---
key: mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t035
type: mechanic
id: stealth-infiltration--t035
lang: en
title: 'Lures, distractions and sabotage'
summary: >-
  Distraction changes observer priorities while sabotage changes the environment
  to prepare a later covert action.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t035/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t035.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t035.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - 'Stealth, infiltration and escape'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-3817d420df0baa92
  - source-f0d681640c78d0d6
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-f0d681640c78d0d6
    title: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights'
    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: t035
    title: 'Stealth, infiltration and escape'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/stealth-infiltration/#t035'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Lures, distractions and sabotage'
    description: >-
      Distraction changes observer priorities while sabotage changes the
      environment to prepare a later covert action.
    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:
      - 'Give distractions a readable range, duration and observer response.'
    examples:
      - title: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/shooting-out-lights'
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
---
# Lures, distractions and sabotage

id: stealth-infiltration--t035
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t035
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t035/

Distraction changes observer priorities while sabotage changes the environment to prepare a later covert action.

## 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

- Give distractions a readable range, duration and observer response.

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

## How it works

Distraction changes observer priorities while sabotage changes the environment to prepare a later covert action.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t035-variants"></a>

- Sound redirects the nearest available observer. <a id="t035-v1"></a>
- A lure requires a relevant target motivation. <a id="t035-v2"></a>
- A breakdown summons maintenance personnel. <a id="t035-v3"></a>
- A false alarm frees a different area. <a id="t035-v4"></a>

## Design example

A disabled pump makes a technician leave their post and open a service corridor.

Prototype check: Test repeated distractions: reactions should account for a known trick or explicitly allow repetition.

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

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors