This week's reading is more of a personal reflection than reponding to the book, simply because I have so much feelings about games. Pinciple 6.1: PLAY IS WHAT WE DO WHEN WE ARE FREE, PLAY IS WHAT WE DO TO BE FREE. I am addicted to video games, period. World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike, COD, PES, Cities:Skylines, Monster Hunter, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warships, Dota 2... video games have been my best friend since my childhood, as well as the people I met when playing the games. At the beginning, games fullfill my dreams in the fantasy worlds. I loved exploring, FREELY, in the fictional worlds, even though I was always bad at playing the actual game. When the Internet connection and my tricks to steal my dad's computer password got much better, I dove into the world of online games. This is when I started to feel empowered. As a long-pressed chinese middle-school student, winning games gave me the feel of thrill and accomplishment, that never come from endless weekly math exams. All games are played in hyper-1st person. Grinding gear on the game charater, getting 'wow's from friends, and winning after losing do give me unforgettable dopamine boosts. But this is when addiction kicks in, making us too 'immersed' in the game. A game with good intents and 'artful' design concepts would usually stop our grind at some level, or even removing the entire grinding system. However as Kunwoo mentioned in the lecture, modern game company make too much money too easily by simply hooking players onto the games with cheap dopamine-boosting treats, e.g. Skins, Gears, and also the sense of 'community' itself. In college, my isolated self found a place of comfort in games, and soon it became the only place I lived when COVID happened. Now looking backwards, it was still one of the happiest periods of my life so far. I cherish this experience, but still put it as a reminder to myself: it is no longer possible for a game addict to actually enjoy his/her life without guilt without a pandemic.