Kiipluu Dev Blog #2 – NPC Vision in Kiipluu

How Enemy Vision Works in Kiipluu

One of the biggest challenges in stealth games is making enemy detection feel tense without feeling random.

For Kiipluu, we wanted players to constantly think about distance, movement, terrain, and positioning instead of simply asking:

“Am I hidden or not?”

That led us to building a layered NPC vision system.

Different Detection Zones

Enemies react differently depending on how close you are and how exposed you become.

At longer distances, enemies mostly react to movement. If you crouch and move carefully, you can stay unnoticed even relatively close to them.

As you get nearer, stealth becomes less forgiving.

Bushes, terrain, shadows, and visibility start playing a much larger role. Moving carelessly or standing in the wrong place becomes much more dangerous.

At direct range, enemies can both see and hear you clearly. Running, fast movement, and noise become difficult to recover from once you are detected.

And if you get extremely close, even bushes stop being reliable protection.

Awareness Behind Enemies

We also added a small awareness zone behind NPCs.

Not because enemies literally have eyes in the back of their heads, but because sneaking directly behind someone should still feel risky and tense.

That uncomfortable feeling of: “Okay… Someone might be behind me.”

was something we wanted to preserve.

Stealth Should Feel Uncertain

A lot of stealth systems eventually become predictable once players fully understand the rules.

Our goal with Kiipluu is slightly different.

We want players to understand the systems enough to learn from mistakes, while still feeling vulnerable during encounters.

Stealth should reward observation and patience, but there should always be tension when moving through enemy territory.

We would love to hear your thoughts after watching the video.

Watch the video below for a deeper look at how NPC vision currently works in Kiipluu.