Many video games are based on books, of which The Witcher and Assassin’s Creed are perhaps most popular among gamers. We have also come across books that were based on sci-fi and lore heavy video games like Halo or Mass Effect. While these books were based on similar themes, they were quite different from the game itself.
This is where LitRPG comes in.
LitRPG emerged as a new genre of books that took a more authentic inspiration from video games. If you have ever dreamed of squeezing out a little more experience from your fiction, then you have probably found a new favorite pastime.
LitRPG Defined
LitRPG stands for Literary Role Playing Games, and it is a sub-genre of books where the readers play or enter themselves into a role-playing game. LitRPG books have the versatility to envelop other sub-genres based on the world the characters inhabit. These subgenres include, but are not limited to, fantasy, fables, sci-fi, mystery, and horror.
If you’re new to LitRPG, you might find both familiar and strange. If you are a fan of anime, you probably know what we’re talking about. For instance, you’ve probably seen something similar to LitRPG in Sword Art Online or any other show where its characters enter and get trapped inside a game.
However, LitRPG will take you one step further. What makes these books different from run-of-the-mill fantasy and science fiction books is that they focus on leveling up. Of course, it wouldn’t be called that in the book, but most of them have the characters get stronger – probably to overcome a powerful foe or some other situation. If you have played MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Player Games) like World of Warcraft, you may already be familiar with the ‘I’ve got to get to that level’ feeling.
However, LitRPG books aren’t like RPG gamebooks. Most people dive into this genre, thinking that they will experience that choose-your-own-adventure genre with the occasional dice rolling. However, this isn’t the case. All of the decisions in LitRPG books are made by their characters.
What’s the LitRPG Experience Like?
The LitRPG experience is a combination of some RPG elements combined with fantasy literature and science fiction novels. LitRPG was originally based on some early South Korean novels, such as the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, which then slowly gained popularity among Russian writers and readers alike.
Soon, a major Russian Publisher called EKSMO released a title that gave birth to the name of the genre – LitRPG. The genre was, therefore, a part of the literary world in 2013. Later on, these books began gaining popularity in America, where a couple of independent authors released their works on Amazon.
But what has the genre become over the years of mixing cultures, science fiction, fantasy, and RPG?
Picture an alternate reality as it was depicted in the Matrix. You jam a high-tech wire into your brain, and you exit the real world. However, instead of playing Neo, LitRPG books take you into a world where many players can interact and complete quests. What’s more, they can also level up according to their experience gained or their class in the story.
Basically, a LitRPG book would involve you like the character entering a Massive Multiplayer Online RPG with the help of a virtual reality device. Here, you will build your character and level up according to the predefined virtual equivalents. A great example of this genre and its overall environment can be seen in the movie Ready Player One. However, one major difference between the two is that LitRPG characters are usually trapped inside the virtual reality game. Generally, these characters are trying to escape by completing quests or by interacting with non-player characters (NPCs).
Some other LitRPG books, like The Way of the Shaman or Warlock: Reign of Blood, teleport the character/player into more traditional fantasy settings. By ‘traditional,’ I mean tabletop RPG games such as Dungeons and Dragons, where you command armies, cast spells, and fight dragons. Other games like Lost in Space have a more sci-fi touch to their stories.
The Main Elements of LitRPG
Many groups and forums in the LitRPG community have gone over what these books are and what they aren’t. Many new authors also try to understand it because they want to break into their explosive market.
Of course, your first LitRPG novel may feel a little strange because it might come off as a YouTube/Twitch streamer going over their latest designs of a game. The dialogues and narrative descriptions are often mixed with notifications that are aimed at the characters. These notifications maybe something along the lines of:
Congratulations! Your Advanced Magic Skills have reached Level 5. Your reach has now increased to 15 meters, and the resulting magic cannot be overcome with non-magical methods.
Usually, these character advancements are achieved in different methods, depending on the book. Some books have the character pick up skills by accident. For example, a character killed an enemy using fire and hence learns a ‘Fireball Skill Rank 1’. In other cases, characters could choose from a predetermined list of features/feats/abilities and can immediately unlock them to proceed in the story. These feats are, therefore, unlocked without any decision the character made. For example, a character chooses the ability to tie a knot and is awarded half-a-dozen advanced rope tricks.
Either way, the strangeness of LitRPG books is replaced with joy as characters level up and learn interesting abilities. You will feel like you’re in the midst of a narrated Dungeons and dragons session, but you will not have control over the actions of the character.
Other than the character abilities, LitRPG books are mainly made up of 3 main elements. These include the main world, the virtual reality world, and the connection between these two. The main world doesn’t really have to be from the present. It could be in the future, past or perhaps even some other alternate world.
On the other hand, the game world usually has the same dynamics as a role-playing game since players get to take on the roles of characters in the game. The connection between the game world and the real world can depend on a large number of formats that are based on the story.
The most successful authors in the genre, like Charles Stross, author of Halting State or Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One, focus on the relationship between the real world and the virtual world. However, most other LitRPG authors prefer to limit this relationship and focus mostly on a storyline that exists inside the game.
Some authors even go so far as to completely destroy the main world after illustrating an apocalyptic event. Of course, it’s an easy way out for the author, but readers still enjoy it. The readers are then suspended in their imagination of the game world without inherently knowing that the game within the story is a fantasy.
While we’re on the topic, there are even some LitRPG authors who completely ignore the relationship between the game world and the real world. They do so by intelligently immersing the mechanics of the game into the real world.
What is LitRPG’s History?
Some people believe that LitRPG has been around for nearly four decades now, but the genre didn’t officially come into existence until 2013. In that year, the largest publishing house in Russia, called EKSMO, launched a campaign that invented the word LitRPG.
The following are a few notable events in the timeline of LitRPG:
- 1980 to 2007: LitRPG books are published and read without belonging to a specific genre
- 2007: The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor is released in Korea
- 2010: The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor gets translated to Russian and ignites a sudden surge in interest for the rare genre
- 2011: Ready Player One gets published in America
- 2013: EKSMO uses the popularity of The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and comes up with a name for the genre
- 2014: The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor sold 1 million copies and has over 3 million readers
- 2015: A movie based on Ready Player One is announced and is to be directed by Steven Speilberg
- 2017: Amazon has over 2200 LitRPG novels available in its store
The Difference Between LitRPG and GameLit
Originally, GameLit was meant to be the name of a large genre umbrella of fictional books that either took place inside a game or included game mechanics. This also means that LitRPG books are a subgenre of GameLit. However, LitRPG books gained so much more popular than the original genre and solidified a larger fanbase. Now GameLit is just viewed as a synonym for LitRPG in its community.
The fundamental difference between the two lies in the role-playing element of the story, which is why GameLit, in theory, is a more diverse genre of books. Now shooter games and other such themes aren’t supposed to qualify as RPG games, but surprisingly enough, do exist in LitRPG novels. Just so you can understand this point better, let’s expand on the shooter games example as it may be used in a LitRPG book:
- The main character exits the real world and enters the world as a shooter. In other words, the main character ‘role-plays’ the shooter character.
- Since LitRPG games require progression in levels and abilities, the shooter could move ahead in the game world while unlocking shooting abilities.
The interlink between the real world and the game world is the element of LitRPG books that make them compatible with any non-RPG game. Any game inside the story can take up RPG elements, and even if it doesn’t, the common theme of character progression can easily be induced.
Speaking of progression, LitRPG stories have a lot to do with stats. Of course, we aren’t talking about your stats because this isn’t Dungeons and Dragons. These stories have character stats, which, more often than not, the character is obsessed with pushing to the limits (fans of Dragon Ball Z and other similar animes will understand this point better).
Some readers and authors believe that a story isn’t LitRPG if it doesn’t add emphasis on progression in gear and statistics. This means that a book that is set inside a game world but has no focus on leveling up characters can be referred to as GameLit. Of course, GameLit was supposed to be the main genre, but that’s not what the LitRPG community believes now.
Common Elements and Themes in LitRPG
Typically, these elements are also the main difference between GameLit and LitRPG novels:
- A system or interface notifies the characters of their interactions with the game world, such as ‘weapon acquired,’ ‘level up,’ ‘experience gained,’ or even ‘failed to open treasure chest because your lockpicking skills are too low.’
- The rules of the game world are clearly defined
- The story clearly defines NPCs (non-player characters) and real-world characters – even though their interactions may be casual.
Switch Off Your Brain and Experience a Parallel Universe
While most book lovers would prefer a good blockbuster, LitRPG books are meant to be enjoyed with an imaginative mind. These books have a lot of room for exceptional storytelling, but, like a video game, don’t really need a great story for you to have a fun time. If you are willing to invest very little focus and have a knack for overarching themes, then this genre can satisfy your mind.
If you don’t really know where to begin, Ready Player One is often prescribed as a general answer to the question, “What is LitRPG?” However, if you want to be immersed in a complete LitRPG experience, then you’d be better off with The Land: Foundling. This book is also the opening book of a series, so there’s going to be a lot more to pursue once you’re done.
Happy reading!