Thread: Are Lucid dreams better than video games?

So, basically, I've had... I dunno, maybe 4 or 5 lucid dreams, and they were pretty good (although short). I'm going to wait until I've had many more to form a real opinion on whether or not I like them, but what I want to know is, are they better than a video game?

I mean, lately some pretty great games have come out (battlefield 4, GTA 5, Assassin's creed 4, and half life 2(EDIT: HALF LIFE 3, I'm not used to typing it out yet, I've been typing half life 2 for so long.) coming soon, as is watch dogs) and I'm not sure if a lucid dream can match them. Is a lucid dream better than a video game?

Wait what Half-life 2?? I think you meant Half-life 3 ( IF it ever comes out anyways). But short answer to the question "Is lucid dreams better than videogames?" is : YES. Any videogame will never be as great as a vivid,balanced and controlled lucid dream unless we find a way to transfer our consciousness inside to the game. Of course you can't (as well as I know) share lucid dreams with others so there is lack of interaction with other people since you're basically... alone. Since near anything is possible ( Its up to your imagination) in a dream such as flying, going to great battles of Middle-Earth, visiting other planets etc. I think that the question it self is kinda dumb haha, in a dream you really are THERE, in the action, but when playing a videogame you're just controlling your character and you can't taste,smell or touch the environment at all. And whilst lucid you see everything "completely" three-dimensional. You can also have spiritual experiences in dreams. Trust me, you won't be thinking whether games are better or lucid dreams after you have a ten-minute, waking life real, balanced and controlled lucid dream. Well, also people have different interests, if you love gaming but hate sleeping and dreams, well, then it's different. I hope someone sums this up better than I did

Originally Posted by Mikasan527

Wait what Half-life 2?? I think you meant Half-life 3 ( IF it ever comes out anyways). But short answer to the question "Is lucid dreams better than videogames?" is : YES. Any videogame will never be as great as a vivid,balanced and controlled lucid dream unless we find a way to transfer our consciousness inside to the game. Of course you can't (as well as I know) share lucid dreams with others so there is lack of interaction with other people since you're basically... alone. Since near anything is possible ( Its up to your imagination) in a dream such as flying, going to great battles of Middle-Earth, visiting other planets etc. I think that the question it self is kinda dumb haha, in a dream you really are THERE, in the action, but when playing a videogame you're just controlling your character and you can't taste,smell or touch the environment at all. And whilst lucid you see everything "completely" three-dimensional. You can also have spiritual experiences in dreams. Trust me, you won't be thinking whether games are better or lucid dreams after you have a ten-minute, waking life real, balanced and controlled lucid dream. Well, also people have different interests, if you love gaming but hate sleeping and dreams, well, then it's different. I hope someone sums this up better than I did

Yeah, I did mean half-life 3, I'm so used to typing half life 2, It's like clockwork.

What Mikasan527 said, video games are fun and all but everything is possible in dreams and that's awesome.
Also both video games and lucid dreams can work well with each other, video games give very good inspiration for goals in lucid dreams, and who knows, someone might create video game based on his/her persistent dream realm someday.

Originally Posted by Scionox

What Mikasan527 said, video games are fun and all but everything is possible in dreams and that's awesome.
Also both video games and lucid dreams can work well with each other, video games give very good inspiration for goals in lucid dreams, and who knows, someone might create video game based on his/her persistent dream realm someday.

yea good goals for sure. i glitched out of the map in battlefield 4 on accident and fell like 5000000m through the clouds before i landed on an invisible platform of water in the clouds and swam in the clouds for a while. i also had him glitching as he was falling so it looked like he was flying cause his arms were stretched out in front of him. i thought hmm i should use this as my visualization for flying in my next dream. i haven't had any lucid's yet but i'm practicing recall and they will come eventually. but to answer your question they are both worlds created in our minds but one is limited to what we can program and the other is limited only by what we can imagine.

I can remember some truly fantastic and touching experiences with really great video games, like Super Mario World, Final Fantasy 6, GoldenEye 007 and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time;
the last title in particular affected me a lot back in 1999, and it even made me convince a music store in my village to import ocarinas from Japan, just so I could buy one. xD
And GoldenEye 007 was known and loved among all my friends at my school back then, and we talked about it all the time.
Easily one of the best video games ever made, and one of the few N64 games I still regularly play several times a week.

However, I wouldn't say video games, as awesome as they can be, don't hold a candle to lucid dreaming.
Truly awesome lucid dreams can be incredibly blissful and fantastic, and can change your life and even help you change your personality for the better.
If I had to choose between access to all the very best video games of all time and regular lucid dreaming, I would choose lucid dreaming any day - and this comes from a video game enthusiast.

I think Hyu mentioned wanting to work on a video game inspired by his persistent lucid dream realm , he posted a lot of dreams. Check it out, it is the best thing i have ever read in my life!

Yes - a lucid dream engages all of your senses, and while it lasts there are no interruptions from the outside world - and, as others said, anything is possible. While videos games can be great, everything is limited to video and sound. You can't smell things, touch them or taste them. While you can do interesting things in video games, you can't experience your wildest wishes coming true whilst being completely immersed with all your consciousness in the moment. Lucid dreams are so much more vivid, personal and full of possibilities. Having said that, though, there are some areas in which video games are better...they're continuous and you don't have to worry about them ending suddenly a few minutes in, you can play them at any time and over and over again and share them with others.

A video game based on lucid dreaming experiences sounds interesting

Video games are based on someone else's imagination mostly, unless you are the game designer yourself. And even if you are the game designer, the video game is the game designer's immagination translated into a game within the limits of available technology.

Lucid dreams are based on your own imagination. You do not have to be a game designer. And they are not limited by available technology. The only limits are your imagination and your expectations.

Lucid dreams are much better. But what really kicks ass is playing games and having lucid dreams.

Though it's already obviously the consensus: Yeah, Segne, video games don't hold a match to LD's... in time you'll know that for sure yourself!

Seeing the question in the subject of this thread made me think: Troll? Are you kidding?? I guess the OP is serious though...

To me, it is like the difference between seeing a movie about first love as a child and not really knowing much about it...and feeling first love: the crazy emotions, the exhilaration, the crazy feelings in your gut and heart, the carnal excitement.

Originally Posted by fogelbise

Seeing the question in the subject of this thread made me think: Troll? Are you kidding?? I guess the OP is serious though...

To me, it is like the difference between seeing a movie about first love as a child and not really knowing much about it...and feeling first love: the crazy emotions, the exhilaration, the crazy feelings in your gut and heart, the carnal excitement.

I don't consider Segne a troll at all - trolling is when you intentionally try to provoke other members, not when you are curious about something.

It's hard to understand just how life-changing lucid dreams can be before you have experienced them yourself in vivid quality.
If Segne hasn't quite experienced those dreams yet, then he can sort of imagine them as waking life vividness, but with unlimited possibilities.
You can leave your dream home and go into other people's houses, jump into the air and fly, kiss hot dream characters, walk into a store and eat everything you see without having to pay for it, and often feel the same taste as in waking life; you could grab a dream Snickers and eat it and feel the same taste, and you won't even need to worry about unnecessary calories;
and you can make a silly dance among people on the street, and confront your phobias, and a lot more.

The thing I love the most about lucid dreaming is the fact that they can never be explored fully, you can always dream about new landscapes and situations.
Dreams have no limited physical space, so you can literally explore places of infinite size.

I laughed. I'm really, truly sorry, but... I laughed. When I read the title of this thread.
Mind you, it wasn't a condescending, sneering laugh. It was more like a laugh that one gives when their little brother asks a silly-but-cute question.

No, my good sir... computer games, no matter how large the screen, and no matter how powerful the subwoofers, will never be able to hold a candle to the utterly fantastic power of your mind.
IT is the most authentic VR experience you can ever know.

On the flipside, it's much easier to share/relate the experience of a game with others than that of your dreams

What would you rather do play the game or live the game with your rules? Lucid dreams are so much better. Maybe some lucids sucks but when you have quality lucid dreams i cant anyone imagining games as better. Also in lucid dream you can play games and its really weird. In one lucid dream i tried to play ps1 tomb raider and i fell into to the game. My surroundings looked like ps1 graphics really weird experience.

Originally Posted by Seltiez

What would you rather do play the game or live the game with your rules? Lucid dreams are so much better. Maybe some lucids sucks but when you have quality lucid dreams i cant anyone imagining games as better. Also in lucid dream you can play games and its really weird. In one lucid dream i tried to play ps1 tomb raider and i fell into to the game. My surroundings looked like ps1 graphics really weird experience.

I would ather live the game in a dream but honestly, lucid dream control to THAT level is not easy to accomplish as many make it seem. I've honestly grown a little tired of lucid dreaming because the majority of the time it is boring and uneventful. I prefer regular dreams now.

It really depends on what we are comparing.
Sheer joy? Extremely vivid lucid dreams blow video games out of the water for me.
Story? Video games tend to have better storylines than most of my dreams.
Immersiveness? Lucid dreams and it's not even close.

A major thing video games have over lucid dreams is that their worlds are more consistent and the experience is more focused.
On the other hand lucid dreams are more unique, inspiring, and dynamic. They also give the dreamer much more agency. This allows each experience to be personally crafted by the dreamer.

Personally? A long, vivid, high lucidity dream is far superior to any game I have played. This is coming from a hardcore, immersion-junkie, lore loving gamer. Unfortunately, those types of lucid dreams only happen to me occasionally.