So You Want To / Write a Lit RPG

So you want to write a Literary Roleplaying Game story. A story that follows people as they play video games.

Necessary Tropes

• Character Level - The characters should have some metric to signify how powerful their character is such as class or skill level.
• Deep-Immersion Gaming - Even if the story takes place in the real world the way the MMORPG world is shown or described is presented so realistically that it is indistinguishable from reality.
• Inside a Computer System - Usually the partially attached variety.

Choices, Choices

• Bloodless Carnage or Bloodier and Gorier - Sometimes the game world is rated T for Teen or in cases of more graphic games that gets upped to illogical extremes.
• Player Killing - Is the game PVP or PVE? Is there a PVP area separate from the main game?

Pitfalls

• Acronym and Abbreviation Overload - Lit RPG often can run into collecting a lot of slang gaming terms, such as DPS for Damage Per Second or MMO for massively multiplayer online game.
• Chick Magnet - Lit RPG has the habit of delving into male power fantasies resulting in the main character collecting a harem of crushes fawning over them.
• Dungeon Crawling - A major aspect of Fantasy MMORPGs where players have to loot dungeons to get better equipment.
• Godlike Gamer - When a character becomes so powerful either because of an exploit or because they have access to superuser privileges.
• Level Grinding - Since skills and levels are usually based on XP this can result in it taking a long time to reach max level in the game. Can be averted by having leveling scale with PVP or have abilities balanced across players and rely on player reflexes or cunning.

Potential Subversions

• Dude Looks Like a Lady - The nature of video games allows both male and female players to have characters as the opposite gender.
• Lord British Postulate - It is easy for game developers to craft an invincible NPC, but there are always players looking to bypass these restrictions via exploits and glitches.
• Not the Intended Use - Many players in games end up messing around with game systems enough to find exploits, such as rocket jumps in Team Fortess/Quake and Missing No in Pokemon Red.

Writers' Lounge

Suggested Themes and Aesops

• Absurdly High-Stakes Game - The game world doesn't have the same stakes as the real world. When people die they just respawn back, so instead make it so if you die in game you die in real life or lose all your money. Forgetting that such cruel punishments would likely end up with the game losing its player base and being abandoned. See also The Most Dangerous Video Game
• AI Isa Crapshoot - The game world NPCs are run by a powerful AI that uses its abilities to manipulate the player base.
• The Cake Is a Lie - The game world has an objective that has not yet been implemented or has a difference purpose than players are led to believe.
• Competitive Balance - A game above all else should be balanced. All players can utilize the same tactics, abilities, and classes as one another. Some time this is subverted with the main character getting access to a secret class or skill.
• Heroic Fantasy - Even though the story is set in either modern or future settings, the setting of a game allows the writer to bring modern sensibilities to a medieval setting.

Potential Motifs

• Combos - Combo attacks allow for main characters to differentiate themselves from casual players.
• Darker and Edgier - The video game can be more grim dark than the real world in the story. It could also act as a drug to keep from realizing how bad the real world is.
• RPG Mechanics 'Verse - Use of terms from video games or tabletop RPGs.

Suggested Plots

• Loot Drama - Plenty of side stories can cover how great a loot item is or who deserves to have it.

Departments

Set Designer / Location Scout

• 20 Minutes into the Future - Often a great setting to start with because it can allow for a modern setting with hyper futuristic video games.

Props Department

• Breakable Weapons - A good way of requiring players to upgrade to more durable gear or maintain their equipment. It also can act as a way to keep players invested in loot drops as they might have to switch to a different weapon when their old one eventually breaks.
• Heroes Prefer Swords - Often the sword weapons get a significant boost in popularity over other weapons.

Costume Designer

• Beauty Is Never Tarnished - Permissible for both genders as video game avatars rarely display physical damage or battle scars, unless added during character creation.

Casting Director

• Protagonist should probably have a level of Badass Normal, since their skill is game playing. Throw in a bit of Genre Savvy snark to make them superior to other players. Additionally while they might not start out this way they typically end up as the King of Games or Godlike Gamer.
• Gamer Chicks - Everyone in the game is considered a gamer.
• Jerkass - MMOs are notorious for having jerk players who want to annoy other players.
• The Bully - Usually the first antagonist introduced. Preferably a Jerk Jock who got into the game and is only good at it because they are also a Rich Bitch who can afford buy items with real world money.

Stunt Department

• Matrix Raining Code - What better way to convey future video game than code running down in an intro.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill - If your character is overpowered nothing is more satisfying than smashing low level fodder with your overleveled skills.
• Boom, Headshot! - Classic way of taking out enemies in games, especially in an FPS.

Extra Credit

The Greats

• Sword Art Online's Aincrad arc. The first arc of Sword Art Online had its ups and downs, but is generally regarded as popularizing Lit RPGs.
• Ready Player One, set in the OASIS virtual reality MMO. One gamer as he tries to discover the ultimate easter egg.
• Awaken Online, novel series following a loner gamer as he carves out his own slice of the MMO world as a powerful Necromancer.

The Epic Fails

• Sword Art Online's Fairy Dance arc. The second arc of Sword Art Online is known for being pretty divisive as well as includes both implied incest and an actual rape scene.