---
key: mechanic/detective--family-11
type: mechanic
id: detective--family-11
lang: en
title: Identity deduction
summary: >-
  The player connects an unknown participant to a name or role using several
  independent clues.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-11/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-11.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-11.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Detective games
  - Reconstructing events
sourceIds:
  - source-d44fa1b4a4c747d6
  - source-f40c6ef5f740582d
  - source-090ee83445744667
sources:
  - id: source-d44fa1b4a4c747d6
    title: The Case of the Golden Idol
    url: 'https://www.thegoldenidol.com/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-f40c6ef5f740582d
    title: Unheard – Voices of Crime
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/942970/Unheard_Voices_of_Crime/'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-090ee83445744667
    title: The Operator
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: detective
    id: family-11
    title: Detective games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-11'
    categoryIds:
      - reconstruction
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Identity deduction
    description: >-
      The player connects an unknown participant to a name or role using several
      independent clues.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/narrative-the-operator-02.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: The Operator
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1771980/ss_613084ae51e3357660fc79c80edaf0385245d951.1920x1080.jpg?t=1778485297
      credit: Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova
      rights: © Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova. All rights reserved.
      caption: 'A person’s record connects a name, face and identifying details'
      alt: 'A person’s record connects a name, face and identifying details'
      markers:
        - x: 62
          'y': 54
          label: The set of identifying details helps verify identity
    tips:
      - Do not reduce identification to a single visual feature.
    examples:
      - title: The Operator
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/'
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
---
# Identity deduction

id: detective--family-11
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/detective--family-11
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-11/

The player connects an unknown participant to a name or role using several independent clues.

## At a glance

![A person’s record connects a name, face and identifying details](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/narrative-the-operator-02.webp)

[The Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/) · © Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova. All rights reserved.

1. The set of identifying details helps verify identity

- Do not reduce identification to a single visual feature.

- [The Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/)

## How it works

The player connects an unknown participant to a name or role using several independent clues.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-11-branch-1"></a>

- Face and name: connect a portrait, signature, form of address and participant list. <a id="family-11-variant-1"></a>
- Voice and person: associate a spoken line with a name through conversational context. <a id="family-11-variant-2"></a>
- Alias and role: establish that two records describe one person, or distinguish people with the same name. <a id="family-11-variant-3"></a>

## Design example

A character wears a work badge and is addressed by job title. Together these clues narrow the list of names.

## 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.

- [The Case of the Golden Idol](https://www.thegoldenidol.com/the-case-of-the-golden-idol/) (id: source-d44fa1b4a4c747d6)
- [Unheard – Voices of Crime](https://store.steampowered.com/app/942970/Unheard_Voices_of_Crime/) (id: source-f40c6ef5f740582d)
- [The Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/) (id: source-090ee83445744667)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors