It's weird that, in a way, by writing about video games, I get to develop them, too.
Interpretation
Writing about video games allows the author to explore and influence the creative process behind their development.
Ernest Cline's quote highlights the unique relationship between writing and game development, suggesting that the act of writing about video games can be an enriching experience that informs and shapes the creation of those games. This interplay between narrative and design reflects the deeper connection between storytelling and interactive experiences, emphasizing how creators can engage in both roles through their creativity and insights.
In practice
In a speech about creativity in technology, I used this quote to illustrate the interconnectedness of storytelling and game development.
As we continued to talk, going through the motions of getting to know each other, I realized that we already did know each other, as well as any two people could. Weβd known each other for years, in the most intimate way possible. Weβd connected on a purely mental level. I understood her, trusted her, and loved her as a dear friend. None of that had changed, or could be changed by anything as inconsequential as her gender, or skin color, or sexual orientation.
When you're hanging out with your friends, you reference books and movies, and you don't always know if your friends know what you're referencing. But you throw it out there, and if it connects, it makes people laugh.
I notice when I'm at a party where I don't know anybody - even if I have nothing in common with somebody - we can still talk because we were raised by the same TV and cartoons and movies.
I felt like a kid standing in the world's greatest video arcade without any quarters, unable to do anything but walk around and watch the other kids play.
In a book, you can describe a scene and have any song you want playing on the radio and have any painting you want hanging on the wall. That was really freeing to me when I was writing 'Ready Player One.' I could throw in everything that I love.
I don't do fashion, I'm fashion
In my younger days, I was trying to write sophisticated prose and fantastic stories.
To see the butcher slap the steak before he laid it on the block, and give his knife a sharpening, was to forget breakfast instantly. It was agreeable too - it really was - to see him cut it off so smooth and juicy. There was nothing savage in the act, although the knife was large and keen; it was a piece of art, high art; there was delicacy of touch, clearness of tone, skilful handling of the subject, fine shading. It was the triumph of mind over matter; quite.
I wish I could write. I get these ideas but I never seem to be able to put them in words.
I'm not a classical player. I don't want to be a classical player. I love to improvise, because things happen that never happen anywhere else.
The painting is finished when the idea has disappeared.
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