litrpg tips from someone who hates litrg (unhinged rambling)

[Numero]

I don't know what's going on, but I like this! :D

 

[Lloyd]

I'm not a big fan of OP MC either.

 

[DarkDuck09]

There's been a handful of LitRPG novels I've enjoyed. The first and most prevalent would be SAO (especially the Progressive series). LitRPG done in a way that makes a modicum of sense can be pretty good, but I also have very particular tastes and am not about to write a novel ranting about LitRPG fans.

SAO to me makes sense because it's a game world. The homie (Kirito) is literally PLAYING a game. His struggle is almost never external, and I'm a sucker for some good internal struggle. The LitRPG portions of the novels make sense here, and even then they're not over the top with formatting and lists.

I forget the name of it but there was a novel I read once where the LitRPG aspects came in the form of a phone. The world was completely normal and contemporary but the MC could get levels, items, etc through their phone as they went around and did things. I thought that was a pretty cool take on the genre.

Shield Hero (anime) is pretty good. I enjoyed it, but again, all the struggle is internal. The MC's main external struggles are usually caused by the other heroes that were summoned to the world. It was a pretty interesting take.

My biggest complaint about the genre honestly is that it's too easy for authors to fall into lazy writing with it. Of the few that I've read outside of the three I just mentioned, at some point the LitRPG mechanics itself stop or ruin the story. The party encounters a dragon that is actively trying to eat them and the homie is sitting there with a screen open for 2 pages deciding if they want to enhance their genitals for their harem or get some extra attack power. But that isn't a problem with the genre itself, just a pitfall that is easy to fall into within it. Every genre has them.

 

[WinterTimeCrime]

I dislike LitRPGs simply because the genres' authors overlook vital elements to a good story (like character development and world-building) and fluff it out with several lines of numbers, nuanced progression, and the promise of overpowered MCs, harems, and prestigious ranks.

But I'm no idiot. People want to turn off their brains when they read stuff like that, and hey, let them. It's your brain. Feed whatever sloop you want to feed it.

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.

 

[DarkDuck09]

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 was unaware that there was a separate genre for things like SAO. That's good to know.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

I just read this whole thread.

 

[melchi]

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.

• 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.

The rest I don't particularly care about. My mini-rant is over now.

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.

 

[AYM]

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.

If you have multiple MCs, some of them can die.

 

[2wordsperminute]

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

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.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

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.

​

I laughed so hard!
-- Mainly because I agree with every single point you made.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

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.

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,

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

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,

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.

 

[melchi]

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.

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 was uncertain if that would be the end or not so the tension felt real.

 

[2wordsperminute]

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,

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.

 

[SailusGebel]

There are still people who write serious replies in this thread? Go touch grass.

 

[Sleds]

By thinking like this, what happen if soemone write a story when the MC reincarnate each time he die? Like he struggle in every lives but the readers doesn't know when he will fail and die. The readers thoughts wouldn't be oriented toward "I know he would win but how?" but more into "Does he going to win or are we going toward the next live?"

Now that I think about it, it can even frustrate readers if use correctly by forming relationship in every reincarnation of the MC.

We can play with the dude and torture him however we want since we can kill him several time


I'm starting to have a sudden urge to write a new story

 

[2wordsperminute]

There are still people who write serious replies in this thread? Go touch grass.

The grass near me isn't ready to be touched yet.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

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.

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.

My whole intention is that, if you feel the life-or-death stakes are not believable, then maybe I should fix that. If you are too adult and keep getting hung up on that, then I should make them believable by making the consequence of my life-or-death stakes be the main character dying. And then, just need to make a bunch of chapters that convince that this should not be the end of the story, but it is actually all the side characters having to deal with the consequences of the main character's death.

 

[SailusGebel]

The grass near me isn't ready to be touched yet.

Relatable.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

The grass near me isn't ready to be touched yet.

Got to get consent first.