Everyone, tell me the best work of tabletop fiction and why. Starting us off, I'd have to say The Gamers: Hands of Fate. (Link goes to Dorkness Rising also, but you really should watch that first.) I love it, because it's the first time I've ever seen a tabletop fiction film cover a collectable card game. Not only that, but the image filters to make scenes look like painted card art windows... just amazing. It really felt like stepping into a card game universe. That last sentence doesn't even sound logically possible, but they made it work.
I've been thinking about using them for a contest. They were one of my favorite series growing up. One of the very first, I think?
Those are tabletop fiction? I just finished reading the blurbs of both, and neither seemed tabletop fiction to me. What's your reasoning?
I might be a bit less strict in my categorization . . . anyways, in both books, characters are ported into another world which they are led to believe is a D&D type game, and both are from the point of view of the beleagured natives who have to keep up the pretense. By the by, I wonder if the old "Flight of Dragons" movie would count? It was a mash-up of two different, unrelated book, but a unique bit of the script had the main character trying to sell a D&D style board game, and then magically being drawn into the game, which turns out to be another world he somehow had a mental connection to.
When you type "tabletop fiction" into google, the first two results are me, and the fourth is this thread here. I spent a long time agonising over what does and doesn't count, and a lot of splitting hairs is involved. Ultimately a clearly drawn line in the wrong place is always better than a fuzzy line in the right place, because no category is useful unless it can be explained quickly with minimal disagreement over what does and does not classify. Another aspect of what makes a classification good, is one where it's easy to judge a book based on the blurb and cover, rather than a definition that requires me to read a book cover to cover before I can decide if it classifies or not. Therefore, the spirit of the genre would say that anything with reference to dice, or a game board, or a deck of cards, or minis on a grid, or a game master's screen should count. However, this would require reading every single LitRPG book cover to cover, every single video gaming book cover to cover, and every single LARPing book cover to cover. Not to mention every movie and every web comic. That would be quite a lot of man-power for maintaining a definitive list if all works had to be read in their entirety. So, to simplify the job, the tabletop element must be stronger than any video gaming elements and any LARPing elements. So if the blurb mentions LARPing or video games, but does not mention dice, game boards, cards, minis, or GM screens, it's safe to put that work into the "no" pile and move on. If both are referenced, further research is required to see which element is the strongest. Unfortunately, however, this means that a few works which are very much in the spirit of tabletop fiction must be excluded from the official definition. Also, the seemingly unfair prejudice against LARPing and video gaming has allowed for other works like JourneyQuest to classify with only a few tabletop fiction references simply because there were absolutely no video game or LARPing references present at all. Meanwhile works with lots of tabletop fiction references have been excluded if they have even more LARPing and video gaming references. It is my hope that tabletop fiction becomes an expression that evolves with time, with some purist tabletop fiction fans quoting my page for their reasoning, some protestant tabletop fiction fans citing this very post as justification for their new and more inclusive definition, while other people form their own similar-but-different definition as they create their own definitive lists of what counts and what doesn't. My ultimate goal here, is when I say I'm a tabletop fiction author, I'll be met with "Oh, I love/hate tabletop fiction!" rather than blank stares of confusion. Any definition of tabletop fiction that includes New World Adventures as a member is a definition I am in support of, even if it is radically different from what I intended. So in answer to your question, the links you've provided seem to have strong video game and LARP themes which seem to be stronger than its tabletop themes. So my ruling is they may be tabletop fiction in spirit, but they are not tabletop fiction by the established technical definition.
Oh, you cannot believe how long I agonised over including Jumanji. Eventually I chose not to, but I still doubt that I made the right call. I'll tell you the reasoning for and against, letting you decide for yourself: FOR -Definitely no video game or LARPing elements of any kind. -Frequent references to dice, roll-and-move mechanic. -The scene where the kid tries to cheat by dropping the dice instead of rolling them, gamers can relate to. AGAINST -The game doesn't function like a game. That is, normal games do not summon typical epic African threats into modern American suburbia. Otherwise, I'll have to include The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, which also featured a roll-and-move game that summoned monsters. Great book, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't scratch that tabletop fiction itch. -Everything else on the list, if you enjoy one of them, you'll probably enjoy most of them. If you hate one of them, you'll probably hate most of them. Jumanji attracts a very different audience, so tabletop fiction may be lost on die hard Jumanji fans, meanwhile those who hated Jumanji because they downplayed the tabletop element too much are perfect fans of the genre. I don't want Jumanji scaring them away. Also, I know this has nothing to do with anything, but why did the characters take so long to have their turns? How long does it take to pass the dice to the next person and roll again!? I hope someone calls out this flaw in the sequel. Like they meet the designer, and he says, "Yes, good two minute game. The original design was longer, but I wanted the players to be able to finish before all of the entertaining elements the game summoned become life threatening. We did have some play testers, may they rest in peace, really take their time in picking up the dice and rolling."
Owned? That makes the term sound like a man child. I'm trying to boot this term out of home and make it get a job! No, I am the originator of the term, but I do not own it. Please, spread the term. Use it as I define it. Tweak it even. Tell people I'm wrong, and that the true meaning of the term is slightly different. I am desperately trying to get this term into the vernacular of regular conversation, and very carefully trying not to be a petty ass-hole about how it should and shouldn't be used. Nothing would make me prouder to see the term has moved on from me so far, that it now means something slightly different from what I first defined it to be. So long as the new definition still includes New World Adventures, I am happy.
Nice covers, by the way. I just had to ask, has anyone ever messaged you saying, "I've just written a book about a sexy naked woman and a blue alien, and that cover is absolutely perfect"?
Probably more than you realize? Heh. Sci-Fi Romance (SFR aka alien romance) is a pretty big sub-genre.
Sorry, man, I didn't mean for it to sound like a crack on you I'm still new to the LitRPG genre so I'm unclear on terminology. As for the cover . . . you would be surprised LOL Since these are premades, I try to keep an eye on what's trending and "female MC is kidnapped or otherwise forced to marry alien prince" is surprisingly popular. Plus sometimes I like to just do something weird for fun, because it can get boring otherwise churning out generic covers for genres I don't really care about, like romances. You never know what will sell.
Land series, you're going to have to help me out a little more. Google keeps showing me pictures of jeeps. Forgotten Realms, no. Unforgotten Realms, hell yes, one of the greatest works of tabletop fiction ever written! The thing about Forgotten Realms is although it is based on a tabletop game (or a tabletop game is based on it, depending on how you look at it) there is no references to obscure tabletop rules that don't make sense in reality. Compare this with Order of the Stick, or Goblins Comic where they even go as far as mentioning the name of the edition of Dungeons and Dragons that they live in, and their parents remember living in a previous edition of the game.
I didn't see it as a crack. More, I felt busted, walking in here, pretending the expression dates back to the 80s when in reality this year is the first year anyone has ever used it. But if we all start using it together, everyone will THINK it dates back to the 80s, people will learn it fast as they don't want to seem dated and uncool, and the genre I invented will sky rocket in popularity over night. That's the plan anyway. So please, bring up tabletop fiction in a sentence, then look at the person you're speaking to as if they're a complete moron when they don't understand you so they have to google me.
If my plan actually works, and it becomes a huge movement (I promise to bring LitRPG along for the ride if I ever get tabletop fiction more famous than LitRPG) anyone looking to make a documentary about the movement will find this forum thread and be like "Gold mine! I must meet this mysterious Jon Chambers fellow!"
Have you seen Flight of Dragons? It starts with a man being drawn into his own tabletop RPG (or is it an alternate world that somehow inspired him?) & he refers to the game as he goes along. Apparently there's a video game of the same name, but I'm referring to the animated film from 1982.