{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-15","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-15","lang":"en","title":"Cause, mechanism and staging","summary":"The player separates the observed outcome from its mechanism and later attempts to conceal it.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-15/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-15.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-15.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Detective games","Reconstructing events"],"sourceIds":["source-d44fa1b4a4c747d6","source-090ee83445744667"],"sources":[{"id":"source-d44fa1b4a4c747d6","title":"The Case of the Golden Idol","url":"https://www.thegoldenidol.com/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-090ee83445744667","title":"The Operator","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player separates the observed outcome from its mechanism and later attempts to conceal it."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-15-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Event mechanism: connect an action, means and outcome in a testable causal chain. <a id=\"family-15-variant-1\"></a>\n- Primary and secondary traces: distinguish the event’s traces from cleanup, assistance or substitution. <a id=\"family-15-variant-2\"></a>\n- Exposing staging: identify a fact that the staged explanation cannot account for. <a id=\"family-15-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A fall appears accidental, but the railing’s position does not explain a tool mark. Another hypothesis is needed."},{"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-15","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-15","categoryIds":["reconstruction"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Cause, mechanism and staging","description":"The player separates the observed outcome from its mechanism and later attempts to conceal it.","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":"Chemical analysis of a sample beside the fire report","alt":"Chemical analysis of a sample beside the fire report","markers":[{"x":56,"y":69,"label":"The sample’s composition can be compared with the report’s claims"}]},"tips":["Distinguish the cause, outcome and traces of later staging."],"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"}}