To Dream a Game: Dreams as Interactive-Narrative Devices in Digital Games

Frank G. Bosman's article "To Dream a Game" examines dreams and dreamlike phenomena as interactive-narrative devices in digital games, arguing that these sequences occupy a distinctive place where ludological and narratological functions converge. Drawing on psychodynamic, activation-input-modulation, neurocognitive, esoteric, and literary approaches to dreaming, the work proposes a working definition of dreams as a temporarily diminished-consciousness state experienced involuntarily, and it applies close reading and game-immanent analysis to playable texts. Its examples range widely, from Batman: Arkham City and Wolfenstein: The New Order to Super Mario Bros. 2, Assassin's Creed Unity and Syndicate, Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, Dishonored, Child of Light, and DmC: Devil May Cry.

The analysis rests on a central observation: dream sequences in games are almost always lucid, because the medium's mandatory interactivity grants players control over dreamlike segments, except in non-interactive cutscenes. Bosman draws on Gackenbach's research, which found that gamers, particularly hard-core players, report more lucid and control dreams, more bizarre dreams, and more violent or nightmarish dreams that they experience with less distress. This connection between gaming and dreaming grounds the paper's claim that interactivity reshapes how dreams can be represented and experienced.

The work also develops a taxonomy of how game dreams begin and end. Entrance may be voluntary or involuntary, and exit is typically conditional, governed by the player's achievement of narrative or ludological goals. Inducement is classified as natural (sleep) or artificial, the latter divided into mechanical, pharmaceutical, psychological, magical, and metaphysical methods, with boundary cases such as Batman's dual natural and poison-induced near-death experience acknowledged as resisting clean categorization.

Ultimately, the study concludes that dream sequences serve dual purposes: ludological training, such as teaching controls and abilities, and narratological revelation, such as disclosing story information, all while being framed within contexts that justify temporary restrictions on player freedom.