Blizzard's Diablo IV Brings Its World Into Your Sleep

The team behind the award-winning video game Diablo has teamed up with Dream Therapist Leslie Ellis for an experiment that "gives people some ability to control the scenario that they dream about" through an immersive audio experience.

In a three-minute documentary titled "Nightmare Fuel," Ellis discusses the process behind the experiment.

The dream therapist explains that one of their goals with the trial is to find a way for "dreamers" to have a dream related to their Diablo gameplay experience.

To do this, Ellis explains the need for a "dream induction."

"If you set your intention and imagine what you want to dream about and ask a clear question, then you know it can happen that your dreams will respond," Ellis shared.

How Does the Nightmare Fuel Experience Work?  

The audio experience is divided into several parts, starting with what Ellis calls an "incubation period," where the dreamer sets intentions and imagines their Diablo dream world. 

The dreamer is guided by a dream incubation process in their sleep with the help of an engineered audio track to "enhance the world of Diablo around you."

Towards the morning, dreamers will then enter a "lucidity" phase, where they can develop an awareness of their surroundings within their dream.

"You can experiment with the sense of power and aliveness that comes from directing the immersive world of your dreams," Ellis explains.

To do this, the audio experience will play sounds that evoke emotions, but won't wake the dreamer up, shared Andrew Tracy, the sound designer and mixer behind the experiment. 

Nightmare Fuel Results

According to Ellis, participants have reported having unique dream experiences, and visiting aspects of the Diablo world - whether it's a place they've been stuck on or a place they seek creative inspiration - within their dreams.

"What starts as something fun like lucid dreams often are fun and adventurous, but then after a while people start to wonder what is happening here, and think about the nature of consciousness," shared Ellis.

To experience Blizzard's Nightmare Fuel, users can stream this eight-hour-long track on Spotify.

Edited by Nikola Djuric