Video Gamers Have Power Over Their Dreams 308
Ponca City, We love you writes "Live Science reports that researchers say playing video games before bedtime may give gamers an unusual level of awareness and control in their dreams, which could provide an edge when fighting nightmares or even mental trauma. 'If you're spending hours a day in a virtual reality, if nothing else it's practice,' says Jayne Gackenbach, a psychologist at Grant MacEwan University in Canada, who says that hardcore gamers represent the leading edge of immersion in virtual worlds that increasingly has come to define a large part of contemporary entertainment and communication. 'Gamers are used to controlling their game environments, so that can translate into dreams.' One intriguing theory holds that dreams are a sort of threat simulation where nightmares help organisms hone their skills in a protective environment, and ideally prepare organisms for a real-life situation. To test that theory, Gackenbach conducted a study using independent assessments that coded threat levels in after-dream reports and found that gamers experienced less or even reversed threat simulation (in which the dreamer became the threatening presence), with fewer aggression dreams overall. In other words, a scary nightmare scenario turned into something 'fun' for a gamer."
Pfft. (Score:4, Funny)
Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?
Other than testing the number of respawns.
Re:Pfft. (Score:5, Funny)
>> Other than testing the number of respawns.
Praise Buddha for respawns!
We'll always be together in electric dreams (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Electric Sheep (Score:5, Funny)
so this raises the question, what do electric sheep play?
Whatever they play, they play it baaadly.
Re:Pfft. (Score:5, Funny)
If Lawrence Fishburne is nearby wearing a trench coat, I'd close my eyes, cover my ears with my fingers, and chant: "This is a dream, the sequels don't exist" over and over like a mantra.
Re:Not in my experience (Score:5, Funny)
You're not a true gamer until you dream of tetris blocks falling on a regular basis.
Dream worlds (Score:5, Funny)
Dream world of the past:
Unicorns & Fairies
Dream world of the future (or Present):
Unlimited Minerals & Vespene Gas
No threat.... (Score:4, Funny)
I wonder if the researchers had dream reports like 'Whatever dumbass. Only fags are afraid of dreams you noob. Don't be such a bitch you fag.'
Re:Lucid Dreaming = teh suck (Score:1, Funny)
I'm running Lucid. I dreamed about fixing all the bugs with my USB floppy, Radeon r100, and Xconfiguration. Then I woke up and wished I was running Slackware.
that explains my dreams. (Score:4, Funny)
"dreams are a sort of threat simulation where nightmares help organisms hone their skills"
When I was in college, I used to dream in c++. God damn segfaults got me every time.
Re:Pfft. (Score:5, Funny)
Highly Recommended (Score:3, Funny)
As a gamer, I've discovered that not only can I control my dreams, but I've actually found several cheat codes that have allowed me to fulfill those dreams in real life. Example: I can cast fireballs from my fingertips in real life, so don't piss me off, ok?
Ob. Pet Peeve: (mis)characterizing all computer games with a rich video element as "videogames". Is WoW, for example, really a "video" game? Is the video the main point of playing the game, the thing that keeps people grinding away at for 30 hours a week or more, for years of their lives? I don't think so. The video component of the game isn't even close to being photorealistic, nor does it try to be...
Re:Pfft. (Score:4, Funny)
If Lawrence Fishburne is there wearing a trenchcoat, telling me he's not sure if I'm ready to see what he wants to show me, and trying to get me to take colorful pills, I'm going to be praying it is a Matrix-sequel dream.
Play video games - turn nightmares into wet dreams (Score:2, Funny)
"Live Science reports that researchers say that playing video games before bedtime may give gamers an unusual level of awareness and control in their dreams which could provide an edge when fighting nightmares or even mental trauma."
yeah... and it also provides the ability to get laid!! =D
Re:I fly in my dreams.... (Score:1, Funny)
Weird, you don't dream about low hanging clouds of acid which attempt to scour you free of flesh, so that nothing remains but the pulsing, throbbing of your now bare organs, set in the scarlet horror of muscles and veins as you scream... scream in horror as your now exposed flesh burns as if being consumed by a flame that never ends?
You're not a pessimist are you?
Re:Emergency *drill* (Score:3, Funny)
We rehearse coping with dangerous situations all the time (including public speaking ;-) )
Sure, but naked?
Re:Nothing to do with video games (Score:4, Funny)
Re:We'll always be together in electric dreams (Score:0, Funny)
Re:Lucid dreaming? (Score:3, Funny)
What is to stop myself from manifesting the things I would hate or fear the most?"
Don't you hate it when you manifest a giant squid that attacks your underwater habitat?
HELLO. MY NAME IS JERRY.
"Hot. Naked. Elf. Sex." (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Not in my experience (Score:5, Funny)
Or worse. Being surrounded by brown 'R's and yellow 'c's.
Re:Pfft. (Score:5, Funny)
I usually just find a dream-bathroom and pee. If my thighs suddenly get really warm, it's a dream. And my girlfriend is very angry.
Re:I have had many dreams become game-like (Score:4, Funny)
I was able to fight them off using powers similar to those of Paladins in games.
Bubble->Hearth, eh?
Re:Pfft. (Score:4, Funny)
I cast Write Ticket (Rank 1).
Re:E.G. Last Night (Score:2, Funny)
I'm not sure he would be too happy in the morning to be rejected even during his lucid dreams.
Re:Pfft. (Score:2, Funny)
It can be pretty annoying to dream that you do a chore, then wake up and realize it's still not done and you have to do it again in real life.