Author reflections
What is LitRPG?
Author J. F. Danskin on the explosion of novels with game-like elements and statistics.
For the past three years, I have been deeply immersed in reading and writing LitRPG novels. When I mention this to people, the most obvious and common question is to ask — what is LitRPG?
If you know the definition of LitRPG already, you might be more interested in reading my discussion of whether LitRPG should be considered a part of fantasy fiction.
But if LitRPG is new (or almost new) to you, read on… I’ll try to keep it brief as well as informative!
On RPGs
First up, we need to know about the ‘RPG’ bit. RPG stands for role-playing game.
A role-playing game, for the un-initiated, is a game where players take on a specific character, and go on open-ended adventures, usually run by a game-master. The most famous one is Dungeons and Dragons (D&D).
Collectively, these games are know for the use of dice, character sheets, stats, and calculations. For example, a typical D&D character has…
