The VR Genre

[Anon2024]

So I've encountered several VR stories on SH, Manwha, Webnovel, and other places. I've been trying to understand the appeal of it, now there are some that have appeal like the "Arcane Sniper" manwha, but even with that I kept feeling like it got lame as the story went on. I'm more invested in the character finding meaning in his life over his actual sniping in-game.

What if everyone just stops playing the game?
I mean.
It's not just the stats like a litRPG that makes it annoying but the fact that eventually people question whether someone can actually die or not. Then again, I'm not someone who has played any MMO's (because I had to go to school and get a job to survive) so perhaps that's why it doesn't appeal to me.

Anyone who have VR stories appeal that can explain to me their appeal?

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

I think VR stories are fun. It is kind of like isekai without going to the otherworld. At least a few of them I have read are like that. Personally, I prefer the ones that also explore a bit of their real life too.

 

[Anon2024]

I think VR stories are fun. It is kind of like isekai without going to the otherworld. At least a few of them I have read are like that. Personally, I prefer the ones that also explore a bit of their real life too.

Hmm... I guess it's a low stakes fun type thing.

 

[HelloHound]

like an isekai story but with an exit door

 

[Anon2024]

like an isekai story but with an exit door

Why can't it just be a guy with a portal to another isekai to do stuff and come back then? Lol. Like Sliders or something.
I'm not picking on you, I'm just trying to separate the distinction.

 

[HelloHound]

Why can't it just be a guy with a portal to another isekai to do stuff and come back then? Lol. Like Sliders or something.

there are a couple where it's kinda like Narnia with a closet or something as a portal/doorway but those are relatively rare and they tend to choose one world over another
mildly related but branching thought I remember seeing Sliders as a kid but boy a lot of those episodes have some implications according to my memories of it

 

[lnv]

So I've encountered several VR stories on SH, Manwha, Webnovel, and other places. I've been trying to understand the appeal of it, now there are some that have appeal like the "Arcane Sniper" manwha, but even with that I kept feeling like it got lame as the story went on. I'm more invested in the character finding meaning in his life over his actual sniping in-game.

What if everyone just stops playing the game?
I mean.
It's not just the stats like a litRPG that makes it annoying but the fact that eventually people question whether someone can actually die or not. Then again, I'm not someone who has played any MMO's (because I had to go to school and get a job to survive) so perhaps that's why it doesn't appeal to me.

Anyone who have VR stories appeal that can explain to me their appeal?

I like litrpg but could never make sense of VR stories unless they are literally trapped in the VR. Cause you know, there is little suspense when everything is a game. And it's hard to take characters seriously when they pretend the world revolves around a video game.

There is also the issue that most VRs, it is pretty clear the author never played an MMO in their life, at the very least not anything beyond casual..

Many also suffer from MC syndrome, I can understand in a real world, god can play favorites. But in an MMO, playing favorites just means no one is going to play your game. This is why balance is always the most important aspect of games with multiple players. Even the PTW ones, the btter ones know not to give too much advantage to the PTW players, just enough to give them an edge but enough that someone who doesn't pay can get to at least top 100 through grinding. Otherwise, PTW is quickest way for your game to fail. Even the whales don't want to be the best player of a game no one plays. Thus, balance is most important. And VR novels often time have bad habits of instead of trying to show skill, show MC is a special snowflake. And nobody would want to play such a game, nobody would respect a person who didn't earn it but special treatment

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Why can't it just be a guy with a portal to another isekai to do stuff and come back then? Lol. Like Sliders or something.
I'm not picking on you, I'm just trying to separate the distinction.

That is an anime already

 

[NotaNuffian]

I feel the whole shit is just... bollocks.

People reacting as though life and death when territories are taken, resources are stolen and deaths occur when respawn is a thing. Sure, EXP is lost and time is wasted, but why in any cases would it be like "SHIT! HE MURDERED MY FAMILY AND MY DOG!" kind of reaction.

The second thing that pissed me off further is the world economy depending on VRMMORPG. No, it will not. Not even if the time dilation BS is 1 second IRL to 1,000,000 years ingame. Stop that. Stop trying to make META happen. I think this is why META happened, cuz reptile man saw KR VRMMORPG too much and went "hmm, it might work, provided if everyone in this world is dumb enough to believe that an artificial world that looks and run like Roblox would be able to replace the real world." He forget that one of the major exports of the country of plastic surgery is e-sportsmen.

Third thing, realism. If someone gets hurt or killed ingame and they feel the pain of it as though real, only the masochistic and insane would go "SICK! LET'S DO THAT AGAIN!" Normal blokes with normal minds would go "IYAAA!" like gay weebs while trying to lower the "pain conversion" immediately. To hell, if it can reach zero without hindering the pleasurable parts, it is the best. Only those thrill seekers who are actually cowards IRL might go "oh good, able to feel death and horror in full force!" While in their back of the head, the notion that they can respawn will either dampen the excitement with the fear or they might go out IRL and be death seekers when their logics get mixed.

 

[Anon2024]

@NotaNuffian Lizard man indeed. Meta is failing by the way.
But honestly, if VR was like that. I can't imagine how big the adult VR industry would be when you can feel sensation. If you can feel pain then I'm sure you can feel pleasure too.

 

[NotaNuffian]

@NotaNuffian Lizard man indeed. Meta is failing by the way.
But honestly, if VR was like that. I can't imagine how big the adult VR industry would be when you can feel sensation. If you can feel pain then I'm sure you can feel pleasure too.

That is the selling point. For losers like myself to get hooked into VR in order to lose my V card (a "proud" wizard I am).

Pain and pleasure goes hand in hand. If the VR world is a slowlife cozy game like Stardew or Animal Crossing, then the odds of pain is low.

And there can be action games for those who seek it. Pain will be part of the experience.

But VRMMORPG? Are you serious? There are no ways for slowlifes cuz of griefers and trolls. Bullying will be rampant even with mod bans.

 

[Sola-sama]

That is an anime already

An obvious wish-fulfilment anime with plot as thick as spaghett while having so many plot holes like swiss cheese.
Deer lord, why are mediocre story are getting really good anime adaptation?

I like litrpg but could never make sense of VR stories unless they are literally trapped in the VR. Cause you know, there is little suspense when everything is a game. And it's hard to take characters seriously when they pretend the world revolves around a video game.

There is also the issue that most VRs, it is pretty clear the author never played an MMO in their life, at the very least not anything beyond casual..

Many also suffer from MC syndrome, I can understand in a real world, god can play favorites. But in an MMO, playing favorites just means no one is going to play your game. This is why balance is always the most important aspect of games with multiple players. Even the PTW ones, the btter ones know not to give too much advantage to the PTW players, just enough to give them an edge but enough that someone who doesn't pay can get to at least top 100 through grinding. Otherwise, PTW is quickest way for your game to fail. Even the whales don't want to be the best player of a game no one plays. Thus, balance is most important. And VR novels often time have bad habits of instead of trying to show skill, show MC is a special snowflake. And nobody would want to play such a game, nobody would respect a person who didn't earn it but special treatment

I second this bery much. I used to fangirling over Legendary Moonlight Sculptor because it was the only one that exist after Sword Art Online (at that time), those two were among my first read that get me into reading and writing after Mushoku Tensei. Anyway, as I get exposed to more novels and grow up, those shit make less sense.

Now that I think about it, I recalled there's this guy in LMS that has paladin class or something who has the highest level at that time (volume 19 or 20, the arc where they are in a volcano or something), but lost to the MC which has a sculptor class. Like, I get it that the MC has skill corrections and bonus damage from all his equipment, title and whatnot, but what about the paladin? Everyone has the same finite amount of time. While the MC is grinding skills, were the paladin squander his time doing useless shit? He was the most famous man on the game due to him having the support of the number one guild, having the best farming location, equipment, etc etc. I refuse to accept the fact that the a non-combat class can fight against a combat class, especially if the paladin is the player with the highest level. You need to be special if you can be the number one, and the paladin is obviously a special case, but he was trashed by the sculptor? The inconsistencies are dogshit, this kind of stuff really grinds my gears.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

An obvious wish-fulfilment anime with plot as thick as spaghett while having so many plot holes like swiss cheese.
Deer lord, why are mediocre story are getting really good anime adaptation?

I second this bery much. I used to fangirling over Legendary Moonlight Sculptor because it was the only one that exist after Sword Art Online (at that time), those two were among my first read that get me into reading and writing after Mushoku Tensei. Anyway, as I get exposed to more novels and grow up, those shit make less sense.

Now that I think about it, I recalled there's this guy in LMS that has paladin class or something who has the highest level at that time (volume 19 or 20, the arc where they are in a volcano or something), but lost to the MC which has a sculptor class. Like, I get it that the MC has skill corrections and bonus damage from all his equipment, title and whatnot, but what about the paladin? Everyone has the same finite amount of time. While the MC is grinding skills, were the paladin squander his time doing useless shit? He was the most famous man on the game due to him having the support of the number one guild, having the best farming location, equipment, etc etc. I refuse to accept the fact that the a non-combat class can fight against a combat class, especially if the paladin is the player with the highest level. You need to be special if you can be the number one, and the paladin is obviously a special case, but he was trashed by the sculptor? The inconsistencies are dogshit, this kind of stuff really grinds my gears.

You are right. It is shit

 

[NotaNuffian]

An obvious wish-fulfilment anime with plot as thick as spaghett while having so many plot holes like swiss cheese.
Deer lord, why are mediocre story are getting really good anime adaptation?

I second this bery much. I used to fangirling over Legendary Moonlight Sculptor because it was the only one that exist after Sword Art Online (at that time), those two were among my first read that get me into reading and writing after Mushoku Tensei. Anyway, as I get exposed to more novels and grow up, those shit make less sense.

Now that I think about it, I recalled there's this guy in LMS that has paladin class or something who has the highest level at that time (volume 19 or 20, the arc where they are in a volcano or something), but lost to the MC which has a sculptor class. Like, I get it that the MC has skill corrections and bonus damage from all his equipment, title and whatnot, but what about the paladin? Everyone has the same finite amount of time. While the MC is grinding skills, were the paladin squander his time doing useless shit? He was the most famous man on the game due to him having the support of the number one guild, having the best farming location, equipment, etc etc. I refuse to accept the fact that the a non-combat class can fight against a combat class, especially if the paladin is the player with the highest level. You need to be special if you can be the number one, and the paladin is obviously a special case, but he was trashed by the sculptor? The inconsistencies are dogshit, this kind of stuff really grinds my gears.

It's called "the fucking developers forgeting/ intentionally imbalanced the game" by shitting out "legendary classes", ensuring classism ingame as well as IRL.

@Jemini once said, in our actual world, no one wants to play an unfair game. So VRMMORPG novels are just bollocks.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

It's called "the fucking developers forgeting/ intentionally imbalanced the game" by shitting out "legendary classes", ensuring classism ingame as well as IRL.

@Jemini once said, in our actual world, no one wants to play an unfair game. So VRMMORPG novels are just bollocks.

This is why you turn off your brain. It is easy to do, like people who sit and binge eat.

 

[NotaNuffian]

This is why you turn off your brain. It is easy to do, like people who sit and binge eat.

I am that crowd and somehow, I have a limit.

That limit was found in two works; Overgeared (KR) and Reincarnated Strongest Swordmaster (CN). IMBA ingame aside, what the fuck is the game pod being a workout machine and them gaining superhuman physiques IRL as well?

 

[Novel_Fam]

I have the same opinion now! At first, I enjoyed this manhwa called “Arcana Fantasy” but checking the rest out… It's as interesting as the plot twist that holds there… So I gave up on that set of settings and genre and went to the norm of isekai.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I have the same opinion now! At first I enjoyed this manhwa called “Arcana Fantasy” but checking the rest out… It as interesting as the plot twist that hold there… So I gave up on the set of setting and genre and went to the norm of isekai

I think the author want us to be immersed.

Then write an isekai then!

 

[Sola-sama]

I am that crowd and somehow, I have a limit.

That limit was found in two works; Overgeared (KR) and Reincarnated Strongest Swordmaster (CN). IMBA ingame aside, what the fuck is the game pod being a workout machine and them gaining superhuman physiques IRL as well?

Good thing you didn't read Shura's Wrath (CN). That shit is wacky, yo.

 

[NotaNuffian]

There is another genre similar to VRMMORPG. The whole "sleep and go into another world" genre, a mix with death in other world = die for real and able to go IRL to deal with mundane life problems. I think VRMMORPG tried to capture the magic of the old genre and completely fucked it up with deathless respawns and having the choice of going to the otherworld instead of getting dragged into a death game.

The one I recalled is Arena, that completely fucked it up once the MC, with an Aimbot Wind Fairy Cat and a Fire Fairy Dog, is able to use his skill in mundane life, allowing him to suck an old business man's cock, who then introduced MC to other old men who then MC make his billions (in won) with his great fellatio skills.

Then there is a CN with the same premise, except everyone but MC (of course, fuck the MC) who can't use their skills IRL. What made me hate the work? Stupid retarded oneshot villains. Fuck CN and their pea sized smooth brains.

Good thing you didn't read Shura's Wrath (CN). That shit is wacky, yo.

I think I did not read the work.

Good.

I will never.

I stopped myself from reading any CN that is produced before 2020 recently, as I found a work that started in 2008 and boy, a shit ton of incelous racism for no good reason.

If you want to hate Eagleland, give a sufficient reason other than nothing. Hate it for being America is fine, just give something!