{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/puzzle--family-narrative","type":"mechanic","id":"puzzle--family-narrative","lang":"en","title":"Investigation and reconstruction","summary":"The player reconstructs events from incomplete or conflicting information.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/puzzle--family-narrative/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/puzzle--family-narrative.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/puzzle--family-narrative.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Puzzles","Mechanics catalog"],"sourceIds":["source-248d0f12871f66ae"],"sources":[{"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":"Collect explanations of events from partial and contradictory information."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-narrative-variants\"></a>\n\n- Linking evidence. Definition: Establish relationships between the facts found. Conditional example: Connect the trace, tool and damage. <a id=\"variant-evidence-link\"></a>\n- Detecting a contradiction. Definition: Compare the claim with independent evidence. Conditional example: Refute the stated time of arrival with camera footage. <a id=\"variant-contradiction\"></a>\n- Restoring chronology. Definition: Arrange events according to temporal relationships and causal restrictions. Conditional example: Determine the order of events in a room. <a id=\"variant-timeline\"></a>\n- Establishing identity and role. Definition: Match unknown participants with names and actions. Conditional example: Determine who owned the found things. <a id=\"variant-identity\"></a>\n- Restoring the event mechanism. Definition: Construct an explanation consistent with all significant traces. Conditional example: Find out how the locked installation worked. <a id=\"variant-causal-reconstruction\"></a>\n- Search the information archive. Definition: Select queries and transitions that reveal new relevant fragments. Conditional example: Find the desired record using words from another document. <a id=\"variant-document-search\"></a>\n- Filling out the explanation being verified. Definition: Substitute findings into a structure that requires an agreed upon full version. Conditional example: Fill in the names and actions in the description of the incident. <a id=\"variant-explanation-completion\"></a>\n- Reconciliation of partial evidence. Definition: Combine several limited points of view into a common model. Notional example: Compare observations from different rooms. <a id=\"variant-perspective-reconcile\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A wide catalog of mechanics for digital puzzles, paper logic problems and physical puzzles. Each position contains an action or rule and a conditional example of application."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"puzzle","id":"family-narrative","title":"Puzzles","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/puzzle/#family-narrative","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Investigation and reconstruction","description":"The player reconstructs events from incomplete or conflicting information.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-obra-dinn-09.webp","width":1224,"height":689,"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_80149ba9e106d3c4bfe717e280806bc0daa6c5b7.1920x1080.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 book entry connects a person, an event and a memory","alt":"A book entry connects a person, an event and a memory","markers":[{"x":61,"y":46,"label":"A partial explanation requires further evidence"}]},"tips":["Keep links from a conclusion to the evidence supporting it."],"examples":[{"title":"Return of the Obra Dinn","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/puzzle"}}