---
key: mechanic/detective--family-07
type: mechanic
id: detective--family-07
lang: en
title: Contradictions in testimony
summary: >-
  The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and explains
  why they cannot both hold.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-07/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-07.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-07.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Detective games
  - Witnesses and information sources
sourceIds:
  - source-3674ef77efed76d0
  - source-2125d8b330e8c020
sources:
  - id: source-3674ef77efed76d0
    title: 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies'
    url: >-
      https://www.nintendo.com/hk/3ds/aceattorney_dualdestinies/pdf/Ace_Attorney_5_OPSeet_en_R15.pdf
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-2125d8b330e8c020
    title: 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy'
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: detective
    id: family-07
    title: Detective games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-07'
    categoryIds:
      - testimony
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Contradictions in testimony
    description: >-
      The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and
      explains why they cannot both hold.
    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:
      - A contradiction should link a specific statement to an independent fact.
    examples:
      - title: 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy'
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/'
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
---
# Contradictions in testimony

id: detective--family-07
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/detective--family-07
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-07/

The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and explains why they cannot both hold.

## At a glance

![Witness testimony and the court record](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/dialogue-ace-attorney-trilogy-01.webp)

[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The witness makes a statement that can be checked
2. The court record remains available during testimony

- A contradiction should link a specific statement to an independent fact.

- [Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/)

## How it works

The player compares a specific statement with an independent fact and explains why they cannot both hold.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-07-branch-1"></a>

- Fact versus statement: present evidence against the particular claim it contradicts. <a id="family-07-variant-1"></a>
- Two accounts: compare one person’s earlier and later testimony. <a id="family-07-variant-2"></a>
- Clarifying a claim: ask a follow-up question that turns a vague assertion into a testable statement. <a id="family-07-variant-3"></a>

## Design example

A witness claims to have seen a coat’s color in total darkness. The player checks the lighting and challenges the mismatch.

## 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.

- [Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies](https://www.nintendo.com/hk/3ds/aceattorney_dualdestinies/pdf/Ace_Attorney_5_OPSeet_en_R15.pdf) (id: source-3674ef77efed76d0)
- [Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/) (id: source-2125d8b330e8c020)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors