{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036","type":"mechanic","id":"stealth-infiltration--t036","lang":"en","title":"Tailing, reconnaissance and counter-surveillance","summary":"Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036.md","aliases":["Surveillance and counter-surveillance"],"tags":["Stealth, infiltration and escape","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-0b67ba09f898a1a9"],"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-0b67ba09f898a1a9","title":"Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t036-variants\"></a>\n\n- Distance balances losing a target against recognition. <a id=\"t036-v1\"></a>\n- Routes use several observation positions. <a id=\"t036-v2\"></a>\n- Photographs preserve a verifiable target action. <a id=\"t036-v3\"></a>\n- A checking turn reveals a follower copying the route. <a id=\"t036-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A courier changes streets and the player switches to a distant camera instead of closing dangerously.\n\nPrototype check: Test regaining contact through a known route after a brief interruption of direct visibility."},{"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":"t036","title":"Stealth, infiltration and escape","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/stealth-infiltration/#t036","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Surveillance and counter-surveillance","description":"Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/combat-recon-drone.webp","width":500,"height":276,"game":"Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/cod_drone_s.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":8.07,"credit":"Activision; frame from clip 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":"A drone-camera view over a city block","alt":"A drone camera overlooks rooftops in Call of Duty: Warzone, with battery and device status in its interface.","markers":[{"x":54,"y":35,"label":"A marked location among the buildings"},{"x":25,"y":81,"label":"Drone battery indicator"}]},"tips":["Balance acquired information against the risk of exposing the observer."],"examples":[{"title":"Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone"}]}},"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"}}