{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-25","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-25","lang":"en","title":"Defending a case in debate or trial","summary":"The player answers objections, presents relevant evidence and refines the argument supporting a case.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-25/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-25.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-25.md","aliases":["Defending a theory in debate or court"],"tags":["Detective games","Conclusions, argument and assistance"],"sourceIds":["source-3674ef77efed76d0","source-b21a556417974437","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-b21a556417974437","title":"Paradise Killer","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1160220/Paradise_Killer/","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 answers objections, presents relevant evidence and refines the argument supporting a case."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-25-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Evidence for a claim: select material that supports the particular disputed assertion. <a id=\"family-25-variant-1\"></a>\n- Answering an objection: identify a hidden assumption in an opponent’s argument. <a id=\"family-25-variant-2\"></a>\n- Proof chain: justify the intermediate steps needed for the final conclusion. <a id=\"family-25-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"An opponent cites an entry log. The player explains why it establishes pass use but not yet the visitor’s identity."},{"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-25","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-25","categoryIds":["conclusions"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Defending a theory in debate or court","description":"The player answers objections, presents relevant evidence and refines the argument supporting a case.","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":["Let players answer objections with relevant evidence rather than dialogue tone."],"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"}}