Sleeping to Dream/Game

Today, many still research about sleep and it's role in our lives. Hypothesis, Anecdotal evidence, studies constantly come to light to support, or even reject, the existence of "creative dreaming." Like all sciences, findings sometimes conflict with theories as research continues. With this in mind, I propose we move pass this and discuss what the majority of studies conclude: sleep facilitates creativity.

Current science claims we all spend about 20 years, on average, sleeping. Furthermore, we spend 6 of those years dreaming. If you're like me, you're probably thinking "Well that's a lot of wasted time." I would much rather be spend those 20 years "alive". It's very easy to be frustrated by it, especially when science hasn't definitively explained our need for sleep. Why can't we just come up with a synthetic method of sleeping?

Fortunately, this is not the case. Sleeping, and dreaming, is far from a waste of time. Dreams happen when the brain reboots, every 90 minutes in sleep. It's the moment when our brains are just as active as they ever can be, but are "detached" from our body. This is why we see, hear, taste and feel when nothing is actually there. In a sense, our brains create a temporary reality for us to live in. So what, then, can we accomplish with "Conscious Imagination?"

The following is a list of human accomplishments derived from dreaming:

• Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the plot of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde during a dream.
• Paul McCartney discovered the tune for the song "Yesterday" in a dream and was inspired to write "Yellow Submarine" during hypnagogia.
• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was inspired by a dream at Lord Byron's villa.
• Otto Loewi, a German physiologist, won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1936 for his work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses. He discovered in a dream how to prove his theory.
• Giuseppe Tartini, a composer, gained inspiration for his Devil's Trill Sonata in a dream where the Devil appeared to him and played the melody on Tartini's violin.
• An alternate interpretation of The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters considers Francisco Goya's commitment to the creative process and the Romantic spirit—the unleashing of imagination, emotions, and even nightmares as made possible by the unconscious.

How does this relate to gaming?

Pen & Paper games are fundamentally creative. Not only on the GM's part, but also the players. In some way, we are capable of creating an imaginative story that is collaborative. Amazing! This alone is a credit to our approximately 3 pound brain/universe generator. Thankfully these games are not as vivid as our dream worlds, otherwise the experience of Sam and Mile's fighting and crashing out a 3 story window would be most uncomfortable.

But let us dissect this a little further. Some of us may have had an experienced playing with someone, in the past, who was incapable of emerging themselves into the narrative. Try as you might, you cannot get them to see or hear beyond the little metal figures and dice on the table. Instead of picturing the barbarian leaping across the bar room table and lodging his greataxe into the bar tender's sternum, they have trouble even articulating moving their metal figurine across the battle map. Have you ever asked a player "what do you do?" and they respond with "I don't know." or "What is going on again?" It may be that these players lack the fundamental creativity for gaming. For what ever reason, they are incapable to "surrendering" to their imagination. For those who can surrender to their imagination, I whole heartily applaud you. You are a boon and a joy to play games with. You inspire your GMs and immerse your fellow players.

Finally, what does dreaming specifically have to do with gaming?

Perhaps GMs have the most to gain from dreaming. Creating a world is a time consuming task. Committed GMs spend more than just a few hours before game time each week preparing and defining their world. On any given game, the players swim a metaphorical line through a sea of possibilities the GM may be prepared for. With so much time and care put into one's campaign, it's not uncommon for a GM to go to sleep thinking about their campaign. This thinking process doesn't stop when the GM drifts to sleep. It's for this reason I propose that each of us, GMs & budding GMs, keep a notepad near their bed. If ever you wake up from a vivid dream, write it down before the memory fleets away. If Mr. Hyde & Frankenstein are truly creations of dreams, then what can our own dreams create?

Has anyone ever GMed a game inspired by a dream?