Hate is too strong a word because I don't have that much energy to devote to them. So I went with "Meh!". I dislike them and not exactly fond of them suddenly drowning the genre, but I'm sure they must have fans since they appear to be fairly successful. I've really only accidentally read one series that claims to be LitRPG + Harem (that boring Tamer's business) because I wasn't paying attention on my Kindle. Haven't had the slightest interest in reading any more. So definitely "Meh."
I've stayed away from them, not only in LitRPG, but in anime/manga and other forms of entertainment, too, because I think they're immature (whether harem or reverse-harem or unrealistic love triangles), and ultimately these titles give the genre a bad name. I'm perfectly okay with polygamy or polyamory portrayed realistically -- but I've yet to see that. And I think the word 'harem' itself implies wish-fulfillment, which is never done well. Anime/manga have started to claw their way out of that kind of image and I think we can do the same thing for LitRPG by presenting a vast variety of LitRPG and reward stories that do something original and different. Also, original content talking about LitRPG, like what's happening on this forum and to a certain extent on reddit now. For example, even "Top 10 Best LitRPG Harem stories" (at least that will establish that there are non-harem stories out there), or even "My Top 10 LitRPG action scenes" -- the more voices, the more opinions, the better. (Which is why again dropping the banhammer on conversation is ultimately counterproductive -- you don't know when your readers are gonna change their mind about your product, and when they do, you would wish that there are other readers out there you can reach...) And... we need lots and lots and lots of better reviews and thoughtful articles... And... someone sponsor a YouTube game channel episode to cover LitRPG as a concept maybe? Sorry for the off-topic rambling again...
I loved Super Sales on Super Heroes and the first War God's Mantle. I think, though, that the harem part of those books was incidental to a good LitRPG story. Most of the books classified as harem seem to be attempts at erotica, which isn't what I'm looking for in the LitRPG genre.
Sort of agree, but sadly there's no genre that's going to stay "unpolluted" unfortunately. Any market that's doing well is going to attract people trying to make a quick buck by mixing that success with some kind of erotica. And there's nothing wrong with that exactly, but it does sometimes make it seem like the whole damn genre is nothing but that fetish. Which is highly frustrating because it can drive off new readers who are curious, but then think "Oh, it's nothing but a bunch of crappy sex stories. Ugh. That's not what I want."
I could go on a long rant about how it's not just that it's sex stories, but if you want that I'll do it in private.
My personal opinion is I don't want to pay to read some other dude's wank fantasies; they should be paying me to do that.
Hey, isn't that the guy from the university of nottingham or something? he does awesome chemistry videos
as someone who wrote a litrpg harem (and will write more in the future), I'm going to try to explain why I did it, and why a few others do it. My reasons; I have a background in erotica/romances so it's easier to start with harem books while I read other books in the genre and learn more about the concept (I'm reading awaken online). English is not my main language so I don't think I'm suited to write a full litrpg novel yet. Harem readers tend to worry less about the writing than the rest. There are people who read them because they like the romance/sex part more than the stats/fighting part, or maybe it's just a fantasy they can indulge in. I also don't think it affects what people think of litrpg as long as the books are properly tagged. If the book says it's a litrpg harem and someone reads it and then complains about having too much romance/sex that's on them. as it happens with everything it also depends on the quality of the book itself. There are people who write them because they also have a background on erotica, or because they enjoy their fantasy or they're trying to make a quick buck. It happens. The truth is that there are dozens of people reading them like there are a lot of people reading normal litrpg stories. There's space for everyone. Most people who read harem stories wouldn't probably be reading normal ones so it doesn't change a lot. They know what they are reading, and what they're getting, and that's what they were looking for.
I think you've made a good decision for you. Making money as you learn craft is a great idea. I wouldn't take the responses in this thread as "Hey, you shouldn't write or release in the harem subgenre." I think the responses are actually saying, "Most of the people active on this forum prefer straight up LitRPG, and it can get a bit annoying when books in subgenres crowd out the books we're looking for." Truthfully, though, that happens with every genre on Amazon.
No kidding - it's impossible to find a good werewolf book without having to wade through a ton of paranormal romances.
That's fair. No harm in making money and I'm not going to knock indie writers making a living! But yes, it's basically I wish I didn't have to suddenly dig through a huge pile of harems to find new books to read. I'm not begrudging those who enjoy them reading them. I just wish they were a tad less overwhelming in the LitRPG genre at the moment.