You know guys, there is a guy called Sigmund Freud who discovered something called ‘subconscious’. Well, very briefly subconscious allows us to rationally explain how dreams work. So in this part of the document, I will try to describe relevant theories of Freud that can be useful for us to learn while designing the game. Even though we are not creating a dream game based on science, it might still be relevant to be at least aware of psychoanalytic concepts. And it is worth noting that creators of Inception or the designers of Silent Hill games are very-well aware of these concepts.
Freud has developed a very-well known triad: Super ego, ego and id. Id, is basically our primitive instincts. Our whole violent, natural and sexual desires belong to our id. On the opposite side, we have super-ego. This works as an authority. Super-ego is the layer that prevents what id wants to do. Ever wanted to blast or smash the tables and chairs during a boring class? Have you ever imagined to burn, ruin and destroy school because you hated it? Well, the main reason why we don’t realise these things is because super-ego hinders id. So; all the laws, government, religion, social norms, parents…anything that works as authority since our childhood is our super-ego and for Freud, super ego allows human civilization to develop and progress. For him, super ego is not something negative. Consequently, super ego and id are a part of our subconscious. Yet, ‘Ego’ is our consciousness. When we are a baby, we only act through our primitive instincts (id), however we learn how to adapt to social environment while we are growing up. Hence, we learn to balance between super ego and id and all our rational thoughts take place in ‘Ego’ layer. You should definitely not mix ego with egoism. Egoism is selfishness, ego is the conscious layer where our rational decisions exist. Thus, we call super ego and id as subconscious because we are simply not aware of them. (The name of the company ‘id Software’ - creators of Doom, Quake - takes their name from this concept too!)
Let me give another example where subconscious plays a crucial role: Ever saw a beautiful painting or photo? When you see something you like, you say it is ‘beautiful’. But, if you want to tell why it is beautiful, can you specify why you really like it? In most cases, usual people can not answer this question. It’s because our concept of ‘beauty’ occurs in our subconscious and it is deeply related to super ego. Let’s just consider Mona Lisa. Is she a beautiful person? In our current society and within our contemporary cultural context, she is not considered a ‘beautiful’ person. However, back in Renaissance era - she was like the ‘top’ model. She had the ideal values for being beautiful. But you see how the concept of ‘beauty’ can change throughout time periods and how our perception can be altered by social environments and cultural values. In Donald Norman’s book, we have also seen how aesthetic can become a visceral element in design and how it is important for our ‘primitive’ tastes.
There are two other terms I would like to elucidate before I dive in dream concept: Eros and Thanatos. As you might probably know, Eros and Thanatos are actually gods in Ancient Greek mythology. Eros is the god of love, while Thanatos is the god of death. In Freudian terminology, both Eros and Thanatos are related to a term called ‘libido’. Libido is the desire for sexual activity determined by biological, psychological and social factors. Besides sexual desire, libido also determines how much you are concerned with life. If you have a high libido, then your Eros is also high - so you are keen on living and making your day. If your libido is low, then you are not afraid of dying. Here comes the ultimate example: Think about Joker in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’. There is this famous scene between Batman and Joker. Batman drives toward Joker as if he would hit him. And Joker yells “HIT ME! HIT ME!” This is because Joker has Thanatos, he is not afraid of dying - and all of his acts… He doesn’t have super ego, he behaves the way his “id” wants. On the other hand, consider Batman - he can’t hit Joker because his super ego surpasses him. Because he has this one rule “not kill anyone” - and he has his own laws.
****Spoiler Ahead******
All the Silent Hill games are also heavily inspired by these psychoanalytic concepts. For instance, in Silent Hill 2, our main character receives some letters from his supposedly dead wife. And he is trying to find her. Meanwhile, we are seeing some strange creatures around the city that are not visible to other people in the town. Well, at the end of the game we learn that our main character has actually killed his own wife because she was suffering from an illness and he couldn’t help himself to see her in such a condition. But afterwards, his defence mechanism in his subconscious repressed what he has done and made him forget that he killed his wife. So, without knowing he has written letters to himself in the place of his dead wife. That repression changed the reality James (main character) knows/perceives. And the reason why he sees creatures that are only visible to him is because of his subconscious again. His mind plays with his psychology, creating challenges for him to find a reason to continue living, struggles to overcome…Otherwise, there is no place for him to live in this world where he killed his own wife.
******Spoiler over*******
We know that designers of Silent Hill are aware of these concepts and use them deliberately because like Akira Yamaoka, the game designer and sound composer of the serie has even used Freudian terminology for the titles he composed: i.e. Angel’s Thanatos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbW8KBZguDM
Dream mechanics
Dreams are usually shattered, we never remember them as a whole when we wake up. There are pieces spread around and at first sight, all of these pieces seem irrelevant to each other. Yet, they are very similar to puzzles. Each piece actually complements each other and they compose one whole sequence. And everybody see dreams in their sleep - there is no exception. Dreams regulate the balance of an healthy person and allows us to keep our sanity. All the unfulfilled desires are satisfied in our dreams. However, if you say you don’t remember your dream, it’s because there can be censorship. If you see really wild things and if your consciousness is not mentally ready to see and remember what you see in your dreams, then your brain basically puts a barrier/censorship and hinders all your dream. That might be the reason why you can say ‘I don’t see dreams’. This is usually the case for people who are highly bounded to their religion.
And like in Inception, we usually don’t remember the beginning of our dreams and the way we perceive time is really different in dreams. You might think that you have been dreaming for hours - however the longest duration for a dream is 7 minutes so our brain can really speed events up. This is what science tells us. But unlike Inception, we only see dreams in REM level of our sleep. Even though there are many levels in sleep, only in one level we see dreams.
Another note: All the faces we see in our dreams are people we see/encounter in real-life, even if you don’t consciously remember them - brain recognizes and records them as folders in your subconscious.
1. Displacement
This occurs when the desire for one thing or person is symbolized by something or someone else. Like you can see your father as a lion in your dream.
2. Projection
This happens when the dreamer propels their own desires and wants onto another person.
3. Symbolization
This is characterized when the dreamer's repressed urges or suppressed desires are acted out metaphorically. I.e. you can see a bridge which represents your path toward your objective in real-life: Being rich, receiving promotion
4. Condensation (kinda Censorship)
This is the process in which the dreamer hides their feelings or urges by contracting it or underplaying it into a brief dream image or event. Thus the meaning of this dream imagery may not be apparent or obvious.
5. Rationalization
This is regarded as the final stage of dreamwork. The dreaming mind organizes an incoherent dream into one that is more comprehensible and logical. This is also known as secondary revision.
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