So, I've heard a lot of readers say that they actively dislike trapped in a game LitRPG set ups. I've been using one in my Freehaven Online series. I stand behind it because it adds stakes to the story beyond the protagonist simply playing a game, signing off whenever they want to, and going back to their life. The meat of the story has to have meaningful impact on a person's life which a casual recreational activity usually doesn't. Looking back on my favorite books in the genre, they all have this feel to them with the exception of Super Sales which I don't really consider LitRPG.... Just Super Hero with LitRPG-like elements. My question is this: If trapped in a game is so horrible, what are people looking for to replace it? There's always portal LitRPGs, wherein the protagonists are physically transported to a game world, but for me as a writer, that's almost the same. It's basically "This was your game, and this is your life now." The only difference is glitchy technology, vs supernatural (or space ship) influence. I've also been mapping out a future series that is more along the lines of augmented reality where people have implants that induce controlled hallucinations. It's a fun idea, but ultimately I'll be hitting the same wall so long as people can turn it off at any time and regard it as 'just a game.' Yeah, there's the pro-gamer angle, but I don't find that so interesting personally. There's also the RPO "Contest that can change the winner's life" story, but if too many of these appear it'll get tired. I could look at an addiction storyline... That could be fun. A bit dark compared to most in the genre. I dunno. I'm just trying to understand why so many readers seem to hate stuck in game setups, and what they'd rather see in their place (that is still considered LitRPG). Take out the game element but keep the fantasy world and battles which presumably have stakes and you have fantasy or sci-fi. Keep the game, and remove the stakes and you're left with "So what?"
I don't mind the trapped in a game trope. Actually, I mind very little about the premise as long as it's executed well and given a lot of thought. That said, I will roll my eyes when I see a blurb that goes: "Something Online is the most popular VR game in the world. Generic MC escapes his boring normal life by living out his fantasy as a powerful mage/paladin/guild leader in this generic game, and all is going well, until he finds he cannot log out. Now he must fight for survival and find a way out!" And I also roll my eyes when I open the book and the first thing is "I'm just living my normal life and then I log in and I play a game a little bit to show you the mechanics before we get to the story" There's nothing really wrong with any of these, but it feels incredibly bland and predictable. Okay, it might be interesting if it's the first book you've read that's like this, but when every other story is something along this line, I can understand the readers' frustration. But I will make a claim here: readers don't hate 'trapped in a game', but 'trapped in a game done in a cliched manner because it's been done over and over and over and over' (Just like I will claim that readers don't actually hate OP characters. Readers hate OP characters done poorly.) Like, someone please start a story like this: ---- The logout button was gone. I stared at it. I dismissed the menu and called it back. The space where the familiar green logout button had always been was now blank. What the heck? I glanced around, wondering if it was happening to everyone, but I was in Tinderwick Forest, killing Level 8 Fanged Mushrooms for experience and the Generic Spores that sold for a decent 60 copper at the auction house, and there was no one in sight. I tried the menu several more times, even calling up other menus in hopes that it was nothing but a simple glitch, and that how doing random actions would fix it, but the logout button was still missing. I fought down a little panic. I was in a commercial connection pod. I could stay alive for another 20 hours, and the people would get me out when my time was up. The lady minding the place had been pretty stern about keeping time. Another idea occurred to me and I did something I had never done before, which was to call up the settings menu and looked for the Live Customer Service chat. It was grayed out. I suddenly felt cold sweat breaking out all over my body. As I thought to head back to the nearest village and ask if anyone was having the same problem, a voice boomed out on World Chat. I am your new overlord! You are now all trapped! If you want to log out, come sign up for my death game at Evil Lord Castle. Mwahahahaha. ---- You know... get to the point immediately, and not have it be: MC plays a generic game with his friends / some bickering (without properly establishing characters first) / some showing of random abilities (without explaining the system properly) / OMG we're trapped / some more grinding / some more events... Because if readers know from the blurb that it's a 'trapped in a game' kind of story, anything that comes before being trapped in a game is incredibly predictable. There's no real surprise, because you know they're going to be trapped, and you also know the 'before you're trapped' is just a bunch of set-up, and when readers know that, there's no sense of adventure or exploration. It's just a grind.
Could simply be because of over-saturation or poor writing as to why people dislike it. I don't mind being stuck in video games if it's explained or if it provides a tougher challenge besides 'how do I get out'. It's too easy to use 'stuck' as a cop-out for better development. Tropes are tropes for a reason but, to me, if they're well-written or bring in an angle not explored, have at it. But yeah, I'm in the same boat as you, what do people want in replacement. There's only so much you can do with a game without turning it straight into a fantasy or sci-fi. Maybe a LARP? That addiction one would be interesting! It's a real problem in gaming communities.
Methinks that Windfall nails it pretty squarely; I think it's a fair bet that most readers have a clue (from checking the blurb) of what sort of sub-GameLit the book is about (as in that other thread by W, I guess we can all agree that "Trapped in Game" is a tag most readers will pay attention to! =), so as long as the book gets there quickly (and with a bit of imagination), most readers that have already opened the book (because they liked the Tags) will be okay with it. As for specific ideas: the "pro gamer" could take a lot of forms in a future in which gaming is widespread; imagine for example virtual romances (which exist nowadays), and somebody running a PI agency for when somebody thinks they are being cheated (in the romantic sense). I mean, just like nowadays a "pro gamer" can be somebody that sells virtual items (and their sudden inability, for whatever reason, to sell those items would be a crisis for them), seems reasonable that with VRMMOs that are played "just as games" there will still be a lot of folks earning a living from those MMOs... and whenever somebody needs to earn a living, there's an opportunity for conflict, as everyday working life shows. =)
I agree with Windfall and Herko. It's more just the "boring" ways to do it than the trope itself, I think. Tropes aren't bad; they just have to be used in the "right" way. There's a reason trope exist! They can be fun and interesting and 'comforting' in a way, especially if they're done in a clever or pleasant way. Nothing wrong with being the dashing hero if he's written right! Or the dark anti-hero. Or getting the girl. Or any of those if they're done in a way that doesn't feel tired and predictable and poorly done. For a pro gamer angle? Hmm, maybe it could be something linked to them winning something important. Like...for example, they've been the winner the past 3 years and used the money to support their sick mom/grandma/sister/brother/what-have-you. But since they're popular, all the competition is gunning for them harder than ever so they have to win because if they don't, the person they're keeping alive with these winnings won't make it. Or something like that. Or maybe they were a promising young gamer type that signed a contract and didn't read the fine print. They didn't realize that they'd have to pay back everything if they lost during the 5 year contract or something? There's also the "future" angle which isn't so future anymore. Like there are professional WoW raiders and Overwatch teams, etc. Basically, you need to do the job or you lose the job and your livelihood. Maybe a wrench could be thrown into that in the form of...I don't know, a big patch that suddenly changes things? Or them being moved to a game that they didn't expect and having to relearn to be "top gamers"? Granted, not as "real life" stakes as "you die in the game, you die in real life", but losing your job and having to deal with a constantly changing work environment is something a lot of people can understand and sympathize with?
Hum! At quick glance, the patch angle seems like a very, very good idea (something that could even become a trope of the genre, actually, and I fully agree that tropes are perfectly okay, IMHO; it's all about the execution). This is something that happens right now, actually: the top pro games, like LoL, DotA II, and Overwatch, need to handle their patches really, really carefully since on the one hand they have to introduce new content (to keep the game fresh, and the masses happy), but can wreack havok among pro teams (since that changes the game). And losing your job is nothing to scoff at, so yep: "Patches Puts Pro in Problems" seems like quite a realistic scenario! =)
I’d think that people would actually respond to being trapped in a game like “so I never have to go back to my mundane, boring life? SWEET!” instead of “oh crap, I’m stuck here! I have to get back to my boring, mundane existence AT ALL COSTS!” The fault in the premise is in that reaction, for me. If I were to get stuck in, say, WoW, as my main character, I’d be pretty thrilled.
This exactly. As a gamer being stuck inside any VRMMO like the ones we imagine and write about would be a blessing, not a curse. I think therefore, a good onerous on the author becomes a really believable reason for wanting out. I've used this trope myself in my current WIP, but I sort of start inside the game from page one. I personally have no issues with the trope as a reader provided I like the character enough to care about their plight. It ups the stakes for the characters, simply because of the punishments for dying, etc. I think writing without the trope is actually the harder option because it forces us to have stakes external to the game stakes. I recently finished book 2 of the Awaken Online series where there is external and internal stake-setup. This is possibly key to keeping the tension high throughout. From a technical perspective it's a lot rougher on an author as you need to have a secondary plotline (or even third) relating to these external stakes. However, I think that externally, all these plots need to do is ensure that the character continues to play, or has something riding on the outcome. Fiscal stability is great (we can all totally relate) though there are a few I think might be overlooked or under-used: -solving a mystery (I don't know if any of you have watched HunterxHunter's Greed Island arc- where the characters go into a game ((portal fantasy style)) in order to find Gon's father's trial. This is not the only mystery plot someone can solve with this sort of setup) -pursuing a personal achievement/goal (wanting to be the best, or finding something that is rumoured/proving a myth-- virtual big-foot hunting) -doing it for someone else both good and bad (X is in a coma after something happened in game, this relates back to the mystery idea, too. Ooorr, being a high-level player in this game is worth a lot of money and a mob-boss wants in on it. Or a rich person wants a character that comes pre-awesome and pays for the poor character to level for it) -Retirement for the elderly is one I'd like to see personally. Given most of the tech we're imagining is set in 20+ years into the future, as a person who will be 50 at min. when I expect to see them the idea of being able to sit in a nursing home and be immersed in a VR is a hugggggeeeeeee potential. I would be in there constantly. (I may have to write something on this myself because it really resounds for me as something that would be awesome) This would cut down hugely on the costs of retirement homes potentially as a bed and meals would be most of the interest I would want. All entertainment to be had through a steady internet connection. Also opens up a chapter of 'well crap, the electrical grid went down in a storm, and we're 90 year olds who have almost never interacted with eachother outside of VR' -It's not used much as a MC, but being the actual creator of the game. We see this 'mad genius' in so many supporting roles in most books, but surely they would be a great character to also play and devote huge amounts of time to the game. You can have this creator playing off against the AI that he built to run the game, exploring his own world, etc.
I'm one of those that Nay says this premise. My reasons :- 1. If you're trapped then it breaks my immersion somewhat as all I can think of is "Legal ramifications, Lawsuits, company bankrupt, what the hell is happening to your body, what if you got disconnected from the net for like a second?" 2. The very idea of being trapped horrifies me, I actually feel the walls closing in. Be it in Litrpg, other genres or even movies. I can't stand the thought of being trapped somewhere. 3. Fake stakes. This is not about your book but in some books the fact that the MC is the ONLY one trapped is leaned on too heavily and used as a Mcguffin. He was the only one to log in 1000 hrs of continuous play, congrats! you get an ultra rare, one of a kind leopard pet. You hold the highest score of hours played without death, congrats! The god or providence will now give you a hidden ability... who can honestly say they relate to that? 4. You are reminded constantly that he character is trapped and that he feels all the pain, in some books death is final... YET HE NEVER ACTS THAT WAY!!!!!!!!! If you need to scream something at me just to justify your character doing the exact opposite then you're doing it wrong. 5. The indecisive MC, Most of the ones trapped in game swing between "Yay! Fun!" and "I must find a way home, sigh." I know that authors consider MC's their babies however as a reader I find this very indecisive and please go back to point four to understand why. I WOULD respect the book more if the author was committed. Either have the MC think of nothing but going home and everything he does is in that vain be it a conscious or subconscious effort OR which I find more fun, have him renounce the real world and go (f**k that, my life was crap anyway) his focus exclusive on the game being the gamer that he is. This only works if the MC is A. so OP it breaks the game but it's so satisfying watching him kickass and delete names! Starting with a zero character here is not a good idea as you will need a mcguffin to help him get to OP status which just weakens him. B. A basement dwelling zero and down right useless in-game, pretty much the entitled fool and played off as a comic relief. In this case it's his party that's the muscle while he's the one with either the brains or the heart in the group. I feel like I went on a bit there. Sorry!
For me that all depends on the realism of the game. I mean... if it's super realistic it's like "WTF I live in a world where things want to kill me all the frickin' time." If it's not so much then "No... ZOMG I'm a ken doll, forever!" I dunno... Personally, I think it'd be fun to play, but I'd miss my modern creature comforts.
I have a horror litrpg work in progress where being trapped is part of the horror. I've read a few that have done it well, but the game should be engaging enough or the rewards grand enough where the players want to stay inside. Futuristic RPGs where the real world sucks so much that the game is nearly a necessity as another good way to go.
I'm actually using these conflicts as part of my book. It is a portal LitRPG, but the people go home when one side reaches the victory condition. (Which also decides the cliffhanger real world situation they were summoned out of.) What if some of the people decide they don't care about that real world situation anymore and that they never want to go home? DUNDUNDUUUUUHHHH!!!
Yes, that's true. That said, I can see why there might be some tension because's there's a market for gamelit that is basically just "main characters play video games"— if you can pull it off convincingly. It makes sense if you're following in their footsteps that they'd be your favorites. Just like how my favorite electronic bands all have solid songwriting and carry more of the ethos that made classic/progressive rock/pop/rap great rather than just being dance music. And that's the problem that's not necessarily up to the readers to solve. I can completely see why people would get tired of it, because it's a cliche. Not necessarily a trope yet because the genre's still new. In the mainstream at least, the big "breakthrough" series literally just got a movie earlier this year, and stories that dealt with being trapped in a game/simulation were more or less novelties before now. And this seems to be your big hang-up, what's keeping you from "getting" it— there are only stakes if the protagonists' lives are endangered. There's no other way to write a story other than "trapped in the game/die in the game, die for real" if you come into it thinking that it has to have that particular danger for you to get invested in it. I'm a little different. I tend to come up with ideas imagining what if I was playing these games, and since I don't much like the idea of dying, I try to keep that option off the table. If failure in the game leads to my death, let that be through my life falling apart so hard that it leads me to take my life in a mental miasma of despair and regret, not because I failed an evil AI's arbitrarily-established rules. I've actually been thinking about playing with that once I get at least one modestly-selling story under my belt (preferably more than one), a sort of litRPG tragedy with some protagonist who fails and you have to endure his attempts to claw his way back to victory not knowing he's destined to fail and then BAM. Horrorshow. Some sort of real downer that'd get me plagued with bad reviews but I'd still enjoy writing regardless. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, readers feel it's overplayed when there are more ways to tell a convincing story. Not necessarily commercially successful ways, but different ways nonetheless.
