{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-07","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-07","lang":"en","title":"Contradictions in testimony","summary":"The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and explains why they cannot both hold.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-07/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-07.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-07.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Detective games","Witnesses and information sources"],"sourceIds":["source-3674ef77efed76d0","source-2125d8b330e8c020"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3674ef77efed76d0","title":"Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies","url":"https://www.nintendo.com/hk/3ds/aceattorney_dualdestinies/pdf/Ace_Attorney_5_OPSeet_en_R15.pdf","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-2125d8b330e8c020","title":"Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and explains why they cannot both hold."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-07-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Fact versus statement: present evidence against the particular claim it contradicts. <a id=\"family-07-variant-1\"></a>\n- Two accounts: compare one person’s earlier and later testimony. <a id=\"family-07-variant-2\"></a>\n- Clarifying a claim: ask a follow-up question that turns a vague assertion into a testable statement. <a id=\"family-07-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A witness claims to have seen a coat’s color in total darkness. The player checks the lighting and challenges the mismatch."},{"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-07","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-07","categoryIds":["testimony"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Contradictions in testimony","description":"The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and explains why they cannot both hold.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/dialogue-ace-attorney-trilogy-01.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/787480/04cc6bd6f7fb90e9e94925b6d716896a549d0ca9/ss_04cc6bd6f7fb90e9e94925b6d716896a549d0ca9.1920x1080.jpg?t=1768866317","credit":"CAPCOM Co., Ltd.","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Witness testimony and the court record","alt":"Witness testimony and the court record","markers":[{"x":40,"y":75,"label":"The witness makes a statement that can be checked"},{"x":79,"y":94,"label":"The court record remains available during testimony"}]},"tips":["A contradiction should link a specific statement to an independent fact."],"examples":[{"title":"Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/"}]}},"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"}}