Wade's showdown with Acererak demonstrates his competitive drive to triumph over a computer program. It also acts as a microcosm for the entire Hunt, which is basically a computer program that can't improvise either.

There are no saves in real life, and the OASIS's lack of save points adds to the tension of the plot. Sure, it may not be real life, but sometimes the stakes are the same.

The whole egg Hunt is a game against Halliday. It's Halliday's legacy, giving him eternal fame. Or at least fame that will last as long as the OASIS does. But is this the kind of legacy people should be striving for? Can Halliday shake the fact that people also remember him as a disgruntled lover scorned?