The massive success of 'Ready Player One' (along with the 2018 Steven Spielberg film that followed) created an interesting fictional problem for this writer who based his speculative work, set in 2045, on a very real-world pop culture. For me, it’s just another paint on my palette that I could use to connect with the reader and let them know that these characters that they read about exist in the same universe that they do.” And what I love about pop culture is it creates connections between people who have never met. I have been exposed to high culture, but it does not resonate with me - or with most people - the way that pop culture does. “I reference pop culture more than most writers because I make pop culture like a central element of the story somehow,” he says, adding: “I love pop culture it’s been my culture. “I am glad that technology does not exist yet so I don’t have to find out,” he says, adding: “Once this technology becomes a mind-altering substance, then it, too, will have to be regulated like a narcotic.”įor Cline, who was born the same year that 'Pong' appeared in arcades, pop culture is an inescapable component of who he is and how he reaches his readers. Then it would feel the same as reality and become highly addictive - especially since it would be a reality that you could have control over.”Ĭline, who admits that his own addiction to games in his 20s inspired his first novel, is not sure how he would take to the kind of virtual reality temptations he details in his new book. Then it becomes like you can’t tell the difference or feel the difference or smell or hear the difference. “When it becomes indistinguishable from reality. “That’s the end point in the evolution of video games and virtual reality,” Cline says. ONI is a highly addictive, potentially brain-damaging simulation that will change the world forever. This suppressed technology enables users to experience OASIS with all five senses, to record and even upload real-life experiences. In 'Ready Player Two,' our hero Wade Watts, who has gone from living the life of a poor gamer to winning control of the virtual reality system OASIS, finds out about a technology called ONI that has been kept from the public. Regarding the warnings of too much social media and screen time that seem sewn into his sequel, Cline says: “I try to show the good side and the bad side of technology, but this one is definitely more of a cautionary tale.”

Cline, who is married to poet Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz and has two daughters, says he actually has a love/hate relationship with the internet and its corresponding technology.

Ready player one author