worthwhile change from novel (spoilers)

One major change from the novel that I actually appreciated: the challenges were more clearly character tests than they were in the novel.

The first test emphasized Halliday's desire to "go backwards," specifically from the Og's last day with the OASIS company. He wanted the player to understand just how badly Halliday wanted to undo that mistake.

The second test required the player to overcome Halliday's own (11th favorite) fears and actually think of the other person's interests before his own (i.e., asking Karen to dance because it's what SHE would've wanted to do).

And the final test (A) required the player to appreciate the creator of a game rather than just finish it and (B) not sign the same contract that cost Halliday his only friend.

It was actually a pleasant surprise to me that the final lesson was the importance of friendship. Halliday's biggest regret was losing Og.

In the novel, Halliday still harbored a secret crush on Og's wife, but didn't seem to care that much about losing Og, or about anything else. The novel's tests were really just elaborate replays of Halliday's favorite movies, music and games, with no real deeper meaning.

Before I even finished it, I began to see the novel as an elaborate fanwank, a true "Mary Sue" story of a near-impossible quest that just happens to incorporate Cline's own favorite films, video games and Rush albums.

Embarrassingly, I only reached this opinion late in the novel because I didn't (and still don't) share Cline's love of that Rush album. Until then, I was totally into it, because I myself shared many of the same passions.