{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-02","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-02","lang":"en","title":"Instrument-assisted inspection","summary":"A tool reveals a new property; the player decides what to inspect and how to interpret the result.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-02/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-02.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-02.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Detective games","Finding and examining evidence"],"sourceIds":["source-090ee83445744667"],"sources":[{"id":"source-090ee83445744667","title":"The Operator","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"A tool reveals a new property; the player decides what to inspect and how to interpret the result."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-02-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Tool selection: choose suitable magnification, lighting or scanning for a particular object. <a id=\"family-02-variant-1\"></a>\n- Observation tuning: adjust focus, range or angle until a useful signal becomes distinguishable. <a id=\"family-02-variant-2\"></a>\n- Reading interpretation: compare a measurement with a known sample and account for the fictional instrument’s uncertainty. <a id=\"family-02-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Ultraviolet light reveals an erased mark on an envelope, linking the letter to a particular paper batch."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A working map of detective design: 32 families and 96 variants. The core loop is to find information, form a hypothesis, test it and explain a conclusion. Answer formats, hints and investigation structure are treated separately. Families overlap, design examples are hypothetical, and released-game examples cite primary sources without revealing case solutions."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"detective","id":"family-02","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-02","categoryIds":["evidence"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Instrument-assisted inspection","description":"A tool reveals a new property; the player decides what to inspect and how to interpret the result.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/narrative-the-operator-08.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"The Operator","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1771980/ss_53cdfb9a020be84bd244dba7817656b1c37a176f.1920x1080.jpg?t=1778485297","credit":"Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova","rights":"© Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova. All rights reserved.","caption":"An instrument reveals the examined sample’s composition","alt":"An instrument reveals the examined sample’s composition","markers":[{"x":56,"y":58,"label":"The graph adds information unavailable through ordinary inspection"}]},"tips":["Explain which property the instrument measures and how precise it is."],"examples":[{"title":"The Operator","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-19. Primary developer and publisher sources support specific released-game examples, not the whole classification; design examples are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/detective"}}