Dystopian Future

Dystopia is a gloomy way to imagine the world in the future. Dystopia with science fiction produces intellect about technical obstacles that may ruin humankind. The possibilities and grandeur of science and technology are intertwined with the negative emotions of anxiety, dread, and unhealthful surroundings. A world of machines where people have wrecked themselves and their lives are in peril is created as the architecture collapses. Science fiction’s melding of dystopian futures transports viewers to more amazing settings where obstacles resemble survival tasks and life becomes drab and uninspiring.

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Ready Player One shows a Dystopian Future where people in 2045 live in a Virtual reality game called OASIS. The goal is to save Oasis. The outer physical world is collapsing with poverty, hunger, and mass infrastructure destruction that’s why people use to go towards virtual reality games to save them from the outer world. The villain Wade who is running a company called IOI is trying to take over Oasis which directly points people to escape the game and move back to the real world.

Nostalgic-Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has taken over the hand-drawn methods to show the future vision entitling architecture to new heights. Virtual Reality is computer computer-generated program where one can see a detailed version of the desired future. The Human senses are triggered and tricked to understand and comprehend the difference between the real world and the technological mystery. Virtual reality takes humans on a ride to a perfect world where one can enjoy watching things for hours without recognizing their real-time in the physical world.

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The Ready Player One exactly used the same theme to showcase how people escape the matrix of the real world and enjoy the tempting virtual world where everything is designed which provide the necessary stimulation to their desires. The Oasis is a game where people enjoy the new world which is truly a dream world everything is balanced and beautiful but it also alarms to that people to get addicted to VR and be unable to recognize the physical world and the problems around it.

OASIS- A World of Desires

The creator of the OASIS virtual game James Halliday inspired by the elements used in POP culture of 1980 references from games, TV shows, and movies; notable examples being those of The Iron Giant, Godzilla, Back to the Future, and The Shining.

The Oasis is a virtual world and a creation that stimulates and manifests the senses by exposing the desired world painted by individuals. It is a blank canvas and everything is designed as per the wish of the Player. The cityscape in the Oasis is expressed in modernist, neo-classical and brutalist architecture. 

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Oasis- Virtual world_https://www.artstation.com/artwork/1J6LL

The Oasis creates Net zero ground for players to build their own identity and the world. In Oasis there is no hierarchy; anyone can build whatever they wish for and by managing their skills they can build their world from energy resources, houses, and policies to the government itself. Oasis also provides freedom to change the face and body type. They call it an avatar; it gives players enormous confidence to experience their freedom which they may not experience in the real physical world.

Maze, Challenges and Easter Egg

Easter egg is the ultimate goal of the players in Oasis. Easter egg holds the power of administration of the whole Oasis world. The secret to finding the easter egg is hidden with Halliday’s death. Every player needs to find three keys to reach the easter egg. Halliday design challenges having a poem as a clue to find the keys. Adventure starts with every clue to reach towards keys.

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The first challenge is a race to reach Central Park starting with New York City. A Player who reaches Central Park first wins. The race is filled with challenges and traps that knock cars off the roads a T-Rex and King Kong. King Kong is a final challenge that proved to be impossible to beat.

In the Second challenge, the player needs to enter the Halliday journals and request the movies from the week of November 23-27,2025, the week in which the failed date occurred. Among the choices is the remake of The Fly, Say Anything and The Shining.

The Third challenge is the last and there after player can able to get an easter egg. To get the crystal key the player must reach the easter egg in adventure. Halliday announced initially that to win the easter egg one needs to complete adventures if any other attempt tries the player breaks and zeroes them out in a minute. Also, if players play to win instead of getting an easter egg they are dropped through the ice as well.

Conclusion:

Ready Player One is inspired by a dystopian future the virtual reality paved platform to express the intensity of thought behind the dystopian future and technological abilities and challenges.

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Ready Player One shows the architectural style that expresses futurism and modernism. Building and infrastructure which is heavily dependent on technological innovations. It also shows the rustic outlook of the physical world where ruins are everywhere and human life is devasted.

The pop culture used to create challenges is the main plot of the movie where King Kong and cities play major roles to exemplify the effect of adventure. The architecture in the metaverse looks more like tricking human senses and playing around the desires of individuals.

References:

VR: A new way of working or living? (no date) JAKE TAYLOR ARCHITECTURE. Available at: https://www.jaketaylorarchitecture.com/vr-a-new-way-of-working-or-living (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Meek, T. (2018) ‘ready player one’: A pop culture pastiche lacking the power-ups it needs to be iconic, Cambridge Day. Available at: https://www.cambridgeday.com/2018/03/30/ready-player-one-a-pop-culture-pastiche-lacking-the-power-ups-it-needs-to-be-iconic/ (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Wren, J. (2018) Ready player one, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@wrenja73/ready-player-one-f44ba85aada7 (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Palomo Beltrán, C. and Reséndiz Vázquez, A. (no date) El Espacio entre la pantalla y la arquitectura, Arquitecturas del sur. Available at: https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0719-64662022000100070&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Xaya (2018) Creating ready player one’s oasis in a decentralized reality, Medium. Available at: https://xaya.medium.com/creating-ready-player-ones-oasis-in-a-decentralized-reality-8784092e40fb (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Edelstein, D. (2018) Ready player one is a lively and agreeable work of fanboy art, Vulture. Available at: https://www.vulture.com/2018/03/ready-player-one-review.html (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Vashi, V. (2023) An architectural review of Ready Player one, RTF | Rethinking The Future. Available at: https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-architectural-reviews/a6062-an-architectural-review-of-ready-player-one/ (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Wilkinson, A. (2018) Ready player one is a fun romp that’s even more dystopian than it realizes, Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/29/17171778/ready-player-one-review-nostalgia-dystopia (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

Beware the weaponized nostalgia of ‘Ready player one’ (no date) Fatherly. Available at: https://www.fatherly.com/play/ready-player-one-1980s-pop-culture-nostalgia (Accessed: 04 January 2024). 

 

Author

Yash, a creative seeker, is interested in incorporating human-centric research into innovative design ideation. Beyond the drafting board, he explores uncharted territories, unravelling stories within structures and cultures. Yash envisions a journey where each architectural stroke unveils narratives resonating with the pulse of humanity, transforming spaces into profound experiences.