{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191","type":"mechanic","id":"narrative-investigation--t191","lang":"en","title":"Interrogation, testimony and contradictions","summary":"Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities with other claims and known facts.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191.md","aliases":["Questioning and contradictions"],"tags":["Narrative, dialogue and investigation","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-24607f3488b057c0","source-2125d8b330e8c020"],"sources":[{"id":"source-24607f3488b057c0","title":"inkle: ink","url":"https://github.com/inkle/ink","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":"Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities with other claims and known facts."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t191-variants\"></a>\n\n- Clarification narrows an ambiguous statement. <a id=\"t191-v1\"></a>\n- Contradictions connect incompatible accounts. <a id=\"t191-v2\"></a>\n- Presenting evidence tests a specific clue's relevance. <a id=\"t191-v3\"></a>\n- Repeated questions account for a witness's new knowledge. <a id=\"t191-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A witness claims to have heard a bell while a repair log shows it had been removed.\n\nPrototype check: Test whether a player can explain a contradiction rather than merely guess the intended pair of buttons."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Narrative challenges give players grounds for interpretation, observable consequences of choice and ways to revise a hypothesis. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"narrative-investigation","id":"t191","title":"Narrative, dialogue and investigation","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/narrative-investigation/#t191","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Questioning and contradictions","description":"Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities with other claims and known facts.","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 compare testimony with previously discovered evidence."],"examples":[{"title":"Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/narrative-investigation"}}