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Stealthy Statues

3D Top Down Puzzle Adventure

  • Role: Lead Game Designer 

  • Engine: Unity

  • Platform(s): PC (Windows) 

  • Development Time: 4 Weeks (Game Jam) 

  • Genre(s): Prototype(s) – 3D Top Down, Stealth, Puzzle 

  • Mode(s): Single Player

Theme and Setting

Stealthy Statues is a 3D top-down stealth puzzle game that challenges players to infiltrate a heavily guarded museum and steal all the statues—without being caught. Combining tactical planning, stealth mechanics, and dynamic AI behavior, players must navigate through increasingly complex levels by pre-planning their movements and using clever deception to outsmart their enemies.

What sets Stealthy Statues apart is its unique blend of pre-planned movement mechanics and the statue camouflage ability, which allows players to transform into a statue by standing still—fooling guards and slipping away when the moment is right. As the game progresses, guard AI evolves, reacting to sound, vision, and patterns, forcing players to think like real thieves: plan ahead, adapt quickly, and never get caught.

Core Gameplay

Pre-Selected Movement System:

  • At the start of each level, players are given a limited number of moves (Up, Down, Left, Right).

  • Players must pre-plan their thief's path using these directional moves before execution.

  • Once selected, the sequence is committed—every move counts and requires foresight and precision.


Stealth-Based Navigation:

  • The player controls a thief sneaking through a museum environment.

  • Guards patrol the area with limited fields of view, shown by flashlight cones.

  • Guards can also hear footsteps within a defined proximity, adding a layer of sound-based stealth.


Statue Camouflage Mechanic:

  • If the thief stands still, they transform into a statue, visually blending with the environment.

  • This can fool guards when:
    They hear a noise and approach.
    They spot the thief from a distance.

  • Early Game Behavior: Guards return to their original patrol route after inspecting the statue.

  • Late Game Behavior: Guards grow suspicious, patrol around the "statue," or change routes, increasing the challenge.


Evolving Guard AI:

  • Guards have two senses:
    Sight (cone-based flashlight vision)
    Hearing (radial zone around them)

  • Guard behavior progresses over time:
    Early Levels: Predictable patrol routes, low suspicion
    Later Levels: Randomized patrols, suspicion on static statues, extended search behavior


Puzzle-Like Level Design:

  • Levels are structured like mazes with:
    Strategically placed statues to steal
    Guard patrols and traps to avoid

  • Each level demands careful planning of:
    Movement routes
    Timing
    Use of the statue ability

  • Statues are placed randomly in each level to enhance replayability.


Risk-Reward Decision Making:

  • Players must weigh each movement:
    Move too soon, get spotted
    Wait too long, waste a turn

  • The statue ability is powerful, but can’t be abused, as guards may eventually suspect and patrol nearby.


Replayability and Challenge:

  • Multiple ways to solve each level

  • Optional challenges such as:
    Completing with minimal moves
    Time-based bonuses
    No detection achievements

  • Encourages mastery and experimentation.

Created the Core Gameplay Loop:

  • Designed a movement system where players select a limited number of directional commands at the start of each level, introducing planning and puzzle-solving elements to stealth gameplay.


Developed the Statue Camouflage Mechanic:

  • Designer a unique stealth mechanic that lets the player freeze in place to blend in with the environment, creating tense moments of deception and escape. You balanced this feature across levels by varying guard behavior and suspicion levels.


Designed Adaptive AI Systems:

  • Crafted enemy guard behavior that reacts to both line of sight (via flashlights) and auditory cues (player footsteps). Designed evolving guard behavior, where early levels have predictable patrols, while later levels introduce random paths and suspicious lingering.


Built Progressive Difficulty & Level Design:

  • Created level layouts that scale in complexity, introducing tighter spaces, more guards, and randomized statue placements that ensure every playthrough feels fresh and strategic.


Balanced Challenge & Fairness:

  • Ensured a fair learning curve by giving players clear audio-visual cues (guard flashlight direction, sound radius), balanced with the strategic depth of limited moves and reactive enemy AI.


Defined the Game’s Tone and Style:

  • Shaped a sleek, minimal visual identity and a smart, stealthy atmosphere that complements the tactical nature of the gameplay.

My Role as Game Designer

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