Some Thoughts on Ready Player One, the Book and the Movie

NOTE: For anyone that hasn’t read the book or seen the movie I try to leave out any spoilers. These are just some thoughts I had on the differences between the book and movie and how the storyline parallels our own possible future.

I watched Ready Player One a few months back and so many people told me that if I liked the movie I should really read the book. Every person claimed the book was so much better. Taking their advice I decided to give the book a quick read. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down!

I remembered when the movie came out, some of the fans were not happy with the way they changed the story. I'll admit, after reading the book, it's the same “general” storyline, but the story is much different and has a much different feel. For a true fan I could see how the subtle and sometimes not so subtle changes might upset them. On top of that, the movie had actually completely changed the rolls of some of the characters or at the very least left out some key character traits.

The story is centered in a post apocalyptic cyberpunk future and all the characters are obsessed with 80s pop culture. Their fascination is fueled by a need to search for clues to solve a mystery surrounding the creator of the Oasis. Whoever solves the mystery will become the controller of the Oasis. As I read through the story I wondered if the movie made a lot of the changes to the storyline just to get around various copyright infringements? Several old video games are mentioned, along with various movies, and a lot of great music from the 80s era. Because the book deals with immersive technology, the characters actually step into some of these movies as they’re recreated in their virtual world. The book has way more references to 80s pop culture, and anyone that grew up in that era will take a futuristic trip down memory lane. I imagine each piece of pop culture that would have been included in the movie would have been another royalty paid out to someone or some company. I'm just speculating, but that's usually how these things work.

One of the major differences I noticed right away is the movie is pretty darn close to "family friendly" and the book really has more of a gritty cyberpunk post apocalyptic story line. My kind of reading! Honestly though, Spielberg almost turns it into a kid friendly matinee. The book definitely doesn't have that feel to it. I was actually surprised at the major difference between the atmosphere of the movie and the atmosphere or feel of the book.

I thought the movie was good, but I'll agree the book was far better. The book is much more seedier and thought provoking and although the stories are similar, the book is a completely different story.

For those who haven't seen the movie or read the book, the story is set in a post apocalyptic world. The world is a pretty crappy place and most people spend their time in a virtual reality simulation called the Oasis. The world is similar to an immersive Second Life type platform. The creator of the Oasis dies and leaves behind a software Easter Egg and devises a contest for all the inhabitants of the Oasis. Whoever finds the Easter Egg will take control of the future of the Oasis.

Two groups of people are trying to solve the mystery of the easter egg. An evil corporation who plan to monetize and exploit the citizens of the Oasis, and another group called Gunters who want to protect the Oasis and save it from corporate control. I think in a lot of ways, this story is already playing out in real life on the internet. As a matter of fact, I think a lot of the book outlines many issues that we’ll face in the future as internet technology, virtual reality and augmented reality take shape.

When I first got introduced to the internet, I immediately envisioned a future internet where people became immersed in the technology. Chat rooms would someday become not much different than meeting a friend out at a nightclub or bar. With the advent of VR, this is probably becoming an inevitability. I don't think it's a matter of if but when. Eventually, with VR we will be able step into Second Life worlds that may even seem more real than the world we live in now. That will definitely create a lot of new social issues that we haven’t even begun to consider.

I’m not going to dive into the storylines of either the book or the movie much more. I’d like to leave out any spoilers for anyone that may want to check out either. Honestly, I think the movie is worth watching if you haven’t seen it already. If you’re a bookworm and enjoy a good thought provoking, cyberpunk thriller you may want to look for a copy of this book. I really feel it’s worth a read.

My final thoughts are this. For me, both the book and the movie are extremely thought provoking. Since I first discovered the internet, I’ve always imagined it morphing into a more immersive technology. A virtual world where we meet and can even interact at close to the same level we do in real life. I honestly don’t think that future is very far off. Both the book and the movie do an excellent job of portraying this future technology and really make you think about the direction a VR world would take. For that reason alone, if you’ve ever thought about that type of future scenario I think both the book and movie are worthy of taking a gander.