---
key: mechanic/electronic-devices--family-g29
type: mechanic
id: electronic-devices--family-g29
lang: en
title: Sabotage and use in the environment
summary: >-
  The player disables, damages or reconfigures a device to change conditions in
  the environment.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/electronic-devices--family-g29/
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/electronic-devices--family-g29.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/electronic-devices--family-g29.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Electronic devices in games
  - World
sourceIds:
  - source-f0d681640c78d0d6
sources:
  - id: source-f0d681640c78d0d6
    title: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: electronic-devices
    id: family-g29
    title: Electronic devices in games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/electronic-devices/#family-g29'
    categoryIds:
      - section-2
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Sabotage and use in the environment
    description: >-
      The player disables, damages or reconfigures a device to change conditions
      in the environment.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interaction-shooting-out-lights.webp
      width: 600
      height: 336
      game: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/splinter_cell_shooting_out_lights.webm
      sourceFrameSeconds: 4.01
      credit: Ubisoft Montréal; 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: Aiming at a ceiling light
      alt: >-
        Sam aims a pistol at a ceiling light in Splinter Cell, with the
        visibility meter on the right.
      markers:
        - x: 58
          'y': 23
          label: Light fixture as a breakable target
        - x: 93
          'y': 72
          label: The hero’s visibility meter
    tips:
      - Connect the device change to a visible change in the world.
    examples:
      - title: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on
  2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are
  preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire
  classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and
  editorial review.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/electronic-devices
---
# Sabotage and use in the environment

id: electronic-devices--family-g29
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/electronic-devices--family-g29
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/electronic-devices--family-g29/

The player disables, damages or reconfigures a device to change conditions in the environment.

## At a glance

![Sam aims a pistol at a ceiling light in Splinter Cell, with the visibility meter on the right.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-shooting-out-lights.webp)

[Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights) · 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/splinter_cell_shooting_out_lights.webm), 4.01 s

1. Light fixture as a breakable target
2. The hero’s visibility meter

- Connect the device change to a visible change in the world.

- [Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights)

## How it works

Devices: Computer; Smartphone; Camera; Terminal; Device.

## Variants

### Variants and applications

<a id="family-g29-variants"></a>

- Disable electronics. Rule: Destroy a device to stop its function... <a id="variant-g29-01"></a>
- Disable the target. Rule: Disconnect power to a specific system. <a id="variant-g29-02"></a>
- Silence the connection. Rule: Deprive the device of a channel while keeping it physically intact. <a id="variant-g29-03"></a>
- Create a false signal. Rule: Substitute a reading, alarm or video stream to deceive the system. <a id="variant-g29-04"></a>
- Distract with sound or light. Rule: Make an NPC respond to a bell, screen, or speaker. <a id="variant-g29-05"></a>
- Place the device. Rule: Leave a beacon, wiretap, bait or other working item. <a id="variant-g29-06"></a>
- Reboot the system. Rule: Cause failure or dangerous behavior through excessive load. <a id="variant-g29-07"></a>
- Use the body as an object. Rule: Prop, weight, throw or exchange the device regardless of its software. <a id="variant-g29-08"></a>

## Context and limits

Author's taxonomy of actions, task forms and end-to-end conditions for design. Categories overlap. References support individual families, not every variant.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.

- [Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights) (id: source-f0d681640c78d0d6)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors