RANT Stat Porn

Discussion in 'All Things LitRPG' started by RYKHER, Sep 22, 2017.

  1. RYKHER

    RYKHER Level 3 (Apprentice) Citizen

    50%
    Messages:
    3
    Likes:
    7
    xp:
    15
    LitCoin:
    162,337
    Zorkmid:
    7
    Keyword : Stat Porn. And a very long rant.

    I'm relatively new here, just another lurker but this post definitely didn't seem short enough for Facebook, not that I'd get much of an unbiased reaction on this subject over there.

    So, here i am :)

    Until a few minutes ago i was reading a RRL series--'The legend of Randidly Ghosthound'. I've been putting off reading it for a while now, despite the praises heaped upon it everywhere.

    So, why did i avoid it?

    Honestly, the title killed my mood. Yes, I'm a terrible guy for judging a book by its title,(considering i don't even remember most book titles after a while, no matter how much i loved/hated the story) and, today(having nothing better to do), i decided to give it a go.

    Now, I'm 15 chapters into the story and throughout the read, only one word comes to mind --STAT PORN.

    Needless to say, i decided to rant.

    Let me begin by stating what i believe most will agree with: Stat/skill/level increases give you a rush. When we're playing a game and our char levels up, we're pleased. We get a sense of accomplishment. Some chemicals most likely dance in our brain and get us addicted in the process.

    Some people like to grind indefinitely just to have the highest levels of char/skills etc.

    So, here's my issue. There's a difference between an 'actual story(series /novel/whatever)' and 'porn'. And recently, there's been a piece too many which masquerades as the former while it's clearly not.

    Let's not misunderstand, I'm NOT targeting Erotica.

    I'll list the common indicators which define porn for me.

    -The plot can be about anything, even a world destruction level event, but 90%+ of the piece would be about the MC(or reader/viewer) getting their fantasies fulfilled.
    -There will be nil to minimal character development.
    -The world level event becomes either a background scene or it'll be resolved near instantaneously (because the fantasy is fullfilled already?)
    -Certain scenes which give the audience a 'rush' will be repeated TOO MANY TIMES.

    Examples?

    -Well, for regular erotic porn, google is sufficient help :p

    -Explosion porn : Transformer movies.

    -Moping/whiny porn : A lot of the YA books/movies.

    -Savior/chosen one porn: Portals of infinity series. Some Mary/Marty Sue type works

    -Gore porn- Sequels of Saw

    -Stat porn: Any guesses? Yup, too many of the LitRPGs available at the moment.

    Arcane Emperor- RRL

    The Land series- Amazon

    The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound- RRL


    Now, like i said earlier, i have a flawed memory and cannot recollect names easily, so i can't really write down more examples without going through my bookshelf (maybe you can point out more examples?).

    Arcane Emperor - The MC was op from the beginning. I didn't drop it, the premise seemed interesting. I decided right there that I'd skip/skim the wish-fulfillment harem/erotic scenes and read it for the story itself.

    I definitely didn't expect it to become a stat dump all of a sudden.

    The MC keeps getting stat/skill bonuses, upgrades etc, and every single time they're listed in the chapters. I don't think most of achievements are even useful to the char, aside from the one confrontation for which they were/are created for.

    The MC receives those achievements and bonuses just because. The series is littered with those dumps which serve just one purpose --giving that 'rush' of accomplishment/achievement.(see the list of indicators)
    On the very slightly brighter side, the plot progression isn't non-existent.

    The Land series- Immortal MC with infinite potential... Maybe this should have rung the warning bells? The main plot remains in the background, the subplots only seem to exist to give more quests/stats/skills/loot which are then dumped on screen. It's basically Arcane Emperor, but without a progressing plot, or character development.


    The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound- The first 15 chapters are nothing but the MC receiving stat upgrades. Most of that time is spent in a safe room with occasional food runs to the dangerous areas of the dungeon. 15 chapters, one room, and i don't even know anything about the MC other than his name and the name of 2 people who he thinks about once in a while. There's also some spearman guy/alien who conveniently popped up when the plot needed the MC to gain more skills/stats


    Hence, porn.


    Not wish-fulfillment. Awaken Online is wish-fulfillment, but the characters and the plot actually move forward. Harry Potter is another such example.


    What is the point of this rant? Idk. Maybe I'm pissed by porn being treated as the next best piece of literature. Maybe I'm unable to comprehend any other reasons for the stat/skill dumps other than my assumption mentioned above.( Padding the book? Showing their love for spreadsheets?) Maybe i feel my eyes threatening to liquefy from repeatedly watching those screens/tables...

    Anyway, I've got nothing against people who enjoy porn(legal ones of course). Watching Michael Bay colorful explosions is cool.

    I do have a problem with people lying through their teeth about a book/movie that is apparently so so great(almost a work of art really) that i buy/give it a go, only to realize it's porn.

    If you managed to read this far, thanks for your time.
     
  2. Matthew James

    Matthew James Blind Beholder Beta Reader Citizen

    38%
    Messages:
    318
    Likes:
    455
    xp:
    269
    LitCoin:
    3,251
    Zorkmid:
    0
    Most of these fall into the "you'll miss me when I'm gone!" teenager suicide threats category and end with a resolution and then the unraveling of the resolution.

    "Becky got dumped by Brad because he didn't understand her need to [____] and then when he came around they got back together and they totally did it, except Brad was into [____] and wouldn't stop so Becky had to break up with him because Brad tried to compare his [____] to Becky's [_____]."

    Character A does X and Character B reacts negatively and then Character B does a parallel thing of X and Character A reacts negatively and asserts the power previously shown by Character B. Power = break up, freeze out, success, being happy, etc. Then as part of the process Character B must either be reduced to a phony / shallow person who was never actually what Character A has transcended to become, or Character B must be miserable and totally unhinged and selfish: even when they really seem like the more sympathetic character in a story.

    Its not exactly like that for every teen movie/story, but almost always the character gets what they want and then ditch it because of some insanely similar reason to why they were mopey/whiny in the first place when they were the wronged party.

    [​IMG]

    She's All That. note: Rachel Leigh Cook could totally pass for Ariel Winter's mom... also I'm a conservative that loves Modern Family.

    On Topic: As far as Stat Porn goes, I've come to the conclusion that it exists because a lot of LitRPG authors aren't really telling a character driven story, but a game driven one. The characters are basically side kicks to the game world in those wish fulfillment stories. Its why the Dungeon Core LitRPG stories get a total pass, because its the only genre that marries every part of character development with game progression. The Dungeon thinks about whatever it thinks about, and because its a dungeon every single thought that passes through its head is related to the "Game" parts of the story. The same is of course true for LitRPG stories where protagonists play in game worlds as avatars, but they interact with simulated game environments and aren't part of the simulated game environment so that only counts as a "Virtual Reality Story."

    The trick of what qualifies as game-like in massive simulated worlds and what isn't game-like remains consistent enough that I barely get irritated any more when I read "This isn't LitRPG."
     
    RYKHER and John Ward like this.
  3. Felicity Weiss

    Felicity Weiss Musey Muse Muse Shop Owner Citizen

    62%
    Messages:
    885
    Likes:
    1,425
    xp:
    1,123
    Zone:
    Oregon
    LitCoin:
    2,586,754
    Zorkmid:
    532
    I arrived for the porn. That is all.

    But srsly, welcome : )
     
    Zombiebreath and RYKHER like this.
  4. RYKHER

    RYKHER Level 3 (Apprentice) Citizen

    50%
    Messages:
    3
    Likes:
    7
    xp:
    15
    LitCoin:
    162,337
    Zorkmid:
    7
    Agreed. But even in such a story it's unnecessary to drone on and on about every single gain. And allowing the MCs to recieve every single gain possible is just bad writing.

    For me, stat sheets/tables fall into the category of Telling rather than Showing, necessary at times for blunt impact and quick walk throughs. Too much blunt impact hurts though. The stat sheets go on and and on, then the narration goes on and on about how awesome the skill/stat is. But when it comes to 'showing' the effects, the descriptions/scenes are sorely lacking. Why not show the awesomeness mainly through the scenes in which those gains will be useful, rather than forcing the reader to sit through a boring internal monolog of those gains?

    Who wants to sit through a guy talking to himself about all the stuff he can do with that ring of+2 charisma?
     
  5. Seagrim

    Seagrim Level 18 (Magician) LitRPG Author Citizen

    35%
    Messages:
    831
    Likes:
    1,306
    xp:
    935
    LitCoin:
    604,568
    Zorkmid:
    32

    Let me put on this ring of +2 charisma.

    [​IMG]

    .....
    .....
    "I'm throwing the damn thing into a volcano."
     
    Yuli Ban and RYKHER like this.
  6. Matthew James

    Matthew James Blind Beholder Beta Reader Citizen

    38%
    Messages:
    318
    Likes:
    455
    xp:
    269
    LitCoin:
    3,251
    Zorkmid:
    0
    [​IMG]

    This guy would like to take the Charisma Ring off your hand. He also might handle the vampire for some pineapple juice.
     
    RYKHER and VRRanger like this.
  7. TJ Knight

    TJ Knight Writing books as: TJ Quest & Quinn Dallas LitRPG Author Citizen

    54%
    Messages:
    8
    Likes:
    23
    xp:
    127
    LitCoin:
    409,746
    Zorkmid:
    20
    Also stat dumps make for TERRIBLE audio book listening!
     
  8. RYKHER

    RYKHER Level 3 (Apprentice) Citizen

    50%
    Messages:
    3
    Likes:
    7
    xp:
    15
    LitCoin:
    162,337
    Zorkmid:
    7
    OMG, i hope there's no such ring that turns you into a sparklepire.

    As for the audio book issue, yeah, I've seen people complain about it everywhere. The thing is, a lot of fans seem to want their fav litrpgs turned into not just audiobooks but movies too... So, now, imagine having to watch stat tables every few minutes in the movie. :p
     
    Paul Bellow and Matthew James like this.
  9. Seagrim

    Seagrim Level 18 (Magician) LitRPG Author Citizen

    35%
    Messages:
    831
    Likes:
    1,306
    xp:
    935
    LitCoin:
    604,568
    Zorkmid:
    32
    [​IMG]

    Not anymore, but, it was hard on the volcano.

    Pele hates the sparkly ones.
     
  10. Matthew James

    Matthew James Blind Beholder Beta Reader Citizen

    38%
    Messages:
    318
    Likes:
    455
    xp:
    269
    LitCoin:
    3,251
    Zorkmid:
    0
    The thing is they want those stats the same way they like them in SAO, swipe left/right and summon sword and then on with the characters life. They don't actually want the stats in any meaningful way.
     




Share This Page