LitRPG Will Transform How We Write Novels –The New Narrative Revolution

Today we are going to talk about something spectacular that is taking the world of literature by storm because we are going to talk about a new style of narrative novel writing and a new genre.

We are going to talk about LitRPG or you can break it down into its elements which is Literary Role-Playing Game.

People often get confused when they hear of this because they might think it’s a kind of game not literature.But it is a new genre with a new kind of narrative technique of novel writing.

The reason why people are so excited about this is that this style and genre caters to a new generation of readers who are accustomed to playing video games.

Older readers with little or no video game experience are still going to enjoy this but it will not be very relatable for them.

But this style of narration is definitely going to be very relatable and enjoyable for Millennial and Gen Z readers used to playing RPG video games for hours.

The reason why everyone in the world of literature is excited about the success of this genre is simply because it is going to introduce literature to a new generation of readers of a completely different demographic.

That is why LitRPG has a very huge potential to usher in a new age of literature. But before we move on to how impactful this is, we need to understand what LitRPG is.

What Is LitRPG?

Most people think of LitRPG as a kind of choose-your-own-path novel where you might have a bit of control over the story upon choosing different plots. Some people also think it’s a game and not literature.

LitRPG is different because it is basically when you combine regular narrative novels and role-play video games together.

This means the novels are going to have plots where the protagonist or the hero is trapped within a video game and the entire background and the storyline is a video game.

This means everything from their interaction with different elements to plot mechanisms and physics in the novel is going to be based on video games.

If you have any experience with video games then you might understand this better because there are different elements of video game mechanics.

We are talking about health bars or status screens as well as notifications of damage. These kinds of elements are going to be present in the novel.

The simplest way to help you understand this is to think of any kind of popular RPG game where there is a character that embarks on a journey.

Of course, you are going to be playing that character and your consciousness is going to be the character’s consciousness.

Now think of that journey in the form of a novelemploying documentation of the character’s wins, their side quests and their experience throughout this fantasy world packed into a novel.

It is just like if that character could write then they would write this novel all the while having complete awareness that they are in a game.

What Does a LitRPG Look Like?

In order for you to understand this, let us explain it to you with the help of a very popular action RPG game. Assassin’s Creed Origins.

The primary character is Bayek so the novel should be written in a way that showcases how he experiences things within the game all the while never letting the readers forget it’s a game.

[

(Bayek the Hidden One is looking over the Pharoah’s palace as he plans his next line of attack as a silent assassin hidden within the bushes of the broken north wall of the palace.)

Bayek, “Revenge! Time to get rid of the land’s curse for he has not let me stay a father, a husband or a Medjay, I shall not sleep till I finish he who has sniffed the air that day”

SENU DEPLOYED

(Bayek deploys his trusted eagle to have a better look at the hostiles in the area. Senu spots 16 palace guards, two of them being Level 3 guards with armour)

(Just too many for close hand-to-hand combat! Bayek needs to stay within the shadows of the bushes or the haystack.)

OPEN INVENTORY

(Bayek opens his inventory to check how many arrows and poison darts he has with him)

(HEALTH REGENERATES as Bayek waits outside the Hostile Zone and plans his course of attack all the while contemplating his life, past and future.)

…….

]

This is an example in the form of a depiction we have created inspired from the very popular action RPG game Assassin’s Creed Origins.

If you follow the depiction closely then you can see that the primary character is experiencing things for the first time and the primary character is also initiating a lot of in-game activities that will help him achieve the objective.

This is a unique point of view when it comes to literature and that is why people are so excited about it as LitRPG has dialogue which is usually present in all novels.

However, there is also the element of in-game mechanics as well as in-game activities such as unlocking different skills as well as checking inventory, looking at the health status and trying to regenerate health.

The reason why this is unique is that it never lets the reader get out from the feeling of being in a game all the while feeling like the actual character of the game.

LitRPG can be in the form of something like Cyberpunk or it can be something in the form of The Witcher or even something like Log Horizon.

So, is LitRPG MMORPG, Sci-Fi or Fantasy?

LitRPGcan be anything you want it to be because if you want it to be in the form of Anime Fantasy then it can be that.

Sci-Fi? Very much so.

If you want it to be a Traditional Fantasy with magic and dungeons and dragons then there are popular LitRPG in that category.

One of the most popular types of LitRPG is definitely MMORPG in the form of VRMMORPG or Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. It is just like living in a virtual world with all the consequences of VR.

You can also have LitRPG in the form of IsekaiLitRPGwhich is a very popular kind of Japanese fantasy.

Then there is the popular LitFPS, a combination of FPS-paced game storytelling adapted into the LitRPG format of novels.

The LitRPG genre is very new and things are being defined as we speak. This is so new that if you decide to make something LitRPG from existing game genres, then it will fit into this genre.

Some people might think that LitRPG is all about the Dungeon core genre of games and fantasy adventures and while that occupies a great deal of this genre, it is not the entirety of LitRPG.

You can even have different subgenres of LitRPG in the form of something like Minecraft or zombie survival games or even something like Fortnite which combines building elements and FPS elements.

The only thing you must keep in mind is that the novel should have some rules just like the rules of a game. You must also be able to make sure that the novel has abilities that the character can unlock as well as game mechanics.

LitRPG should never be far from the ‘game’ aspect of the genre and should rely heavily on that kind of progression and thinking.

So, How Do Write LitRPG?

Create Characters

The best thing about LitRPG is that if you study a little bit of game development then the process of writing this genre will be very similar.

The first step is definitely creating characters and these characters should go in line with the type of story you want to present with game-like character arcs that follow the plot.

Since this genre revolves around sci-fi or fantasy, you can have characters that reflect that kind of storyline including monsters and a dragon and you can have your primary character be a knight etc.

Create Elements

The next thing you must create is definitely going to be elements in the form of different items that the character needs in their inventory.

Elements can also be side characters and assisting characters such as a pet that can follow the character around.

When it comes to elements, you can also add different abilities that the character needs to gather as well as different skills that the character needs to build.

Elements should also include sidequests etc.

Create Rules

If you want to create a LitRPG novel then you definitely need to create rules just as there are game mechanics at play in any RPG game.

That is why these rules can be in the form of mobility and these rules can be in the form of damage and damage protection.

You can also include autosave rules and even change the physics of the game if it is in a different kind of fantasy world.

Think In Terms of a Game

If you do not have experience with writing LitRPG then the only suggestion that we are going to give you is to get yourself a PlayStation and play a play a few RPG games.

If you have experience in gaming then you do not need to worry about anything more because all you need to do is to think of your LitRPG novel in terms of a game.

This means it is just going to be the same as any RPG game when it comes to character development as well as story progression.

The thing about LitRPG is that it is such a new genre that there are really no rules to how you can write one.

That means you can decide to write something related to science fiction or even fantasy or even based in a completely different world like that of Hogwarts or Dune.

You can create a small experimental novel of 200 pages or you can create something that is quite large at 800 pages.

As an author, you have the complete freedom to do whatever you want with your LitRPG novel.

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Common LitRPG FAQs

What is the difference between RPG and LitRPG?

In order to understand that difference we must understand what is RPG. RPG simply means role-playing game. Now add literature to the beginning of it and you get LitRPG.

That meansLitRPG is a form of literature that is manifested in the form of any role-playing game. This can be a fantasy-based game or it can even be an FPS LitRPG.

LitRPG novels utilise a different kind of narration technique just as any video game progresses where you will not only be able to look at the progression of the character but the novel will also contain different stats as well as in-game elements.

This is a fascinating new genre and you should definitely explore it.

What is the LitRPG series?

If you know what is aLitRPG novel and what is a novel series and if you combine both of them, you get theLitRPG series.

This means instead of being just a standaloneLitRPG novel, it actually is a series that can progress with a second and a third book and many more.

This is just like any novel series with the novel being written in theLitRPG genre.

How to read LitRPG books?

The short answer to this is that you should just read it like any other novel but if you want to immerse completely within the book then you need to do something.

You need to understand how video games work and that will give you an idea of how to look at the book and read the novel.

If you have experience with video games then it will be very easy for you to adapt because it is just going to be like the transcription or subtitles of a video game in action.

Who created the LitRPG genre?

If you want to include novels that can qualify under LitRPG then it is very hard to pinpoint who started it but if we talk about earlyLitRPG novels then we should definitely mention MMORPG novels by EKSMO.

EKSMO is actually the publishing house to have coined the term because their novels were not falling into any other category or existing genres.

They should definitely be credited as the creators because they coined the term LitRPG.

The project producer at EKSMO Alex Bobi actually came up with the name LitRPGduring a brainstorming session with VasilyMahanenko and Dmitry Malkin, the science-fiction editor at the publishing house.

LitRPGwas actually very popular in Russia before it came to the mainstream.

This genre took off in 2013.