},"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/stealth-infiltration"}}