---
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
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
---
# Hiding bodies and traces

id: stealth-infiltration--t033
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t033
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t033/

Hiding bodies and traces delays discovery of an action but costs time and can create new vulnerabilities.

## At a glance

![Agent 47 lifts a body over the rim of an open container in Hitman: Absolution.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interaction-hiding-bodies.webp)

[Hitman: Absolution](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/hiding-bodies) · 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/hitman_absolution_hide_body.webm), 5.27 s

1. Body being placed inside
2. Hiding container

- Show who can discover evidence and how long hiding it takes.

- [Hitman: Absolution](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/hiding-bodies)

## How it works

Hiding bodies and traces delays discovery of an action but costs time and can create new vulnerabilities.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t033-variants"></a>

- Carrying slows movement and occupies the hands. <a id="t033-v1"></a>
- Containers limit the number of hidden objects. <a id="t033-v2"></a>
- Cleaning removes a specific type of trace. <a id="t033-v3"></a>
- A missing character can itself trigger investigation. <a id="t033-v4"></a>

## Design example

A guard is concealed, but a missed patrol check prompts a dispatcher to send a replacement.

Prototype check: Test trace persistence across room changes and distinguish hiding a body from removing evidence.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials

- Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern)

## 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.

- [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92)
- [Hitman: Absolution](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/hiding-bodies) (id: source-0fb14eddbea48b48)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors