{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-17","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-17","lang":"en","title":"Connecting clues and organizing a case","summary":"The player organizes scattered information while preserving the difference between a fact and a proposed connection.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-17/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-17.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-17.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Detective games","Hypotheses and reasoning tests"],"sourceIds":["source-5826b1f3d00cd60a"],"sources":[{"id":"source-5826b1f3d00cd60a","title":"Shadows of Doubt","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/986130/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player organizes scattered information while preserving the difference between a fact and a proposed connection."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-17-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Connection board: link people, places and evidence while specifying what each connection means. <a id=\"family-17-variant-1\"></a>\n- Source-linked notebook: return from a note to the original scene, document or statement. <a id=\"family-17-variant-2\"></a>\n- Revising the model: remove an unsupported connection after discovering a new fact. <a id=\"family-17-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A letter and a payment share a name. The player marks the connection as a hypothesis until checking the date."},{"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-17","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-17","categoryIds":["reasoning"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Connecting clues and organizing a case","description":"The player organizes scattered information while preserving the difference between a fact and a proposed connection.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/narrative-shadows-doubt-01.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Shadows of Doubt","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/986130/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/986130/ss_6e8b247fbef7b2be4d87b4a7ef9d6bae191e39f8.1920x1080.jpg?t=1787842717","credit":"ColePowered Games / Fireshine Games","rights":"© ColePowered Games / Fireshine Games. All rights reserved.","caption":"The board connects a receipt, people and places","alt":"The board connects a receipt, people and places","markers":[{"x":69,"y":56,"label":"The relationship between entries remains visible on the case board"}]},"tips":["Distinguish established links from player assumptions."],"examples":[{"title":"Shadows of Doubt","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/986130/"}]}},"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"}}