{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t033","type":"mechanic","id":"stealth-infiltration--t033","lang":"en","title":"Hiding bodies and traces","summary":"Hiding bodies and traces delays discovery of an action but costs time and can create new vulnerabilities.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t033/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t033.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t033.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Stealth, infiltration and escape","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-0fb14eddbea48b48"],"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-0fb14eddbea48b48","title":"Hitman: Absolution","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/hiding-bodies","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Hiding bodies and traces delays discovery of an action but costs time and can create new vulnerabilities."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t033-variants\"></a>\n\n- Carrying slows movement and occupies the hands. <a id=\"t033-v1\"></a>\n- Containers limit the number of hidden objects. <a id=\"t033-v2\"></a>\n- Cleaning removes a specific type of trace. <a id=\"t033-v3\"></a>\n- A missing character can itself trigger investigation. <a id=\"t033-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A guard is concealed, but a missed patrol check prompts a dispatcher to send a replacement.\n\nPrototype check: Test trace persistence across room changes and distinguish hiding a body from removing evidence."},{"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":"t033","title":"Stealth, infiltration and escape","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/stealth-infiltration/#t033","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Hiding bodies and traces","description":"Hiding bodies and traces delays discovery of an action but costs time and can create new vulnerabilities.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/interaction-hiding-bodies.webp","width":600,"height":334,"game":"Hitman: Absolution","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/hiding-bodies","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/hitman_absolution_hide_body.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":5.27,"credit":"IO Interactive; 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 body is placed in a container","alt":"Agent 47 lifts a body over the rim of an open container in Hitman: Absolution.","markers":[{"x":73,"y":35,"label":"Body being placed inside"},{"x":77,"y":67,"label":"Hiding container"}]},"tips":["Show who can discover evidence and how long hiding it takes."],"examples":[{"title":"Hitman: Absolution","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/hiding-bodies"}]}},"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"}}