I was unaware that there was a separate genre for things like SAO. That's good to know.However, also to correct the above post, some GameLit novels like Sword Art Online are great because they focus on the story while infusing 'Game-like elements' like magical spells and weapon names(without bogging you down with multiple lines of stats). If you don't like LitRPGs, I'd suggest looking at GameLit novels/LNs.
I would suggest that life and death everything ruins the stories tension. Why?I'm sick of struggle. Why does everything have to be a life or death conflict? Failing that, why do relationships and jobs have to be horrific slogs of an uphill battle? Some things don't have to be difficult. I don't want to read a story where the MC has to choose between his sick mother and a city of innocent people. That choice is boring to me. If I wanted that, I'd give up on fiction and stick to real life. At least then my misery would 'feel earned' (Sorry, that's a joke).
It's really funny, because the reason I usually avoid LitRPG is because it does all the things people hate it for supposedly not doing.
The rest I don't particularly care about. My mini-rant is over now.
- There's a constant struggle for more power, more levels, more skills and abilities. You can say that struggle is meaningless, but I'd argue that all struggle is meaningless.
- You're constantly being forced to choose between classes or evolutions or skills or stats, when it would be more reasonable to be able to do everything or respec as convenient. Where's my damn second character slot?!
- The genre is built on the concept of 'earning your reward', when irl, nothing is earned. You can spend your whole life doing back breaking labor, and come out of it old, crippled and hopeless. I do like the idea that working hard will give you a reward, but I'd prefer that everyone just get what they want no questions asked. It feels like making a dog jump through hoops just to get a treat.
- Dungeons are weird though. Conceptually, I see them as a sandbox game, with a protagonist and antagonists. It's weird. I like a dungeon that makes me want to be the DM. That's all.
If you have multiple MCs, some of them can die.Plot point: MC, If I don't succeed here I will die.
Reader: Wait, there are 100 more pages. Will he really die here?
Surprise surprise, MC doesn't die.
Plot point 2: MC, If I don't succeed here I will die. Epic life and death struggling!
Reader: Wait, I'm not even halfway through, MC doesn't die.
It can if you start it out as a power fantasy but slowly reveal details in the system to mentally and physically torture the MC.Bad litrpg may be good for internet views, but it will never be anything more than that. At least not if you’re writing in English. Litrpg power fantasy trend chasing doesn’t let the author aspire to be anything higher. It’s fine for people who don’t desire any form of legitimacy
A character needs to struggle...
Wrote this while waiting for someone to get out of the 1 shower in my building with water pressure that isn’t comparable to what you’d find in a Siberian gulag. I took all my unhinged anger and just funneled it towards litrpg fans.
You know, it is readers like you that make me SOOO tempted to just say: Alright, let's just end the story here. I will kill off my protagonist. And then make a bunch of filler chapters for enjoyment and throwing people off into thinking they have a bunch of story left.I would suggest that life and death everything ruins the stories tension. Why?
Plot point: MC, If I don't succeed here I will die.
Reader: Wait, there are 100 more pages. Will he really die here?
Surprise surprise, MC doesn't die.
Plot point 2: MC, If I don't succeed here I will die. Epic life and death struggling!
Reader: Wait, I'm not even halfway through, MC doesn't die.
Real tension: 30 mins until work.... bathroom is in use by roommate who takes exceptionally long showers. Does the MC of the story risk being late or go to work stinky?
I don't know, they could do either. Knowing there are 100 more pages doesn't give me a clue.
It is a bit silly. It's like saying there is no tension in LOTR or Hobbit because you know they will beat bad guy in the end.You know, it is readers like you that make me SOOO tempted to just say: Alright, let's just end the story here. I will kill off my protagonist. And then make a bunch of filler chapters for enjoyment and throwing people off into thinking they have a bunch of story left.
Maybe then you'll be able to immerse yourself in the tension of the story, and not fall out of it when you see how much story you have left.
Mini-rant aside, I'm SUPER tired, so my phrasing probably sounds really angry. I'm NOT angry at all. Just no filter. Sorry,
I don't think it is silly. Frondo may have plot armor but there are a lot of others. Also early on the hook is not to defeat sauron but to keep the ring away from him while avoiding becoming a ring wraith.It is a bit silly. It's like saying there is no tension in LOTR or Hobbit because you know they will beat bad guy in the end.
There are plenty of ways to make the stakes believable, though. It just can't be life and death or the fate of the planet. Unless it's the final fight, the audience knows (or at least think they know) that the author won't kill off the MC or let the bad guy destroy the world. But the MC losing a limb? A side character's life? The MC's hometown? They're fair game. Believable stakes.You know, it is readers like you that make me SOOO tempted to just say: Alright, let's just end the story here. I will kill off my protagonist. And then make a bunch of filler chapters for enjoyment and throwing people off into thinking they have a bunch of story left.
Maybe then you'll be able to immerse yourself in the tension of the story, and not fall out of it when you see how much story you have left.
Mini-rant aside, I'm SUPER tired, so my phrasing probably sounds really angry. I'm NOT angry at all. Just no filter. Sorry,
The grass near me isn't ready to be touched yet.There are still people who write serious replies in this thread? Go touch grass.
I already knew those ways. I was not commenting on the usage of those. I have used loss of limb and death of important characters to raise stakes drastically in my own story before.There are plenty of ways to make the stakes believable, though. It just can't be life and death or the fate of the planet. Unless it's the final fight, the audience knows (or at least think they know) that the author won't kill off the MC or let the bad guy destroy the world. But the MC losing a limb? A side character's life? The MC's hometown? They're fair game. Believable stakes.
Relatable.The grass near me isn't ready to be touched yet.
Got to get consent first.The grass near me isn't ready to be touched yet.