CanisLucidus

This was the first of three LDs from early Christmas morning. This was my first time directly experiencing a creative work of my subconscious. I was grateful for the few minutes that I got, but I'd have enjoyed more. Some other night!

Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid

Lucid #48: The Arcade of the Subconscious

I am "in" a side-scrolling video game that's drawn in the style of a pencil sketch. My avatar is a small stick-figure man who runs, jumps, and shoots his way across a grassy landscape where boulders roll and hop all around, presenting a constant danger of smashing him flat.

I dart back and forth as boulders bounce over my head when I randomly realize that this is all a dream. The dream stays perfectly stable and I am able to continue playing further into the game. I (or my stick figure man) shoot at a boulder that's rolling toward me and find that within four shots it bursts into harmless fragments.

I continue running further along the track and all the while more and more boulders make their way onto the playfield. It's getting difficult to avoid them and I'm starting to feel pretty stressed by the difficulty. A new enemy presents itself, some sort of mole that tunnels underneath the floor where I'm walking and blasts a huge column of dirt up at me. It's a big distraction, and it's not long before a boulder strikes my player, knocking him horizontal (and presumably dead.)

The game ends immediately and cuts to a title screen. Why can't I remember the title? I watch the title screen, hopeful that it'll let me continue playing. After a few seconds of this, the game switches to a demo mode where I am no longer in control. I'm contemplating what to do about this when the dream ends.