{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/narrative-investigation--t197","type":"mechanic","id":"narrative-investigation--t197","lang":"en","title":"Unreliable narrators and testing interpretations","summary":"Unreliable reports require comparison with independent signs and revision of trust in their source.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t197/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t197.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t197.md","aliases":["Testing an unreliable account"],"tags":["Narrative, dialogue and investigation","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-24607f3488b057c0","source-86b980b788f54522"],"sources":[{"id":"source-24607f3488b057c0","title":"inkle: ink","url":"https://github.com/inkle/ink","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-86b980b788f54522","title":"Her Story","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Unreliable reports require comparison with independent signs and revision of trust in their source."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t197-variants\"></a>\n\n- Limited memory leaves recognizable gaps. <a id=\"t197-v1\"></a>\n- Self-interest distorts which facts are reported. <a id=\"t197-v2\"></a>\n- Another viewpoint reveals an omitted event. <a id=\"t197-v3\"></a>\n- Corroboration raises trust in a particular claim. <a id=\"t197-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A diary describes a victory while damage to the gates suggests its author retreated.\n\nPrototype check: Test for observable reasons to doubt before the ending instead of revealing deception only in retrospect."},{"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":"t197","title":"Narrative, dialogue and investigation","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/narrative-investigation/#t197","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Testing an unreliable account","description":"Unreliable reports require comparison with independent signs and revision of trust in their source.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-her-story-00.webp","width":1440,"height":900,"crop":{"x":120,"y":0,"width":1200,"height":900},"game":"Her Story","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/368370/ss_47f0e58df778d9f10b3df40ddce8bba8e592b1fb.1920x1080.jpg?t=1684962832","credit":"Sam Barlow","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A search query, recordings and a user tag","alt":"A search query, recordings and a user tag","markers":[{"x":58,"y":40,"label":"A query retrieves related recordings"},{"x":44,"y":59,"label":"The player adds a personal tag"}]},"tips":["Let players test a story against independent observable details."],"examples":[{"title":"Her Story","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/"}]}},"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"}}