Understanding the Victim

Development is in full swing, the playtest is providing a lot of useful feedback (thanks for that, by the way!), and we'd like to stay in touch with you more often. So while we're debating what kind of juicy stuff to share with you without spoiling too much, we wanted to talk about something new we learned ourselves during development.

And if you like this format, we'll share more like it. Guys, have you ever wondered…

…why victims often can't describe the attacker's face?

Some people think: "How can you not remember the attacker's face? It's obvious!" But neuroscience explains that it's not that simple.

🔹 Survival Mode Under extreme stress, the activity of the prefrontal cortex decreases. This area of the brain is responsible for logic and memory. At the same time, the amygdala—the center of fear and anxiety—takes over. The brain switches its priority to: survive.

🔹 Tunnel Vision A person focuses on the threat—for example, on a knife or a gun—or on the escape route. Everything else, including the criminal's face, becomes peripheral.

🔹 Dissociation Some people experience a state of "detachment": it's as if you're watching what's happening from the outside. Memories from such moments are fragmentary—smells, sounds, and sensations remain, but not a complete picture.

🔹 Hormones and Memory Cortisol and adrenaline can both enhance and disrupt memory consolidation. When stress levels are excessive, it "breaks" memory, leaving only fragments.

It's important to remember: none of this makes the victim's account unreliable. On the contrary, understanding these processes helps us treat trauma survivors with respect and without blame.

So there you have it… you learn all sorts of things while creating a psychological thriller about an abducted girl 💀