What do you think about LitRPGs?

[definiteFreakyFishGuy]

I have been familiar with manga / comics where game-like mechanics are part of the fiction for a while, but I actually had no idea this genre of fiction existed in the US. I only became aware of the term "LitRPG" because of discussions of Dungeon Crawler Carl in Enworld. I am mostly familiar with this genre from Japan (VRMMO?) or Korea (Game Fantasy?).

I can see how for some people, the game mechanics are an annoyance or an immersion breaker. On the other hand, it's hard for me to pinpoint how exactly the game mechanics contribute to the enjoyment of the fiction. For Solo Leveling or The Exiled Reincarnated Heavy Knight Is Unrivaled In Game Knowledge, the game mechanics are baked into the premise... but does that make the stories fun? Not sure.

I'm curious to hear what folks have to say about LitRPGs. Do you hate them? Do you love them? What makes you feel that way? Also interested in recommendations.

 

[Reynard]

While I like portal fantasy very much, I find the game mechanics intrusion to be distracting and annoying.

 

[Clint_L]

Normally not a fan, but Dungeon Crawler Carl makes it work by building the game mechanics into the entire premise. Though I would have called it "RPGLit." "LitRPG" makes me think of games based on literary properties, of which there are approximately a zillion.

 

[Desdichado]

I like the idea of Joel Rosenburg's series about some D&D players taking the place of their characters quite well back in the 80s, but LitRPGs are a bridge too far. The concept comes across as hoaky and kitschy to me.

 

[Parmandur]

It doesn't really work for me in the slightest, but I have nothing against it either. Just bemuses me and makes whatever work that does it just not work for me.

 

[Sossij]

It's not for me, I've seen joke references in zanier comic works where it did, but I can't see having a whole story run off of the idea. But other people can! And that's OK.

I'm not even huge on Isekai or the variants thereof, although at least one anime I like was basically that.

 

[Alzrius]

To my mind, the LitRPG format helps in very specific circumstances, as it evokes a similar feeling of tangible progress that you get in games, having a clear delineation for when a goal is accomplished and a reward obtained. That said, it generally only works if you identify with the protagonist fairly well, and even then the presentation of the mechanics needs to be handled in a way that doesn't ruin immersion.

 

[overgeeked]

Not really interested in LitRPG. Like at all. I read the first Dungeon Crawler Carl book and it was okay. Fun and funny read but the whole game mechanics as part of the story were really distracting. I’m more interested in the story games produce rather than the mechanics, so having a story based on the mechanics of games the worst of both worlds rather than the best. It's quite literally the opposite of what I’m interested in.

With the 5.1 SRD I’m surprised there aren’t more explicitly D&D-adjacent LitRPG novels.

When I think about LitRPG novels for some reason I remember that Philip K. Dick wrote Man in the High Castle using the I Ching. I wish there was a version of the novel that included the questions he asked, what he threw, and the answers given in the text. I think it would destroy the narrative flow, but it would be interesting as hell.

 

[MarkB]

It works better, and is better justified, in some stories than others. Overall, I find it somewhat orthogonal to whether a story is good or not, so I have no overall liking or dislike for the subgenre.

Where I don't like it is when it comes with a side order of simulationism - i.e. this world can be experienced through the lens of videogamesque interfaces because the whole world is just a game or simulation. I don't tend to jibe with that concept in fiction.

 

[Autumnal]

While I like portal fantasy very much, I find the game mechanics intrusion to be distracting and annoying.

This. I’ve liked portal fantasies almost as long as I’ve been able to read, long before the first isekai. LitRPGs just aren’t for me; I’ve tried several highly recommended ones, but as an old fart, I’m outside the culture - I don’t either sympathize with or care about the characters, the plot and setting tropes don’t grab me, I’m like that. I’m no the position of sf fans 30 years older to whom cyberpunk simply didn’t speak, while collegiate me snaffled it right up.