Ready Player One: a novel for gamers

This is what Ernest Cline has envisioned in his new novel, Ready Player One. It is the year 2044, and the entire planet is addicted to a game called OASIS. The outside world, struggling through an energy crisis, suffers from neglect and disuse. Cities have become bloated with the poor, and rural landscapes are threatened by roving bandits. The United States of America is falling apart, and its skeletal remains exist only to help the population play a video game.

 

The book begins with the death of OASIS’ creator, James Halliday. In his last will and testament, he has left control of the game to the first person who can complete a series of quests. The winner must show courage, adaptability, skill, and (oddly enough) a knowledge of popular culture that borders on the obsessive-compulsive.

 

Such dire circumstances could easily set the scene for a very dark story, but like the '80s films that he constantly references in the book, Cline doesn’t let the decay of modern society get in the way of a lighthearted trip down memory lane. In fact, were it not for all the nostalgia, it might have made the perfect movie from that decade. It has a gnarly protagonist with a totally bad (in a good way) sidekick, an ass-kicking love interest, a wise father figure who gets it, and the smooth antagonist with too much money and power. Fortunately for the younger readers though, nearly every wink to pop culture is thoroughly explained.

The novel offers little depth, but that’s excusable given its muse. Very few eras were as superficial and hedonistic as the 1980s, and Cline revels in it. You’ll find no insights into the Cold War, the harmful economic policies, the rise of AIDS, or any of the other sociological, economic, or political trends that defined the decade.

Ultimately, it is an adventure tale of reasonable quality with vague life lessons that you probably already know. Most importantly though, it is a story told in your language about a future in which you, I, and the rest of the Bitmob community, will surely thrive.

The gamer, for whom this post is written, will find plenty to love, if not analyze with the novel. Ultimately it is an adventure tale of reasonable quality with vague life lessons that you probably already know. Most importantly, it is a science fiction story told to you in your language, unveiling a future in which you, I, and the rest of the Bitmob community, will surely succeed. What would happen if MMOs continued their growth? What if they became truly mainstream? Would the qualities that gamers find so addictive ensnare the rest of the population? What would happen to the world if everyone spent most of their time in World of Warcraft?

 

This is the world Ernest Cline has envisioned in Ready Player One. (For extra geek-cred, get the audiobook version as narrated by the patron saint of nerds, Wil Wheaton). By 2044, a Massively Muliplayer Online Game, the OASIS, is just such a beast. The entire civilized world is so addicted to the game that most of life happens within its digitized environs: school, the economy, entertainment, relationships, just about everything. The outside world, struggling through a fossil-fuel-less energy crisis, suffers from neglect and disuse. Cities become bloated with the poor and rural landscapes are threatened by bandits. The United States of America is falling apart, and its skeletal remains exist only to help its population log in into a video game.

 

The novel begins with the death of the OASIS’ creator, James Halliday. In his last will and testament, he has left his fortune, over 240 billion dollars, and control of the world’s most popular game, to the winner of a series of quests and tasks he has hidden through vague clues and hints. The winner must show courage, adaptability, skill, and a knowledge of 1980s popular culture that borders on the obsessive compulsive?

 

Such dire circumstances could easily set the scene for a very dark story, but like the 1980s films that are constantly referenced, Cline doesn’t let the decay of modern society get in the way of a lighthearted trip down memory lane. In fact the novel could easily existed in the decade: a niche hobby hitting the mainstream, a gnarly protagonist with a totally bad (in a good way) side-kick, the equally ass-kicking love interest, the wise father-figure who gets it, and the smooth antagonist with too much money, attitude, and power. In fact, were it not for all the 1980s nostalgia, it would have been the perfect 1980s film — and honestly it probably could have worked anyway, in modern history’s most popular culture obsessed decade.

 

The novel follows the exploits of Wade Watts, aka Parzival, as he hunters for Halliday’s video game easter egg. His life changes when he becomes the first person to solve the first clue in the hunt, an act that turns an impossible mission into the most hotly contested quest in the OASIS. And it just gets much more radical from there.

 

Those of us that actually remember the 80s will get a kick out of the novel. Even I, born in 1981, could easily place most of the references into context, easily enough. Fortunately, for those born, let’s say 1985 and after, nearly every piece of popular culture is thoroughly enough explained. 

 

The novel offers little depth, but that’s completely excusable given its muse. Very few eras were as superficial and hedonistic as the 1980s, and Cline revels in it. You’ll find no insights into the cold war, the harmful economic policies, the rise of AIDS, the decay of the urban environment, or any of the other sociological, economic, or political trends that defined the decade. Nope, just music, movies, television, technology, and the video games that defined the generation.

As the title and premise will suggest, the novel is mostly concerned with video games. Any retro-gamer will revel in the genre-defining and obscure games carted out by the author. It is a veritable parade of classic arcade machines, clunky desktop computers, and home consoles.

 

Of course, one could point out that it is so cliche for a video game programmer to be so obsessed with popular culture, a plot device that ultimately forces each hunter into intense antisocial behavior both inside and outside the OASIS. Therein lies the balance Cline creates throughout the novel: the protagonists struggles with his own popular culture obsession, his own antisocial behavior, and the forces that propel him to interact with other people. By the end, these mechanics become slightly ham-fisted, but what wasn’t during the 80s?

 

The gamer, for whom this post is written, will find plenty to love, if not analyze with the novel. Ultimately it is an adventure tale of reasonable quality with vague life lessons that you probably already know. Most importantly, it is a science fiction story told to you in your language, unveiling a future in which you, I, and the rest of the Bitmob community, will surely succeed. What would happen if MMOs continued their growth? What if they became truly mainstream? Would the qualities that gamers find so addictive ensnare the rest of the population? What would happen to the world if everyone spent most of their time in World of Warcraft?

 

This is the world Ernest Cline has envisioned in Ready Player One. (For extra geek-cred, get the audiobook version as narrated by the patron saint of nerds, Wil Wheaton). By 2044, a Massively Muliplayer Online Game, the OASIS, is just such a beast. The entire civilized world is so addicted to the game that most of life happens within its digitized environs: school, the economy, entertainment, relationships, just about everything. The outside world, struggling through a fossil-fuel-less energy crisis, suffers from neglect and disuse. Cities become bloated with the poor and rural landscapes are threatened by bandits. The United States of America is falling apart, and its skeletal remains exist only to help its population log in into a video game.

 

The novel begins with the death of the OASIS’ creator, James Halliday. In his last will and testament, he has left his fortune, over 240 billion dollars, and control of the world’s most popular game, to the winner of a series of quests and tasks he has hidden through vague clues and hints. The winner must show courage, adaptability, skill, and a knowledge of 1980s popular culture that borders on the obsessive compulsive?

 

Such dire circumstances could easily set the scene for a very dark story, but like the 1980s films that are constantly referenced, Cline doesn’t let the decay of modern society get in the way of a lighthearted trip down memory lane. In fact the novel could easily existed in the decade: a niche hobby hitting the mainstream, a gnarly protagonist with a totally bad (in a good way) side-kick, the equally ass-kicking love interest, the wise father-figure who gets it, and the smooth antagonist with too much money, attitude, and power. In fact, were it not for all the 1980s nostalgia, it would have been the perfect 1980s film — and honestly it probably could have worked anyway, in modern history’s most popular culture obsessed decade.

 

The novel follows the exploits of Wade Watts, aka Parzival, as he hunters for Halliday’s video game easter egg. His life changes when he becomes the first person to solve the first clue in the hunt, an act that turns an impossible mission into the most hotly contested quest in the OASIS. And it just gets much more radical from there.

 

Those of us that actually remember the 80s will get a kick out of the novel. Even I, born in 1981, could easily place most of the references into context, easily enough. Fortunately, for those born, let’s say 1985 and after, nearly every piece of popular culture is thoroughly enough explained. 

 

The novel offers little depth, but that’s completely excusable given its muse. Very few eras were as superficial and hedonistic as the 1980s, and Cline revels in it. You’ll find no insights into the cold war, the harmful economic policies, the rise of AIDS, the decay of the urban environment, or any of the other sociological, economic, or political trends that defined the decade. Nope, just music, movies, television, technology, and the video games that defined the generation.

As the title and premise will suggest, the novel is mostly concerned with video games. Any retro-gamer will revel in the genre-defining and obscure games carted out by the author. It is a veritable parade of classic arcade machines, clunky desktop computers, and home consoles.

 

Of course, one could point out that it is so cliche for a video game programmer to be so obsessed with popular culture, a plot device that ultimately forces each hunter into intense antisocial behavior both inside and outside the OASIS. Therein lies the balance Cline creates throughout the novel: the protagonists struggles with his own popular culture obsession, his own antisocial behavior, and the forces that propel him to interact with other people. By the end, these mechanics become slightly ham-fisted, but what wasn’t during the 80s?

 

The gamer, for whom this post is written, will find plenty to love, if not analyze with the novel. Ultimately it is an adventure tale of reasonable quality with vague life lessons that you probably already know. Most importantly, it is a science fiction story told to you in your language, unveiling a future in which you, I, and the rest of the Bitmob community, will surely succeed.