Long story short: I have fallen in love with a fictional character, is this for real, should I be worried and is it normal?

It happened about 1½ or 2 months ago. I had a weird dream, so weird when I woke up, I couldn't understand it in any way. The only thing I knew was that the dream left me with a sstrong feeling. 3½ month ago I started playing my favourite game Left 4 Dead 2, a zombie game where 4 people work together to survive. There is this guy in the game called Nick, who I had NO interest in before the strange dream. I actually saw him as ugly as **** when I first got interested in the game (long before I began playing it).

But ever since the dream, I have had feelings towards this fictional guy, who by the way is 35 years old and used to be an criminal. But there happened something in the dream that just made me like him. As I played the game, I began to develope bonds with all the characters, mostly Nick. I played the game every day, called him Nickieboy, even randomly say it in a naughty way sometimes and did weird things with him in the game.

I have read about others going through something similar and people say that you haven't fallen in love with this character, but a part of yourself. I just don't think it is the same for me, since he "existed" before the dream and no matter how rotten his attitude is and how bad his past was, I just keep having that love feeling.

Not long ago my computer broke, so I can't play the game, and it is beginning to mess with my mind, I miss the characters, the game itself and most Nick. Every time I get reminded of that I can't play the game, I want to cry. The throught of leaving those feelings and Nick also makes me want to cry. I'm not a cry baby and I have never felt this way about anybody, real or not, so it is all very scary and confusing, but forgetting it is like forgetting a part of myself.

Maybe I have fallen in love with the fact that I love the game? Or something else that relates to me and not the actual game. And if this is real feelings, should I be worried for my own health? He isn't real, and I know, but like my feelings care.

If you have tried the same thing, feel free to tell me, I would love to know about it!