Book-to-movie adaptations, four words that usually spell disaster. It seems like for as many (though few) good adaptation that exist like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, they’re outnumbered by five or more of questionable quality such as The Davinci Code, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and The Great Gatsby (2013). Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of fans more than hearing that a book they love is being adapted into a film. We’ve all seen one disappointment after another, enough so that any time a variation on the phrase “based on the bestselling novel” is shown, expectations plummet faster than that treasured piece of literature tied to a rock and thrown from the side of a cliff. This is all the more reason why when I became aware that Ready Player One by Earnest Cline was being made into a movie, I was immediately split on this choice. However, my expectations changed a bit after I heard that Steven Spielberg was behind the project itself, followed by the first trailer that got my attention.

Let’s start with the plot before we go into comparing the book to the movie. The year is 2044, and video game technology has far surpass that which we have now. Similar to Sword Art Online, VR gaming has taken over and become more immersive than ever before through the use of a headset to put the Oculus Rift to shame, suits that give feedback to what happens within the game, the ability to scan the player and their actions into the game, and omnidirectional treadmills to simulate movement in the game. Xbox Kinect this is not. This breakthrough took the world by storm with most of the population immersing themselves. Two guys by the name of James Halliday and Ogden Morrow created a virtual world where anyone can be anything and everything is possible with no limit to what the players can do. This virtual haven was dubbed the Oasis. Eventually, a few business deals and some disagreements caused Morrow to, in essence, fade out of the project with James regarded as a god among the players in the Oasis for creating it.

Upon Halliday’s death, a message appeared in the Oasis stating that when he was developing The Oasis, he hid what’s known in the gaming scene as an Easter egg. (Side note: For those not fluent in video games, an Easter egg is a secret tucked away that the player can find, usually taking the form of a reference, a joke, or sometimes even a hidden item.) However, unlike most which typically give the player an achievement/trophy or some kind of neat weapon, this coveted egg Halliday hid away grants ownership of the Oasis and every single one of his shares in Gregarious Games (Halliday’s company behind the Oasis). With this, every single player in the game collectively dropped their actions and became egg hunters, referred to as Gunters. When the news of this let out, IOI (the largest Internet service provider) immediately began seeking the egg as well, but for their own personal business gains rather than for the sake of the fate of the Oasis, stopping at nothing to get it. To achieve this, they’ve been using the debt of those they provide Internet for by enlisting them into a group called the Sixers (named after the numbers that are displayed on their in-game outfit that always start with 6) with the intent of having them find the egg and working them into more and more debt with the false promise of paying it off.

The story itself follows a teenager named Wade living in a place called the Stacks, piecing together his own setup and living out his days in the Oasis, attempting to make some headway with finding the keys. Within The Oasis, he isn’t part of any kind of guild, but he is often joined by his mechanic friend, Aech, and their two companions, Daito and Sho. Along his quest to find the keys, Wade (or Parzival which is his username in the Oasis) meets Art3mis, a famous Internet personality (whom he’s a fan of) known for creating walkthroughs and livestreams. As Wade begins to make more and more progress in finding the keys, she decides to join him, seeing how at least some progress is being made as well as a shared hatred for IOI.

Anyways, onto the differences between the two. The first major difference that many would recognize if they read the book is where it’s set. While the location of IOI and the Oasis headquarters IS in fact Columbus, Ohio, the Stacks (Wade’s home) is in Oklahoma City. However, the largest difference is the trials to find each key. I’m issuing a spoiler warning here for those who care about the reveal of each. In the book, the copper key is located within a recreation of a Dungeons & Dragons quest found in Ludus, a planet in The Oasis that’s home to a high-school. Upon completing the quest, they were faced with a virtual recreation of Halliday who challenged them to a match of the arcade game Joust. Achieving a higher score than him rewarded them with a key. Similar to that, the second and third key quest were different as well. Instead of the jade key being located within the Overlook Hotel within a Shining recreation, it’s located in a game of Zork (a famous text-based adventure game) that’s in 3D, by finding a plastic whistle within a box of cereal in the game. The final key (in the book) isn’t in the game Adventure for the Atari 2600, but rather, it involves the lyrics to “The Temples of Syrinx” by Rush, a Voight-Kampff machine (from Blade Runner), and a realistic recreation of the game Black Tiger. The last major difference is the death of Daito in the book, something that was foregone in the film. Though those were only the major differences, there are many minor or miniscule differences that can be pointed out as well. The real question is how the movie faired, not comparing it to the book.

Despite what I just said, I think that the changes made in terms of the quests was a smart move on Spielberg’s part since I’m not sure movie goers would be too invested in or captivated by screen adaptations of the book’s quests. Regardless, the film itself is visually astounding, looking incredibly accurate to what I (as someone who read the book) would imagine the Oasis looks like. Speaking of which, the definitive way of seeing this movie is for sure in 3D; everything is so immersive and the action segments are boosted far past how exciting the trailers even could have made them look. The race was extremely captivating and a thrill to watch, the Overlook segment was very well-done and caused a genuine jump from me during the hedge maze section, and the final battle was spectacular, though to someone who is familiar with video games and obscure history with them, the final key’s location was rather anticlimactic and kind of disappointing. The pacing was just right, in my opinion, and I appreciate the cinematography. On the topic of things viewers notice, Ready Player One is an homage to all different kinds of nerd culture which is what draws many to it. From video games to movies, and even anime, nothing is spared from a feature of some sort. To list off a couple, a group of Spartans from Halo can be seen charging into battle together, the room where the egg resides contains golden statues of Mortal Kombat characters, Ruby Rose from RWBY can be seen with her trademark scythe (the Crescent Rose) during the final battle, the Joker and Harley Quinn from DC comics can be seen in the Distracted Globe along with the Arkham Knight (Batman: Arkham Knight), and the appearance of King Kong as an obstacle in the race for the copper key.

If you read this article, you’d know by now that I’d recommend watching the movie, but reading the book first is a good point to enter into the realm of the series. Note that I said series since Ernest Cline (the author of Ready Player One) announced that a second book is in the works. Go read the book, it’s awesome, the movie is a real treat for fans or pop culture fanatics, and I’d say that it’s worth your time.