{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-31","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-31","lang":"en","title":"Ethical decisions and consequences","summary":"After establishing facts, the player chooses an action. A hypothesis’s truth and a decision’s moral evaluation remain distinct.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-31/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-31.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-31.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Detective games","Investigation structure"],"sourceIds":["source-de967651def38651","source-b21a556417974437","source-7fcfb2fbe5cf06c7"],"sources":[{"id":"source-de967651def38651","title":"Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/241260/Sherlock_Holmes_Crimes_and_Punishments/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-b21a556417974437","title":"Paradise Killer","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1160220/Paradise_Killer/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-7fcfb2fbe5cf06c7","title":"Paradise Killer","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1160220/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"After establishing facts, the player chooses an action. A hypothesis’s truth and a decision’s moral evaluation remain distinct."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-31-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Finding and punishment: separate establishing involvement from deciding a character’s fate. <a id=\"family-31-variant-1\"></a>\n- Disclosure: choose whom to tell an established fact and what context to provide. <a id=\"family-31-variant-2\"></a>\n- Lasting consequences: show how a decision changes relationships and subsequent cases. <a id=\"family-31-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"The player establishes who concealed a document and decides how to report it, considering the consequences for a witness."},{"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-31","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-31","categoryIds":["structure"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Ethical decisions and consequences","description":"After establishing facts, the player chooses an action. A hypothesis’s truth and a decision’s moral evaluation remain distinct.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/narrative-paradise-killer-02.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Paradise Killer","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1160220/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1160220/ss_0ee4deeaa33b45f96ac96499c4966577b3f2dd50.1920x1080.jpg?t=1776963586","credit":"Kaizen Game Works / Fellow Traveller","rights":"© Kaizen Game Works / Fellow Traveller. All rights reserved.","caption":"Case evidence before choosing an accusation","alt":"Case evidence before choosing an accusation","markers":[{"x":50,"y":60,"label":"The case file connects a suspect to relevant evidence"}]},"tips":["Present moral decisions separately from checking a theory’s truth."],"examples":[{"title":"Paradise Killer","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1160220/"}]}},"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"}}