Visibility meter

Classic stealth games have long leaned on the core idea of "stealth from the shadows". Hide in the dark, stay out of the light, and the guards won't see you. It's an elegant rule, and players understand it instantly. 

But it comes with a cost. To make shadows readable, these games tend to be dark and desaturated - almost black-and-white - 85% of the playtime. That look didn't match what we wanted for our own project. In the year 2026, we want people to enjoy a slightly more vibrant, colorful palette.
 

Metal Gear took a different path: detection depended on the camouflage you were wearing. Matching your outfit to the surroundings was a super cool mechanic, and it freed the game from relying on darkness. But it's also quite complex, with lots of costumes, environments, and rules to design and balance - we weren't sure we could deliver on such a big scope. So we chose another way. 

In SeverlInk the visibility meter (aka light indicator) reveals how visible you are in the environment.

At first it was just how much light are were under (hence "light indicator"). But then we realized that player's visibility should depend not just on the light around them, but also on the opponent's sight radius.

Different opponents will have different sight radius and reaction time. So you'll need to stay in the shadows to outsmart them.

The challenge here is make the intuitive visibility equal the component's state. E.g. there should be no cases, where the player is convinced they are standing in the shadows, but the visibility meter is half-full etc.