another thing I think about this is that you really do have to train yourself to avoid dark patterns and act with free will. it’s a skill that is very distinctivized, and there are many apps/games that just aren’t worth the effort to do this since the dark patterns are so pervasive (Facebook, Twitter, etc; for me a looooot of games), but there are some where you can mostly ignore the gacha stuff and still have a good time. but you really have to train yourself to listen inwardly and ask: am I having a good time with this, do I find value? And many times the flow state is there to make you stop introspecting, stop thinking, just dissociate and spend time in game.
yeah I think game design has uncomfortable overlap with social media design and not enough game devs question that.
