Ready Player One Discussion

[mustloveerica]

Oh hey I actually read this one!! But it was like 6 months ago. No wait, 9 months ago. But it was good!!

That's all I have to contribute :-(

[longhornwino0907]

I didn't reread as I originally planned. So no answers from me, but hopefully can discuss more as people start posting their answers! I just know I really loved this book when I read it like five years ago!

[ceejay]

I just finished the book last night and I really enjoyed it! I don't have a ton to do at work today, so I'll try to answer some of the questions throughout the day.

[wannabmama]

First, I really really liked this book and it is definitely not my usual read, so that was fun. I actually read it mostly over two days and couldn't be torn away from it until I was done last Sunday. My answers here are sort of all over the place, ha.

1. The OASIS becomes a part of daily life for users around the globe. What virtual realms (Google, Facebook, iCloud) do you depend on? What is at stake in the war against IOI, the internet service provider that wants to overturn Halliday’s affordable, open-source approach? Is it dangerous to mix profit and dependence on technology?
I feel like I am right on the edge of the age between pre- and post- internet world. So, I am a slow adopter, but I do spend a lot of time on facebook (and here). I believe the fact that the internet is "free" has been very important to it's taking over our lives. I think that piece is especially key in the RPO world b/c in an even more sad and lonely world, access to that material is even more important (and actually creates community) but would be totally out of reach for most people. It did make me think about how many people are limited, or unable, to access technology based on provider costs, etc., even today, and how much of a disadvantage that would be for kids, for example, in doing school work.



2. Explore the question of identity raised in the novel. What do the characters’ avatars tell us about their desires and their insecurities? In reality, does our physical appearance give false clues about who we really are? How does Parzival, transformed into a celebrity gunter, become Wade’s true self?
Wade definitely gains confidence as Parzival succeeds. He had to do things in real life, as his alter-ego, but still as a real human, to make his plan work. I don't think he would have had the cajones to do that until he had the celebrity of Parzival to bolster him. He certainly became more like Perzival over time...but he still had his awkwardness and shyness of Wade, it just made it easier for him to overcome those as Parzival's star rose.

3. How does love affect Wade’s rational mind? Would you have given Art3mis the tip about playing on the left side to defeat the lich (page 99, chapter ten)? Did you predict that she would turn out to be a friend or a foe? I actually thought she was going to be a foe, I worried that she was sent as a distraction or was going to be underhanded. I was very glad that she was not. Poor Wade deserved some goodness in his life. I think I would have given the tip, I am a sucker like that.



4. How does public school in the OASIS compare to your experience in school? Has author Ernest Cline created a solution to classroom overcrowding, student apathy, and school violence?


I was lucky in public school...a little of the normal angst and challenges (hardest being moving to a snotty new school my junior year of high school) but I never had it too bad, so I don't have a lot to say about this. I tried doing some online courses at one point and I really didn't like it. I enjoy being around people, in real life, so it's hard for me to be engaged and interested in classroom stuff without real people around. I wonder if, like so many other things related to the internet, I would eventually come around and get used to it. I thought his school seemed lonely and disassociated. Kind of like that world in general, other than the thrill of the game itself.



5. Wade’s OASIS pass phrase is revealed on page 199, at the end of chapter nineteen: “No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful.” What does this philosophy mean to him at that point in his life? 




I think it is a mechanism for him to keep from being completely consumed by the depression around him and the frustration of his own life. It is comforting to remember that no one has everything. Even that Halliday could never have love, died sort of alone, etc.

6. Wade doesn’t depend on religion to make moral decisions or overcome life-threatening challenges. What does the novel say about humanity’s relationship to religion? What sort of god is Halliday, creator of the OASIS universe?


I love the idea of being "good without god," I personally am not very religious, but I do understand the connection people feel and the relationship they have with God. I think that Halliday represents something that could be problematic, a person who is "bigger" than everything else and controls so much of individuals' lives that he is like a God, but he could, of course, been completely "evil" or done horrible things with that power. Comparing Halliday to a god is sort of like saying that power is what makes something/someone a god and I don't know if that's fair. Religion helps create rules and boundaries in human life, but Halliday largely left that out. He created rules for the school areas and within the world he created--but then his own game lacked most rules, really...which is what almost let the IOI group win.

7. Despite their introverted nature, the book’s characters thrive on friendship. Discuss the level of trust enjoyed by Halliday and Og, and among Wade, Aech, Art3mis, Daito, and Shoto. How is true power achieved in Ready Player One?


I think a lot of people in real life now experience this sort of thing--companionship between people you don't see often, or even really "know" at all. I really liked that they were all physically in the same space for the final challenge. Even though they weren't interacting "IRL" they were all there, together. I think the book could have done a little more with their struggle to trust each other and to agree to work together, actually.

8. In the closing scenes, Halliday’s reward proves to be greater than mere wealth. What is Halliday’s ultimate prize? How did the rules of Halliday’s game help him determine the type of player who would likely win? 

He passed on the power to make decisions for OASIS and rewarded team work. I was a little annoyed that they needed Og to get there...but then I think that was a nod to how Halliday needed Og, too. Everyone needs someone.

9. In his quest for the three keys, Wade is required to inhabit many imaginary worlds, including movies, video games, and a simulation of Halliday’s childhood home. Which of these virtual realities appealed to you the most? What sort of virtual reality is provided by a novel?

I loved the idea of living in those movies...I am a child of the 80s so it was a lot of memories for me. I think that this book was the perfect kind of virtual reality, too...I was fully engrossed in the book and could picture the characters and the scenes like it was a movie or I was a character in it. Good books do that for me more than movies or video games.

[ceejay]

1. The OASIS becomes a part of daily life for users around the globe. What virtual realms (Google, Facebook, iCloud) do you depend on? What is at stake in the war against IOI, the internet service provider that wants to overturn Halliday’s affordable, open-source approach? Is it dangerous to mix profit and dependence on technology?
I depend on technology pretty heavily. I'm almost always near a computer (either at work or home) and if I'm not, I have my iPhone with me 24/7.
In our world today, I can't see something as far reaching as OASIS being totally open source. It seems to me that a platform like that would have been charging an access fee from the start. I could totally see there being something like OASIS being developed and used in the real world in the future, 10 or 20 years down the road. But I can't see it being totally free like OASIS was.



3. How does love affect Wade’s rational mind? Would you have given Art3mis the tip about playing on the left side to defeat the lich (page 99, chapter ten)? Did you predict that she would turn out to be a friend or a foe?
Ever since they first mentioned Art3mis and Wade's fascination with her as a blogger, I had a feeling that she would be major character and become a friend of Wade. I liked seeing how their relationship developed but I felt like that part of the book was rushed... there was basically one chapter that explained how Wade and Art3mis started spending all their time together and then it was over before we really got to experience many of their interactions. But I guess the author's point was just to show how much love was distracting Wade and affecting his ability to make wise decisions. I would have given her the tip... I feel like with the common enemy of the Sixers, if I was in the top gunters, I would have started working together with the other top gunters much sooner.




4. How does public school in the OASIS compare to your experience in school? Has author Ernest Cline created a solution to classroom overcrowding, student apathy, and school violence?


I went to a private college preparatory high school, so it was pretty tame and everyone there was very well behaved in class. So the OASIS classrooms didn't seem very different than most of my classes in high school. I do see many aspects of this book as potentially happening in the real world in the future. As the world population grows and technology becomes more advanced and more accessible, virtual school like in OASIS could be very beneficial.



7. Despite their introverted nature, the book’s characters thrive on friendship. Discuss the level of trust enjoyed by Halliday and Og, and among Wade, Aech, Art3mis, Daito, and Shoto. How is true power achieved in Ready Player One?


Like I mentioned above, I was surprised that it took so long for the top 5 to really band together in the Hunt. If there weren't the Sixers and IOI, I could see everyone being focused on winning the prize for themselves and not wanting to work with others. But with a common enemy, I think that the top gunters should have joined forces much earlier in the game and established a higher level of trust for each other. As we learned by the end, true power in OASIS and in the Hunt as only achieved by working together. 


9. In his quest for the three keys, Wade is required to inhabit many imaginary worlds, including movies, video games, and a simulation of Halliday’s childhood home. Which of these virtual realities appealed to you the most? What sort of virtual reality is provided by a novel?

I thought that the gate challenges of having to act and speak through entire movies would have been so much fun. There are certainly a few movies that I know most of the lines for, and it would be so much fun to experience being inside of the movie! 

[rablissful]

LOVED this book and I hope we can get a real discussion going instead of just people posting answers

I finished last night and lurved it. Heart was racing at the very end! I thought the ending was a little cheesy, but it made me happy at the same time.

1. The OASIS becomes a part of daily life for users around the globe. What virtual realms (Google, Facebook, iCloud) do you depend on? What is at stake in the war against IOI, the internet service provider that wants to overturn Halliday’s affordable, open-source approach? Is it dangerous to mix profit and dependence on technology?
I will admit that I used to be addicted to a couple different online worlds that were very similar to the OASIS (mainly WoW and Second Life--- OASIS seems to be a mix of the two) so I very much understood the utter dependence on their online worlds. Nowadays I kinda depend on this place and google for work.

IOI wanted to make the OASIS unavailable to the vast majority of people on the planet by charging monthly fees. While part of me believes that the OASIS may have made everyone complacent about the world completely going to shit, at this point it’s the only good place people have. Taking that away from them might make things even worse, especially short term. On the other hand, it could also wake people up to the real world to try to make things better. However, when a company that is willing to murder to get access to the OASIS fortune, I don’t think them taking control of said world is ever going to be a good thing.



2. Explore the question of identity raised in the novel. What do the characters’ avatars tell us about their desires and their insecurities? In reality, does our physical appearance give false clues about who we really are? How does Parzival, transformed into a celebrity gunter, become Wade’s true self?
Interesting question. We want to make our best selves in a virtual world. For Art3mis, that was being able to experience a world as her complete self, without a birthmark that has obviously plagued her. That birthmark has obviously given her a lot of insecurities, like finding love. For Aech, that meant becoming a white man instead of a black female because she knew all the prejudices going on in the world against both African Americans and women in general. She was still her real personality in the OASIS, just not physically.

Parzival became is true self in the real world by actually sticking up for his friends and doing some really insane shit. He risks everything to be able to keep IOI from getting the egg, and in doing so, gets over some of his obvious in real life insecurities.

3. How does love affect Wade’s rational mind? Would you have given Art3mis the tip about playing on the left side to defeat the lich (page 99, chapter ten)? Did you predict that she would turn out to be a friend or a foe?
I don’t know if I’d help her out about playing on the left side, but maybe I would. Wade definitely went a little crazy with her around and got off track. They completely distracted each other, which almost lost them the contest. While I was kind of sad they split, it ended up being for the best (and I’m happy Wade realized that).

I knew she was going to end up being a friend. I just had a feeling they would click when he described her blog.



4. How does public school in the OASIS compare to your experience in school? Has author Ernest Cline created a solution to classroom overcrowding, student apathy, and school violence?


I WANT TO BE A TEACHER IN THE OASIS. Please and thank you. I’ve already said this and will say it again. Like, I need this to be reality right meow.

I mean, the auto disciplinary system is the shit, but what’s cooler is that you’d be able to make your class immersive every damn day. I could be like Mrs. Fritz. YES PLEASE.

As a science teacher though, I wonder how much it can really simulate actual labs. Particularly chemistry. I'm sure it could but there's just something about literally setting something on fire, blowing something up, etc that you can't replicate.



5. Wade’s OASIS pass phrase is revealed on page 199, at the end of chapter nineteen: “No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful.” What does this philosophy mean to him at that point in his life? 




At this point, he had almost been murdered by an evil corporation and the love of his life dumped him. This is definitely a coping mechanism for him.

6. Wade doesn’t depend on religion to make moral decisions or overcome life-threatening challenges. What does the novel say about humanity’s relationship to religion? What sort of god is Halliday, creator of the OASIS universe?


I honestly don’t remember anything about religion in the book, other than them mentioning Halliday was atheist. Halliday was like a god to the gunters though, an 80s obsessed nerd god. He created this world for people to escape to and everyone put him on a pedestal for that (nevermind when he left his fortune to someone who could complete the ultimate game).

7. Despite their introverted nature, the book’s characters thrive on friendship. Discuss the level of trust enjoyed by Halliday and Og, and among Wade, Aech, Art3mis, Daito, and Shoto. How is true power achieved in Ready Player One?


Halliday and Og were not friendly for over 10 years, but Og was the only one Halliday trusted enough to oversee the contest which really speaks volumes.

Wade and Aech are obviously besties, and I’m so glad that didn’t change after they met IRL (plot twist much?!). Ditto for Wade and Art3mis. I’m glad that once the contest was over everyone was able to go back to being friends. Daito and Shoto were special because they were basically family. I was heartbroken for Shoto after Daito died. I’ve shared similar connections online in my own worlds, so it’s nice to see that played out.

True power is achieved in RPO by maintaining your friendships and working together.

8. In the closing scenes, Halliday’s reward proves to be greater than mere wealth. What is Halliday’s ultimate prize? How did the rules of Halliday’s game help him determine the type of player who would likely win? 


Wade can now have unlimited powers, which is pretty cool. I think the big red button is what this question is referring to though. Halliday wanted to make sure someone who was very like-minded won. Someone who loved the old games, that wasn’t corrupt, and who could handle the power. I’m not sure if any other single gunter studied Halliday as much as Parzival. He completely understood what Halliday was like and how he ran things.


9. In his quest for the three keys, Wade is required to inhabit many imaginary worlds, including movies, video games, and a simulation of Halliday’s childhood home. Which of these virtual realities appealed to you the most? What sort of virtual reality is provided by a novel?

I never watch movies enough to play through them, but I think that was probably the coolest and most inventive game idea ever.

A novel gives you a mental virtual reality that you can immerse yourself in... as long as the book is good.

[icedtea]

My tablet keyboard is dead so it's hard for me to type much, but I really enjoyed this book. It felt like I was on an adventure, and it was only till after I finished that I realized that people were barely moving for a large portion of the book. Some random thoughts...

1. I work remotely so I'm heavily dependent on technology. I do find it's nice to switch off if I can get myself to. It's harder than I'd like, though.

I was somewhat involved in open source in a previous life and there are a lot of very passionate people in that group who I could see campaigning for something like oasis being free. But I don't know that I think they'd win against greed.

3. I wasn't too worried about Art3mis, but I was convinced Aech was going to be a foe and it had me worried the whole time. I don't know if I would have given the tip. I range from being too trusting to too cynical, depending on the day.

6. I also don't think I'd call Halliday a god. I enjoyed the lack of religion throughout the book, not because I have any issues with it, but because I always find it interesting to see how people describe worlds that downplay it. The Lunar Chronicles were interesting for that too.

7. I'm just really glad no one turned on each other. I don't think that Daito (or Shoto? I'm forgetting) would have joined them so quickly had it not been for the other one dying. They had a lot of distrust, understandably.

9. Living in a movie would be very entertaining. But my memory is awful so I would have failed miserably.

[icedtea]

One thing... I do wish there had been slightly more on what something like Oasis would mean for someone in an oppressed group. We touched upon it with Aech, but the idea really interests me. I know that wasn't the point of the book, but I'm intrigued.

[icedtea]

I'm curious whether this book made anyone else worried about their survival skills. I mean this mostly tic but it's something I think about with all this dystopian stuff. I don't know how to use weapons, I'm not mechanically inclined, nor do I know how to program.

If the end requires wine drinking or editing skills then I may be ok. Otherwise I am so fucked.

[wannabmama]

jennykat I totally forgot about irok, yes I thought he was the noise in the chat room at the initial disturbance. Or someone else and that Aech knew who it was bc he was so unconcerned it seemed at the time.

It's funny bc I've never been part of any online "world"...I didn't even do chat rooms or anything when the Internet was young. It took me a long time to embrace Facebook. I never posted on another site until the knot and then TD and here, but that's just been the last two years of my life really. I never played video games. So it's really foreign to me to even imagine the world in the book.

Especially the idea of creating someone different from myself...I can do the "best version of myself" thing but can't imagine changing things completely and living a real alter-ego (like gender for Aech). But it is temping to play around with...I wonder if in a world that was so disconnected and sad if it would be easier to do bc the real world connections are so thin?

[ellabee]

**siggy warning(mobile atm,sorry!)**


Resurrecting this thread to say: Steven Spielberg is doing a Ready Player One movie adaptation! So cool!!
m.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/