Ready Player One, a film by Steven Spielberg based on the book by Ernest Cline, is set in the year 2045. The world in this dystopian future is on the brink of crumbling due to overpopulation. This however, does not inhibit technology from continuing. People find peace in the OASIS, where they distract themselves from the real world problems that surround their daily lives. The OASIS is a virtual reality that was created by James Halliday. Halliday along with Ogden Morrow, his best friend, they created Gregarious Games which would later become Gregarious Simulation Systems, the company that launched the OASIS.

The similarities between the book and the movie is that upon Halliday’s death, he leaves a video that entails the details of how to win the Easter Egg hidden somewhere in the OASIS and the prize that comes with it. The video is displayed for all the public to view and participate in. It isn’t an easy task, but whoever does find the egg will obtain Halliday’s massive fortune. This sparks an open contest for the whole world to participate in that lasts shortly. Innovative Online Industries run by Nolan Sorrento, a former intern of Halliday’s, plans to win the egg and charge for access to the OASIS. Wade Watts is a teenager and the first to find the first of three keys on the competition for the Easter Egg.

However, these journeys differ based on if you read the book or watched the movie. I did both and there are some major differences. For one, the book has many references that one has to look up in order to understand (unless you lived during the 80s). In the movie, there are still some references that are out of date, but still relevant enough to not have to look up. This is understandable, as not everyone is into the gaming world and therefore would not be able to understand all the references made in the book.

The most prevalent difference the book and the movie is that the challenges are completely different. The first of the keys to be found was the Copper Key which was first mentioned in Halliday’s, or Anorak’s as he went by in the Oasis, invitation. In the book, Wade has to figure out where the key is, and once he does, he has to complete two tasks to pass through the first gate. In the movie, he only needs to complete one task and he figures out what he has to do by watching a video of Halliday.

While I preferred the two-step process in the book, I can understand that it may not have translated well to the screen and there were probably movie rights issues. However, I didn’t dislike how he got the first key in the movie. I can understand substituting a race for playing a video game.

Despite this major difference the general idea of Cline’s novel is present throughout the movie. It is obvious that creating a movie exactly as the book depicts would be time consuming and very long. Furthermore, copyright issues would be involved which is a very difficult practice. All in all, all the elements of the challenge to save the OASIS are present. We understood the movie, so what else could we have asked for?

In my opinion, both the book and the movie were great. I enjoyed the book a lot because I read it with my friends. When I was confused on a part of the book or a reference that was mentioned I had friends who I could ask. The movie was enjoyable as well because even though it was different from the book, I was excited to know what would come next. Overall, the book and the movie were both amazing and I highly recommend reading and watching both.

By Esther Martinez