18 replies to this topic

[Yuli Ban]

I post this because Travis Bagwell is having a sale: Awaken Online: Catharsis is on Sale!

Also, I'm going to write in this genre. I technically have, but I haven't published. It's a really cool genre! 

 

The gist of the genre is: LitRPG, short for Literary Role Playing Game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of MMORPGs with science-fiction fantasy novels. It is a genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story.

 

If you've read or seen Ready Player One, you already have a taste of what it's like.

[caltrek]

I have actually tried to write in the LitRPG genre, mostly at a Star Trek forum I frequented.  I was never very satisfied with the results as teenage participants would insist on killing off my character very early on in the game.  I did compose a death scene of  a Ferengi from inside the poor chaps head.  Memorable only to me.

[Outlook]

Like SAO and Log Horizon essentially, but in novel form.

[Hyndal_Halcyon]

Speaking of LitRPG, I came across this back in highschool. It's from one of the founders of Orion's Arm.
There's a lot of stuff there, but my personal favorites are these two:

1. Death of the Dragons: a near-future scenario of our world ravaged by the advance of biotech transhumanization, coupled with a new ice age, and the growing influence of near-extinct virtual biological precursor aliens. A lot of innovative stuff like near-collapse of civilization fixed by a net-based economy. There's also the dragons, an old alien race who uploaded their whole population into the layer of programmable bacteria they brought to envelope and terraform our planet. The destructive interactions of dragons and transhuman biotech, and the highly constructive compromise between them known as Roots: a new dragon strain compatible with human neurology.
2. Ex Tempore: a wholly new form of time travel mechanics and parallel universes, dealing with interactions with alternate selves and broken timelines, eldritch civilizations, and a rich interplay of interspecies politics.

[BasilBerylium]

http://www.aleph.se/Nada/InfoWar/

 

[PhoenixRu]

Also, I'm going to write in this genre...

 

I have actually tried to write in the LitRPG genre...

 

Sorry for this intervention, but this is such a coincidence: i, too, just started to "write" the quasi-RPG "story". Actually, I have no illusions about my writing skills. They are literally zero. Fortunately, my coding skills are a bit better. So, why not create the simple multi-agent environment populated by "humans" or "elves" or "orcs" (each with his own set of procedurally generated traits) which then will interact with each other, and the process of this interaction will be written in log file? This way we can generate the endless stream of unique and relatively complex "stories"... and this is exactly what i'm currently working on.

[Yuli Ban]

[Alislaws]

LITRPG: A DISAMBIGUATION

 

LitRPG: Basically novels in which videogame statistics play a significant part. These can be based on people playing FIVR games, or people being transported to videogame worlds, or further future sci-fi situations, where everyone has nanobots or similar, which give them statistical readouts of their abilities and skills. The primary thing is, in addition to the normal sort of character development, there is also videogame style statistical character development.

 

Probably LITRPG:

Then there's near future sci-fi, which takes place primarily in a virtual world, (which doesn't necessarily touch on the actual stats and videogame style character progression) like ready player one, which is probably part of the litrpg genre, but might not be considered so by some people.  

 

Probably Not LITRPG:

Other things that sound like they might be litrpg, but probably wouldn't fall under that label:

 

Choose your own adventure books, where reading it is a lot like playing an RPG (with admittedly limited options),

 

Also the newer online versions of this, where the author does one chapter, and leaves the readers with choices, they vote or roll dice or whatever, and the story moves forward. 

 

And people playing Roleplaying games by writing out character actions and events. Some of these don't have any rules and are basically cooperative story telling. Some are much more structured, with complex rule systems.

[Hyndal_Halcyon]

This definitely fits. Imagine being a guy with an AI implant transported to a medieval magic fantasy videogame world at war. It's magic, but how the guy deals with it is just so "scientific" the magitek-babble could get so entertaining. Hailing from the the great r/HFY but eventually got its own website because thank you fellow fans.

[Alislaws]

This definitely fits. Imagine being a guy with an AI implant transported to a medieval magic fantasy videogame world at war. It's magic, but how the guy deals with it is just so "scientific" the magitek-babble could get so entertaining. Hailing from the the great r/HFY but eventually got its own website because thank you fellow fans.

Sounds neat! I will read it.

[Yuli Ban]

There's a forum for this: https://litrpgforum.com

[Outlook]

Also, I'm going to write in this genre...

I have actually tried to write in the LitRPG genre...

Sorry for this intervention, but this is such a coincidence: i, too, just started to "write" the quasi-RPG "story". Actually, I have no illusions about my writing skills. They are literally zero. Fortunately, my coding skills are a bit better. So, why not create the simple multi-agent environment populated by "humans" or "elves" or "orcs" (each with his own set of procedurally generated traits) which then will interact with each other, and the process of this interaction will be written in log file? This way we can generate the endless stream of unique and relatively complex "stories"... and this is exactly what i'm currently working on.

Check out dwarf fortress, it essentially simulates a whole fantasy world to play in, but there is a "legends" mode which can tells you the history of the world. It's exactly like you said, where there are goblins, elves, humans, dwarves, kobolds, animal-men (ant men, wolf men, chicken men) that interact with each other and have cities and civikizations and go to war with each other, and artifacts and demons. It's absolutely amazing.

http://en.wikipedia..../Dwarf_Fortress

[Yuli Ban]

It took me longer than expected, but I'm about to start posting a serial to RoyalRoad (a Wattpad-esque writing site that's predominantly gamelit, wuxia, and sci-fantasy story serials). 

 

[Alislaws]

It took me longer than expected, but I'm about to start posting a serial to RoyalRoad (a Wattpad-esque writing site that's predominantly gamelit, wuxia, and sci-fantasy story serials). 

 

I will check it out!

 

 

 

Also, I'm going to write in this genre...

 

I have actually tried to write in the LitRPG genre...

 

Sorry for this intervention, but this is such a coincidence: i, too, just started to "write" the quasi-RPG "story". Actually, I have no illusions about my writing skills. They are literally zero. Fortunately, my coding skills are a bit better. So, why not create the simple multi-agent environment populated by "humans" or "elves" or "orcs" (each with his own set of procedurally generated traits) which then will interact with each other, and the process of this interaction will be written in log file? This way we can generate the endless stream of unique and relatively complex "stories"... and this is exactly what i'm currently working on.

Hey man, did you have any luck with this?

 

I missed the post the first time round I think, but its something I've thought a lot about, I'm not much of  a programmer, so never tried to do anything more than sketch out the basics in excel. 

[PhoenixRu]

Hey man, did you have any luck with this?

 

No, to be honest. I abandoned it halfway and switched to other things. Yes, here is nothing to be proud of, but...

 

In fact, coding consist of 5% of creativity and 95% of patience, perseverance, and accuracy. This ratio always scared me.

[Alislaws]

 

Hey man, did you have any luck with this?

 

No, to be honest. I abandoned it halfway and switched to other things. Yes, here is nothing to be proud of, but...

 

In fact, coding consist of 5% of creativity and 95% of patience, perseverance, and accuracy. This ratio always scared me.

 

I was googling around on this topic and found this: http://pcgbook.com/ which seems to be an entire free book discussing procedural generation of stuff, If anyone is interested?

[Yuli Ban]

And here it is!

[PhoenixRu]

I was googling around on this topic and found this: http://pcgbook.com/ which seems to be an entire free book discussing procedural generation of stuff, If anyone is interested?

 

I'll definitely take a look to borrow some ideas.

 

I love the procedural generation and multi-agent programming for one simple reason: unpredictability. You're setting the rules, but nobody (incl. you) knows how exactly will program run and which results it will bring.

 

Btw, this is also the answer to one question from long abandoned thread: "If our world is mere simulation, what was the point to create it? If these gods are such omnipotent, does results of simulation not obvious for them from the very start?" The right answer - no, not obvious. God(s) just established the (very complex) rules and pressed the START button. And now they're enjoy watching us.

 

PS no, actually i don't believe in "simulation" theory.

[Alislaws]

Even aside from the simulation theory, I think that God setting up a system which, over millions of years, resulted in sapient life evolving in the universe (big bang, space dust->stars->planets->life->life that can comprehend the existence of god) seems like the most interesting thing to do If you're an eternal being with lots of power and no real need to do anything. 

 

I think that's the most reasonable explanation for why God created the Universe. 

 

Of course if God is omnipotent or omniscient then he'd need to avoid thinking about what might evolve (or it would spoil the surprise for him) 

 

I'm off to make a thread about plausible explanations for why​ a god/powerful being would create the universe.