Ernest Cline: It might be because young readers have all been raised in a world filled with high technology, just like the characters in the book. People born during the last two decades have grown up with the Internet and handheld computers. Most of their toys contain microchips, their video games have always looked incredibly real, and they’ve never known a world without mobile phones. They’ve also grown up in the aftermath of 9/11 and the global economic collapse. For all of these reasons, I think the world described in Ready Player One is very familiar to them, and that helps them relate to the characters in it. Young readers have also lived through endless reruns and reboots of ’80s movies and TV shows, so many of the touchstones of that decade are still familiar to them, even if they didn’t experience them firsthand. PRH: In Ready Player One, you incorporate literally hundreds of pop culture references, many of them in ways that are integral to the book’s plot. What’s the first thing you remember geeking out over? Lacero, a fan-fiction short story by Andy Weir, was published online in 2014, [29] and later included in the 2016 limited edition of Ready Player One published by Subterranean Press. [30] Serle, Rebecca (August 17, 2011). " Ready Player One: An Interview with Author Ernest Cline". The Huffington Post . Retrieved March 5, 2023. The OASIS is shaped like a Rubik’s Cube, with 27 cubed “sectors.” Travelling across one sector at the speed of light is expensive and takes 10 hours. Avatars can gain experience points—XPs—by completing quests and fighting NPC villains. However, these don’t exist on Ludus. With difficulty Wade has managed to raise his avatar to the third level by briefly hitching rides to other planets and earning XPs there; however, no gunter is considered serious until they reach the tenth level.

Casey, Henry T. (March 14, 2018). "Ready Player One Review Roundup: Pretty, Flawed". Tom’s Guide . Retrieved March 26, 2018. Couch, Aaron (July 8, 2020). " 'Ready Player One' Book Sequel Sets November Publishing Date". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 8, 2020. Ogden "Og" Morrow a.k.a. The Great and Powerful Og: Co-creator of the OASIS and best friend of James Halliday. His appearance and personality are described in the book as being "a cross between Albert Einstein and Santa Claus". Ogden's character and relationship with Halliday were inspired by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, with Morrow being more like Jobs as a "charismatic tech leader", [12] [13] while his avatar's name is inspired by the Wizard of Oz.

This draws some undue attention to force him into hiding. But this deter him from his cause? Absolutely not. Wade continues on his quest to find the Easter Egg and amass that fortune.

Art imitating life. Like Wade in the novel, Ernest Cline drives a vintage 1980s DeLorean sports car in real life.All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.” The Sixers are now in possession of an artifact called Fyndoro’s Tablet of Finding, which will help them with the Hunt. Wade flies his starship, the Vonnegut, to a planet named Archaide, which is a museum of old arcade games. To his surprise, Wade finds a recreation of Happytime Pizza, a pizza place Halliday frequented as a child. Inside, there is a Pac-Man machine, which Wade realizes contains another Easter egg. However, while he is playing, he sees that Aech has overtaken him on the scoreboard. Wade manages to get the new high score on Pac-Man, and at the same moment receives a message from Aech with a clue that leads him to the Jade Key, which is situated on a nearby planet called Frobozz. Wade successfully locates the key and narrowly avoids an encounter with a group of Sixers. The violent clashes between gunters and Sixers that ensues is known as the Battle of Frobozz. During the action, Shoto finds the key, but in almost the same moment, Daito is killed. a b "How Lord British Inspired Anorak | Ernie's Blog". Ernestcline.com. October 19, 2011 . Retrieved July 7, 2012. Before long, a subculture is born. Those who participate in the hunt are known as “gunters”; although there are always some gunters boasting that they are on the edge of a breakthrough, years pass and nobody finds anything, and most people lose interest in the hunt. Suddenly, in 2045, Wade—an 18-year-old living in a trailer park on the outskirts of Oklahoma City—appears on the scoreboard. He will now tell the story of what happens next.