Okay, where shall we begin? (cracking fingers)

Gamers.

A bit of disclosure here: My only experience of being a gamer is playing Spyro the Dragon. I have zero interest in video games but I bought SuperMario, Age of Empires, and games like that so my sons could invite their friends for sleepovers and have something to do aside from catching fireflies in the dark and telling ghost stories in bed. One of our vehicles has an Augmented Reality (or HUD for heads-up display) to help with navigation and to accept calls and texts but I get carsick (haha) when I drive it.

Thus, when it comes to gaming, I’m like Moses; it would be faster for me to chisel the 10 commandments on a stone tablet than to understand all the gobbledygook of gaming and computers.

I heartily agree with many of the issues that @nrllee wrote in the comment box in my First Impression post. She stressed the danger of living in alternate reality. Augmented reality is particularly pernicious because the demarcation between virtual and real is so blurred that people lose all sense of reality and prefer to hide in the virtual world. If JinWoo gets his wish, instead of being seduced by the beauty of Granada, hordes of tourists would swarm toilets in search of swords and occupy town squares to fight against Nasgid warriors. Their duels would have been a ridiculous sight for sure…like watching a team of football player perform an un-choreographed interpretation of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy in broad daylight.

It’s a no-brainer: augmented reality and its cousin, virtual reality, cannot, will not, and should not replace our experience of reality and our participation in it.

Having said that caveat, I must point out that not all aspects of AR gaming have a deleterious effect on our lives. There are some positive values and outcomes to be acquired too from immersing oneself in the game. Moderation is key like with everything else.

I think these “positives” were lightly touched on in the opening scene of Episode 3. I’ll try to point them out so we can spot them later on in this kdrama.

Hopefully, as this drama moves forward, we’ll not only see the bad side of AR gaming but also its good side. For now, I’m content with getting a foretaste of how habits acquired from gaming can impact the way the JinWoo approaches and perceives challenges, and forms relationships.

From Episode 3:

Jin-Woo walks briskly through a crowded, narrow street. As expected, he’s oblivious to the charm of the busy bazaar; he isn’t distracted by the variety of brightly colored goods on display. Instead, he scans rooftops in anticipation of an ambush from archers.

He converses with his gaming colleague in Seoul, YangJoo, who guides him through this level 4 of the game. He stops before reaching the end of a deserted alley.

YJ: Why did you stop?
JW: I feel like something might show up. (walks. conjures sword from thin air) I’m starting to see the pattern here now. I’m telling you. It’s about time something showed up.

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: Gamers like JinWoo are independent learners. They don’t need an instruction manual to tell them what to do next. They have what is called “brain plasticity” or the ability of their brains to learn and modify their behavior based on awareness of external surroundings and internal functions (i.e., their health and weapons status). Here, after going through 45 deaths, JinWoo recognizes patterns and trusts his senses. He knows that an attack is imminent especially at blind spots and narrow alleys. He can multi-task, absorb a host of stimuli, and make quick decisions. It’ll be interesting to see how his pace will differ from that HeeJoo and he’ll have to adapt to her “speed” as they’re interact with each other.

YJ: Still you should keep going. Get moving again. Go!
JW: Am I your avatar or what? How dare a mere team manager try to order the CEO around?

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: JW’s colleague is a more experienced gamer than JW so he’s coaching him to keep moving. In these games, action and motion is preferred to inaction and inertia. If the player gets cold feet and stands still, then the game stalls.

Later, in the Alcazaba Café, JW overcomes his apprehension and becomes pro-active. While he warily approaches the trio of pirates, he easily introduces himself to Emma. (Of course, it helps that Emma is pretty and the pirates are stinkers.) Later, when he sees another pirate passing by in the window, he rushes outside to go after him, presumably to duel over the sword so he can level up.

Games aren’t designed with hesitation or temerity in mind. If JW hesitates to wield his weapon, then he gets stabbed and eliminated. That’s how he killed off his rival, Cha, the second time around. JW was a tad quicker in slashing.

In life as well, the decisive person often gets control and leads others. We see this trait in JW from the start when he flew to Granada as soon as he received the emailed software. He didn’t wait for the programmer See-Joo to show up; he pressured and outmaneuvered HeeJoo to sell Hostal Bonita to him. He strikes while the iron is hot.

However, what one might laud as decisiveness, another person might call recklessness. JW’s decision to buy HeeJoo’s place might lead to his personal downfall as well as HeeJoo’s misery.

Another thing to note here: when JW fails a mission, he grows increasingly braver. Take for instance Episode 1 when he faced the Nasrid warrior. Instead of getting discouraged and giving up after repeatedly being slashed and killed, he doubled down and became more determined to win the round.

YJ: Well, that’s the only route. You have to go through that alley anyway.
JY: I’m just worried that I might die a brutal death.
YJ: If you die, you can just log back in. It doesn’t cost a thing.

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: JW’s colleague is again teaching him a valuable life lesson here. In order to become better, JY has to enter unknown territories and be open to failure, even death. All the struggles and defeats he undergoes actually hone his skills to beat his opponents and level up.

When JW hears of the death of Cha, he returns to Granada to investigate for himself the cause of Cha’s death. Instead of escaping back to Seoul, he sticks around and goes against the advice of his subordinates. He doesn’t shy away from meeting his ex again and braves her tirade. He goes to identify Cha’s body and makes himself available to the police for questioning. When he hears that Cha lost a lot of blood, he immediately returns to their fight scene to examine.

This confidence in his ability to solve a problem is admirable; he couldn’t have become a successful CEO without this self-assurance. But for ordinary gamers who spends thousands of hours doing something repeatedly, they too will eventually master their craft and learn to rely on their track-record of defeating a monster, a killer or an invader in these games. Their confidence is something that is reinforced by their success in gaming.

JW: What the…(smiles at ladies passing by) You prick, this isn’t like those games you play sitting on your couch. Try playing it and see how hard it is. Since I got here, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep. I’ve only eaten ramyun and I’ve died 45 times. How many more times should I die?

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: It may appear as if he’s whining, but in fact he’s humble-bragging. He’s proud of his dedication to complete a challenging task despite the extended duration. He’s single-minded in his focus to level up quickly and is prepared to forego sleep and a decent meal in order to test the software for defects and malfunctions.

And notice this: he isn’t complaining about the STRESS. If he hated this part of the job, that is, software testing, he could’ve delegated it to someone else and retired to his lodgings. But he’s invigorated or pumped up each time he discovers a new trick to the game and levels up.

Like most gamers, it isn’t at all stressful to work long and hard on an obstacle in a given level because they’re passionate about what they do.

We see a similar passion in the way JW flits from one “quest” to another. Ever since Episode 1, it’s been a constant stream of activity for him and he’s like an Energizer Bunny. Except for the times when he sat to listen to the guitar or waited for HeeJoo to come out of the restroom in Episode 3, he’s always been on the go. That’s why he missed breakfast at Hostal Bonita, the churros in Alcazaba Café, and the dinner plans with HeeJoo. Although his explicit goal is to get control of the game and market it before his archrival does, his implicit goal is to thwart Cha in anything he does. He keeps on grinding away until he achieves his goal.

YJ: Sir, that’s how all games work. At first, you have to keep trying to level up. You have no money nor experience, so you need to work for it. I bet Mr. Cha also died many times for the first two days and went up to level four.

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: JW pushes himself to survive the challenges and complete the level. It’s an impressive moment when he escapes a sure death experience from the flying arrows when the program suddenly halts to buffer. lol. Of course, his underling reminds him to get out because he too is mesmerized by the arrows suspended in air.

Naturally, each level is designed to be incrementally more difficult than the previous one. JW is required to gain skills, strength, money and weapon by “working” for it. These extra “boosts” needed for him to survive the level aren’t just handed to him; he’ll need to exert effort to acquire it himself, like his first sword which he had to search in the men’s restroom in Episode 1. The gaming world rewards the go-getters and penalizes the slackers.

In Episode 3, JW gains the best possible “boost” he can get in the entire game (and life, I expect) by forming a close alliance with HeeJoo. This is what gamers are taught to do: acquire an ally to fight enemies and solve problems together.

Note here: HeeJoo considers him a “friend” while he considers her as an “ally”. While both a friend and an ally can be expected to fight at his side, friendship implies a much deeper bond than an alliance. An alliance demands cooperation for the mutual benefit of both parties, but a friendship goes beyond that. Between friends, assistance is offered even at the cost of one’s comfort and happiness. An ally can withdraw his/her support once the common goal has been achieved but friends stay on forever.

For instance, JW readily pays her 10M won because that’s the fair market price of the software game her brother tried to sell it to Cha. He won’t cheat an ally. I know many viewers feel squeamish about him not disclosing his real motive, but for the purposes of this story, I think he did not have to. SeHoo contacted him specifically because he wanted to sell it to him instead of to Cha whom he distrusted and considered a “bad guy.”

Considering that SeHoo is now missing, it’s not far-fetched for JW to assume that Cha or his minions had gotten to him. It’s become imperative then for JW to ensure SeHoo’s wish that his software doesn’t fall in the hands of Cha.

Anyway, going back to ally-and-friends, it will be intriguing to watch in the future, when JW and HJ’s relationship evolves from alliance to friendship to romance, whether JW will agree to give HeeJoo something that entails him sacrificing for it.

JW: And so what? What’s your point? Are you saying I should stop whining because HyukSuk did it too? It sounds like you’re dissing me. Are you dissing me now?

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: To me, gaming is a great social equalizer. It’s based a meritocracy. It encourages players to do their best and rewards those who complete their mission. Being a chaebol, teenager, genius or top star in the real world doesn’t matter beans in the gaming world. As long as a player is skilled and hard-working, he can compete and control his destiny. That’s why JW’s subordinate can boss his boss him around. lol.

And that’s why JW taunts Cha in Episode 1 for wanting to duel him when there’s a big disparity in their experience and level. There was no merit…or honor in that fight. How can Cha do his “best” when he’s fighting an obviously weaker opponent?

Noteworthy: JW’s personality is revealed in his continuous sniping at YJ. JW’s bark is worse than his bite. Although he sounds fierce and insulting to his subordinates, they diss him nonstop and fearlessly.

YJ: Sir, your blood sugar must be low. You’ve gotten very sensitive. Buy yourself a bottle of juice or something and get moving again.
JW: Shut up.

Understanding the gamer’s mindset: This is another misconception that we nongamers have of gamers. We think of them as anti-social when they have a tight network and collaborate regularly to work on an “epic” win. When YJ tells his boss to drink juice as a “mood-enhancer,” he’s just looking after JW’s physical health so they win this game together.

Similarly, despite being absorbed with his gaming and his quest to own this new software game, he isn’t devoid of empathy. When he realizes that HeeJoo locked herself accidentally in the bathroom and she begs that 3 minutes be pardoned, he smiles indulgently at her worry. He knows that SeHoo would have wanted to provide for his sisters and he doesn’t try to cheat them out of their millions.  Also, he anticipates his ex-wife and ex-sister-in-law to struggle with the language and he ropes in HJ to help them during their tragedy.

So there you go. This is my (futile) attempt to analyze JW’s character based on a four-minute dialogue. hahaha. I’m sure I can write more if I’ve time but no…not tonight. I’m tired now.

I’ll do HeeJoo’s next time. She’s not a gamer; she’s guitarist (drop-out), luthier (apprentice) and Jill-of-all-trades, so she’ll make a fascinating contrast to the high-achieving, high-maintenance JinWoo.