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Early Access - How do Stealth Games Deal with Detection? (Patreon)

Published:
2020-05-18 13:47:20
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Hey!

It's time for the final episode in my stealth game series, School of Stealth. This time, I'm looking at a key ingredient of the genre: being spotted! I'm looking at everything from AI states to quick loading to escaping and hiding!

Hope you like it. Out for everyone tomorrow

Mark

Files

Previews only

How do Stealth Games Deal with Detection? | School of Stealth Part 3

Welcome back to the School of Stealth, a GMTK miniseries on how stealth games work. In episode three, it's time to tackle the biggest challenge of stealth game design: detection. In a genre that's all about staying hidden, what should designers do when the player is found? Support Game Maker's Toolkit on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/GameMakersToolkit Join the GMTK Game Jam https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-2020 Sources Modelling AI Perception and Awareness in Splinter Cell: Blacklist | GDC Vault (Free Access) https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020436/Modeling-AI-Perception-and-Awareness Pac-Man (Design Icons) | Game Maker's Toolkit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4RHbnBkyh0 Video chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:37 - AI 101 03:40 - Improving Guard Detection 08:14 - Dealing with Quick Load 12:13 - Conclusion Games shown in this episode (in order of appearance) Metal Gear Solid (Konami, 1998) Volume (Mike Bithell, 2015) Metal Gear (Konami, 1987) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions, 2015) Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio, 2019) Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games, 2018) Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games, 2017) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog, 2009) Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (MachineGames, 2017) Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft Montreal, 2014) Hitman 2 (IO Interactive, 2018) Mass Effect 2 (BioWare, 2010) Halo 2 (Bungie, 2004) Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment, 2012) Pac-Man (Namco, 1980) Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios, 2016) The Last of Us (Naughty Dog, 2013) Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Ubisoft Toronto, 2013) Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine (Pocketwatch Games, 2013) Metro 2033 (4A Games, 2010) Dishonored (Arkane Studios, 2012) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Monolith Productions, 2014) Assassin's Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal, 2017) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Konami, 2004) Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios, 2009) Untitled Goose Game (House House, 2019) Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, 2011) Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Ubisoft Montreal, 2005) Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (Mimimi, 2016) Thief: The Dark Project (Looking Glass Studios, 1998) Styx: Shards of Darkness (Cyanide, 2017) Spelunky (Derek Yu, 2012) Assault Android Cactus (Witch Beam, 2015) Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios, 2015) Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal, 2018) F1 2019 (Codemasters, 2019) Forza Motorsport 6 (Turn 10 Studios, 2015) GRID Autosport (Codemasters, 2014) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal, 2010) Silent Service II (MicroProse, 1990) ECHO (Ultra Ultra, 2017) Music used in this episode Music provided by Music Vine - https://musicvine.com/ As I Was Saying, Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/track/as-i-was-saying)

Comments

Tom T

I think one thing that would fix the quicksave temptation for me is if the narrative says that the enemies already know I’m there. The problem for me is that guards searching for a minute or two and then forgetting I was even there is so unrealistic it takes me out of the game even more than magically going back in time. Especially because many narratives act like your character *did* ghost their way through no matter what happens. I think that issue is lessened if the enemy knows you’re sneaking around, but they just don’t know exactly where. In that scenario, it’s less that they forget about you, and more that after enough time has passed they realize you’ve likely gotten far away, so they need to go back to standard patrols instead of intensely looking around your last known location. Narratively this kind of thing would work well with “escape” types of scenarios, and it’d work with “infiltration” types of scenarios if the enemy for some reason has advance knowledge of when the protagonist is staging their attack. You could also add voice clips where guards taunt the player character, even before you’re ever spotted.

Paolo Torelli

The quickload issue, if we want to consider it one, stems from the fact that extrinsic rewards (e.g. achievements, ratings, checklists...) always end up robbing the value of intrinsic rewards (e.g. setting a personal challenge, succeeding on a mission, etc). If I like untitled goose game, or Hitman, or what-have-you, without achievements or goals, it's because I find the game fun and appealing. Add achievements and it's no more about the fun of the game, but reaching goals, doing tasks, filling a checklist. The Skinner box takes over. And yes, I'm obviously in line with the school of thought as "Achievements Considered Harmful?" of GDC 10 memory