In-Game Data Collection

So I've been trying to think of a term to encapsulate a certain type of gameplay mechanicsm I've encountered and enjoyed a few times in the past. The gist is that the player ends up using his own powers of observation and deduction in coordination with avatar abilities to discover things and solve problems. This sounds like standard adventure puzzle gameplay at first, but I think it's a little deeper than that.

• Example 1: Morrowind. One quest involves you finding out where a guy stashes some treasure. You have to watch him from a distance and note where he checks up on his hidden cache. There are no waypoints, no UI goading to keep you on track. He does the action every night and it's up to the player to watch him.
• Example 2: Assassin's Creed. Tracking down the fat guy. One of the eavesdropping missions revealed that the statue in the courtyard was climbable. When the wander-around-able cinema started for the assassination, I was able to note where the statue in question was and completely plan out my assault by the end of the cinematic, springing to action as soon as it stopped.
• Example 3: Wind Waker. The player is tasked with catching a moment of veiled romance with his camera. You eventually find 2 people whose patrol paths cross and they cast a loving glance at one another.

These are all about unguided discovery and feeling really clever once you achieve these goals. They also don't involve any tangible game mechanics. There's no jumping or shooting required to figure out these clues, though the puzzles are ensconced within the context of gameplay that does involve these explicit mechanics.

No real direction here, just that I think this sort of immersive in game thinking is a great thing to shoot for. I'm also trying to figure out a term for this sort of phenomenon so I can categorize it for later reference and use.