---
key: mechanic/detective--family-05
type: mechanic
id: detective--family-05
lang: en
title: 'Documents, records and ciphers'
summary: >-
  The player extracts information from character-created records and checks
  their authorship, meaning and reliability.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-05/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-05.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-05.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Detective games
  - Finding and examining evidence
sourceIds:
  - source-ce786c639336367e
  - source-86b980b788f54522
sources:
  - id: source-ce786c639336367e
    title: Shadows of Doubt
    url: 'https://fireshinegames.co.uk/games/shadows-of-doubt/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-86b980b788f54522
    title: Her Story
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: detective
    id: family-05
    title: Detective games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-05'
    categoryIds:
      - evidence
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Documents, records and ciphers'
    description: >-
      The player extracts information from character-created records and checks
      their authorship, meaning and reliability.
    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 return to the original recording and check a quote’s
        context.
    examples:
      - title: Her Story
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/'
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
---
# Documents, records and ciphers

id: detective--family-05
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/detective--family-05
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-05/

The player extracts information from character-created records and checks their authorship, meaning and reliability.

## At a glance

![A search query, recordings and a user tag](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-her-story-00.webp)

[Her Story](https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. A query retrieves related recordings
2. The player adds a personal tag

- Let players return to the original recording and check a quote’s context.

- [Her Story](https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/)

## How it works

The player extracts information from character-created records and checks their authorship, meaning and reliability.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-05-branch-1"></a>

- Cross-reading: connect a letter, timetable and transaction log through a shared detail. <a id="family-05-variant-1"></a>
- Forgery detection: spot a date, phrase or identifier that conflicts with established world rules. <a id="family-05-variant-2"></a>
- Message decoding: infer a code from an available key and use it to obtain a new lead. <a id="family-05-variant-3"></a>

## Design example

A delivery log lists a new address. An older receipt assigns that address to a different owner.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [Shadows of Doubt](https://fireshinegames.co.uk/games/shadows-of-doubt/) (id: source-ce786c639336367e)
- [Her Story](https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/) (id: source-86b980b788f54522)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors