{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/narrative-investigation--t193","type":"mechanic","id":"narrative-investigation--t193","lang":"en","title":"Reconstructing events and causal relationships","summary":"Reconstruction restores event sequences and causal dependencies, supporting tests of several explanations for the same traces.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t193/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t193.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t193.md","aliases":["Reconstructing events"],"tags":["Narrative, dialogue and investigation","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-24607f3488b057c0","source-248d0f12871f66ae"],"sources":[{"id":"source-24607f3488b057c0","title":"inkle: ink","url":"https://github.com/inkle/ink","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-248d0f12871f66ae","title":"Return of the Obra Dinn","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Reconstruction restores event sequences and causal dependencies, supporting tests of several explanations for the same traces."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t193-variants\"></a>\n\n- Timelines constrain possible event order. <a id=\"t193-v1\"></a>\n- Object placement suggests a feasible action. <a id=\"t193-v2\"></a>\n- Experiments test a hypothesis's physical feasibility. <a id=\"t193-v3\"></a>\n- Alternatives explain the same trace differently. <a id=\"t193-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A fallen shelf could have broken a window before a person left or after a timer activated.\n\nPrototype check: Test that the final account requires causal explanation rather than merely sorting every event by time."},{"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":"t193","title":"Narrative, dialogue and investigation","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/narrative-investigation/#t193","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Reconstructing events","description":"Reconstruction restores event sequences and causal dependencies, supporting tests of several explanations for the same traces.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-obra-dinn-01.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Return of the Obra Dinn","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/653530/ss_380dc35237fde7d3863a44270abafc37924d1db4.1920x1080.jpg?t=1686697594","credit":"Lucas Pope / 3909","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A watch beside the remains opens a scene from the past","alt":"A pocket watch and human remains on the Obra Dinn’s deck.","markers":[{"x":36,"y":66,"label":"The watch opens a memory of the event"},{"x":64,"y":56,"label":"The remains connect the scene to a participant"}]},"tips":["Distinguish event order from causal links."],"examples":[{"title":"Return of the Obra Dinn","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/"}]}},"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"}}