Interesting article, as a kid I used to get a lot of nightmares I eventually realised I was able to control my dreams and knew when I was in a dream. I remember actually looking forward to sleeping (still do now but thats less to do with defeating monsters and more to do with cocooning myself in a warm duvet). Nowadays when I realise I’m dreaming I instantly wake up for some reason. I still dream in 1st and 3rd person, often switching. Despite playing a load of SF back in the day I don’t ever recall dreaming for a side scroll view, but that might because I actually do martial arts so I always think of it in first person.
MW2 and GTA4 gave me some weird ass dreams when I first got it, probably because those were totally knew gaming experiences for me. I would constantly dream about being in them for a few weeks. It wasn’t very enjoyable.
Despite the fact that I frequently play video games, I still find it difficult to have dreams about video games. The last time I had a video game related dream was 2002; I was having an argument with Squall over the installation of doorknobs.
Wow, I dream of Metroid and Mario all the time. In my Metroid dreams I’m always in some distorted version of Zebes from the original game or SM. In my Mario dreams I’m usually in some surreal, fucked up version of world 1-2. Sometimes the worlds merge and it’s all psychedelic acid trip style.
These dreams are always so vivid and awesome, and I hate waking up from them.
I have dreams often, but they’re rarely ever video game related. Even fewer of them are lucid. Being a Psychology major this kind of stuff is really interesting to me, though…I find it especially curious what the author says about gamers perceiving what most would consider to be nightmares, and actually being able to take hold of the situation within the dream because of said gaming experience. I can see that. Personally I’ve had dozens upon dozens of dreams that most others would probably consider “nightmares”, but within the heat of the moment I wasn’t scared or frightened. It sort of goes into a different perspective for me…as if I’m watching the dream happen before me in third or first person view, yet somehow I know I’m not in any danger. I may get confused, but hardly ever frightened. I’ve been so desensitized by the horrid shit that can happen in video games, it’s like nothing I can imagine even myself makes me uncomfortable. Which, if you think about it, makes perfect sense.
Nightmares are such a fascinating thing, because…where exactly is the line that separates a dream from a nightmare? At what point does a dream become something else other than just a dream? And then you have to ask yourself: are nightmares an actual presence (not a spiritual presence, mind you) in our own psyches, or are they merely a construct of man molded together by our own personal experiences and fears? Also, in turn, does placing ourselves for hours and hours on end in a virtual existence (video games) subconsciously pile on all kinds of psychological stigma and fortitude, onto pre-existing foundations within the human mind? I’d say the answer is probably yes.
Which could explain why some gamers are less prone to having nightmares. Or more accurately, maybe, why some gamers don’t perceive nightmares to actually be nightmares, but instead a situation in which can be taken control of.
I think nightmares are subjective to the person having them. I’ve never really studied dreams so I’m no expert by any means, but to me it seems like nightmares are defined as dreams that cause some kind of negative emotional stress to the dreamer, whether it be terror, anxiety, depression, ect, and each person has their own emotional triggers. For instance, I quit drinking alcohol a year ago, but I have “nightmares” about getting drunk, where I wake up anxious and ashamed for drinking again. Or if someone I love gets hurt or killed in a dream, I consider this a nightmare, because it causes severe sadness and horror of losing someone. Whereas if I dream of a monster or werewolf or something, usually it’s more of a cool, enjoyable thrill. I guess that ties into what you are saying about people with video gaming experience being able to handle certain situations in dreams, being able to take control.
Ha, one time I had a dream where Balrog, Darth Vader, and Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York were my homies and I could go anywhere and do anything. Nobody- and I mean NOBODY- would fuck with me.
I remember fighting someone in a dream (not sure who it was) and the nigga would not stop wave dashing backwards. There was another one where I could use bullet time and double jump over hot lava.
My wet dreams only have butter heads in them. Shits not fair, I wanna bang me some sexy 2D/3D-chan too
I was here first, I was insulting you while talking to my wife but decided to give this one a read.