System novels are annoying

[Le_ther]

Is it me being bias or system novels are quite disgusting. I know it is good when used proficiently or related to the plot but most authors I see use it as a form of power up button and a plot hole solver. It's very frustating to see a good premise but then a system comes in and just destroy the power scaling in less than 1 minute of reading. So I wanna hear some opinions to others about this because it gets tiring to think about it. I wanna know whenever game systems in novels are good or bad.

 

[SailusGebel]

Yes.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Ready Player One: good example of a system novel because it actually has rules that affect the plot and players throughout the game. Most bad characters are companies using slave labor and abusing the system with money made by utilizing said slave labor. MC only succeeds due to fanboy knowledge, understanding that the system shouldn't be abused, and acts of terrorism against slave companies. The movie was still not that great.

God of the System: bad example of a system novel as it's system is janky and is only used to scale down the enemies and scale up the MC. Little to no tension(besides emotional tension that does make sense for the characters) and MC is still good despite killing tons of people who he handicapped through the system.

Solo Leveling: good and bad example of a system novel. The start was phenomenal with great setup and a proper system. After the first book it starts going downhill for the same reasons as God of the System. Getting progressively worse at it continued.

I am simply using the Webnovel God of the System as a placeholder. It's still bad but it's definitely better than a lot of other system novels.

 

[SailusGebel]

Solo Leveling: good and bad example of a system novel. The start was phenomenal with great setup and a proper system. After the first book it starts going downhill for the same reasons as God of the System. Getting progressively worse at it continued.

 

[Aaqil]

The movie was still not that great.

Indeed, the book was much better,

 

[WinterTimeCrime]

Same with system anime like Reincarnated as a Slime or So, I'm a Spider So What? - Insignificant characters with overpowered progression making decisions whether dumb or out of character seem reasonable due to their plot armor shielding any relevance of character development.

And with system novels, I have yet to see one that keeps the leveling aspect to a minimum so pages aren't filled with various wacky phrases and statistics. I can't get immersed in literature that way, literally using all that bio about moves for word count when the world-building and characters are doo doo water.

Atrocious, really.

 

[Sola-sama]

I too, have found some interesting premise only for the system to mess that shit up. Most system novel seemed like lazy writing and too much plot armor. For example, Gourmet in Another World: the system almost always give out a mission that grant reward perfect to solve the predicament so conveniently that it become too repetitive, predictable and boring.
As for the 'good' system, Experimental Log of Crazy Lich is one of them imo. The author was able to somehow made the system's existence relevant to the plot, but not messing up the power scale. Also, Beifeng did nothing wrong, he just wanted to spread love.

 

[SailusGebel]

As for the 'good' system, Experimental Log of Crazy Lich is one of them imo.

Good system but a mediocre story.

 

[Zirrboy]

 

[NotaNuffian]

Wait, what are the differences between System novels vs LitRPG novels?

To me, the both have the same table/ list that arbitrary dictate the MC's (and on super rare occasions, other characters') simplified bodily functions and strengths. The numbers don't matter, especially when all they can do is go up.

That and System novels often have crap like Quests for the MC to become more IMBA?

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Is it me being bias or system novels are quite disgusting. I know it is good when used proficiently or related to the plot but most authors I see use it as a form of power up button and a plot hole solver. It's very frustating to see a good premise but then a system comes in and just destroy the power scaling in less than 1 minute of reading. So I wanna hear some opinions to others about this because it gets tiring to think about it. I wanna know whenever game systems in novels are good or bad.

No.

 

[Vnator]

You all make some interesting points. Im trying to write my own story where the system is badly put together on purpose and despite it meant for something very specific, the main character has to find loopholes to use it for what he actually wants.

I still make him work for any advantage he needs out of it, and he still needs to be clever to make proper use of it.

Hopefully it tickles y'all's fancies!
(It's about a decent guy sent to a world out of an ero game/porno and as he tries to live a decent life uncovers the dark underbelly of such a society. He uses a system designed to get laid to fight the mob instead. No smut!)

 

[Anon2024]

I loathe system novels that focus on fighting
I can read them in comics here and there but having a "stat sheet" every chapter or two taking up words is annoying. It's the same reason I don't read litRPG's.

I think systems and litRPG's are just an evolution of cultivation novels where your cultivation is essentially your level. It's the newer cultivation levels.

Most of the time though, system novels focus too much on the system and very little on the character, or it drags the story and plot along at a pace I find irritating.

Oh yeah. The one System Novel I really enjoyed was "Losing money to become a Tycoon" because it wasn't a battle system but a money system. I think money system novels are more interesting overall because it focuses on social interactions rather than being an overpowered battler.

 

[Viator]

I don't think it's bias. Few use the system convention well. I always think that a system is probably best put in place as a sort of antagonist for the character. It is not a friendly thing in my mind. A system is a tyrant offering seemingly easy power at the price of total control, shackling the characters within the laws of it's warped reality. A thing of cold calculation and uncertain intent. A seemingly pleasant and invisible prison that constrains the will of the characters quietly.

 

[OP1000]

I don't think it's bias. Few use the system convention we'll. I always think that a system is probably best put in place as a sort of antagonist for the character. It is not a friendly thing in my mind. A system is a tyrant offering seemingly easy power at the price of total control, shackling the characters within the laws of it's warped reality. A thing of cold calculation and uncertain intent. A seemingly pleasant and invisible prison that constrains the will of the characters quietly.

This would be an interesting way to see system novels.

 

[FoxxieFox]

Owlnother World | Royal Road

In a hospital bed somewhere on Earth, I breathed my last breath. Or at least I thought I did. Then suddenly, I was flying through a void of nothing. As I landed in a new world, my life as an owl had started. Follow this girl on her journey in a new world, with a new life as she explores...

www.royalroad.com

This story does a decent job at the system thing.. The system is just a local power that provides a way to gather power and there are ways to get more powerful without it. I like it anyway…

I feel like there are many good stories that have LitRPG elements exist.

 

[Zinless]

I don't think it's bias. Few use the system convention we'll. I always think that a system is probably best put in place as a sort of antagonist for the character. It is not a friendly thing in my mind. A system is a tyrant offering seemingly easy power at the price of total control, shackling the characters within the laws of it's warped reality. A thing of cold calculation and uncertain intent. A seemingly pleasant and invisible prison that constrains the will of the characters quietly.

kind of like So I'm a spider, so what?
LN SPOILER ALERT :

Spoiler: Volume 9-10(?)

To become a god is to break free of the world's system. Kumoko achieved godhood after swallowing an atomic bomb, but lost access of her skill because she's no longer hooked onto the system. But she doesn't lose it, she just can't use it like she used to (cast it through the system). She just need to learn how use the skills with her thought without the help of a system, which she accidentally did when she got drunk.

Basically, the system is a limiter in that world.

 

[rain-090]

kind of like So I'm a spider, so what?
LN SPOILER ALERT :

Spoiler: Volume 9-10(?)

To become a god is to break free of the world's system. Kumoko achieved godhood after swallowing an atomic bomb, but lost access of her skill because she's no longer hooked onto the system. But she doesn't lose it, she just can't use it like she used to (cast it through the system). She just need to learn how use the skills with her thought without the help of a system, which she accidentally did when she got drunk.

Basically, the system is basically a limiter in that world.

wasnt the system not even real power either? Wasnt it basically just a bunch of god code that says this attack does this damage instead of havinga real effect

 

[RockiesRetriever]

Is it me being bias or system novels are quite disgusting. I know it is good when used proficiently or related to the plot but most authors I see use it as a form of power up button and a plot hole solver. It's very frustating to see a good premise but then a system comes in and just destroy the power scaling in less than 1 minute of reading. So I wanna hear some opinions to others about this because it gets tiring to think about it. I wanna know whenever game systems in novels are good or bad.

I just find the whole premise of a lit rpg really odd. The whole purpose of putting stats into stories is to make it interactive. You are doing a choose your own adventure, D&D, etc sort of thing and you want to be able to track the person's stats. In a book, the reader is not in control, it is the author. You can take the stats out and just have a traditional story structure. You do not need to have a stat sheet showing that our MC has gone up three points in swordfighting, you just need to say he's been training with the sword - or even better, describe in an action scene subtle ways he has improved.

I can only assume the reason these novels are so popular is because they give the little dopamine hit you get when you're playing an rpg. We like the feeling of leveling up, and it's a very blatant obvious way to show the MC is getting stronger. My disdain for this is similar to why I don't really watch let's plays of rpgs. I don't get much out of the youtuber trying to decide where they want to put their skill points. When I do watch people play games, it's because they are funny and interesting, they're doing some spin on the game, doing a fun challenge, etc.

It is a different strokes for different folks thing here, but generally, I prefer traditional narratives - and tacked onto that, lit rpgs also seem to fall into the trap of the overpowered character, which I find extremely uninteresting.

 

[FaustVoncleave]

Yo, my favorite system writing error is whenever a system can give skills for a resource, but then the author makes it too easy to get said resources and just stop mentioning the skills, it always makes me laugh.
In all seriousness though, I find systems annoying because writers often use it as a crutch and few of them actually explore it in any meaningful way. Like you said, I know there are some that do it well, but I've seen so many bad ones that I get reluctant when I see the system tag. Personally, when I find a system novel I do like it usually because, A, they have the system as part of the setting that everyone has AND actually makes the mc work in the rules of said setting, B, have the system come with a MEANINGFUL price, C, has the system be sentient and function as a duo protagonist, or D, is a particularly interesting system. Some examples are Death and Me which is a mix of B and C, Illumination a naruto story which is B, Tree of Aeon which is A, Absolute Great Teacher which is D, and Wake of the Ravager which is all of the above. Now these novels differ quite a bit in terms of quality, but the system aspect, at least, I feel they all handled quite well and made it actually benefit the story.