---
key: mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191
type: mechanic
id: narrative-investigation--t191
lang: en
title: 'Interrogation, testimony and contradictions'
summary: >-
  Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities
  with other claims and known facts.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191.md
aliases:
  - Questioning and contradictions
tags:
  - 'Narrative, dialogue and investigation'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-24607f3488b057c0
  - source-2125d8b330e8c020
sources:
  - id: source-24607f3488b057c0
    title: 'inkle: ink'
    url: 'https://github.com/inkle/ink'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-2125d8b330e8c020
    title: 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy'
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: narrative-investigation
    id: t191
    title: 'Narrative, dialogue and investigation'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/narrative-investigation/#t191'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Questioning and contradictions
    description: >-
      Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks
      incompatibilities with other claims and known facts.
    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:
      - Let players compare testimony with previously discovered evidence.
    examples:
      - title: 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy'
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/'
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
---
# Interrogation, testimony and contradictions

id: narrative-investigation--t191
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/narrative-investigation--t191/

Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities with other claims and known facts.

## 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

- Let players compare testimony with previously discovered evidence.

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

## How it works

Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities with other claims and known facts.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t191-variants"></a>

- Clarification narrows an ambiguous statement. <a id="t191-v1"></a>
- Contradictions connect incompatible accounts. <a id="t191-v2"></a>
- Presenting evidence tests a specific clue's relevance. <a id="t191-v3"></a>
- Repeated questions account for a witness's new knowledge. <a id="t191-v4"></a>

## Design example

A witness claims to have heard a bell while a repair log shows it had been removed.

Prototype check: Test whether a player can explain a contradiction rather than merely guess the intended pair of buttons.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [inkle: ink](https://github.com/inkle/ink) (id: source-24607f3488b057c0)
- [Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/787480/) (id: source-2125d8b330e8c020)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors