LitRPG books and their authors excluded from the site
Wicked Lobstah
Posted 2024-12-30 7:32 PM (#30684)
Subject: LitRPG books and their authors excluded from the site



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Location: Salem, MA		Is there a reason we don't recognize any LitRPG books on this website? I completely understand that this website is solely dedicated to SciFi, Fantasy, and Horror, but almost all of these LitRPG books are based on these genres. Additionally, their authors don't have any mention.

Let's take a quick look at one series that has become pretty popular / mainstream: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. The series consists of 7 books, to date, set on earth after an alien race has initiated an apocalyptic event killing off most of humanity in order to harvest the planet for resources. The survivors of the event made their way underground and unknowingly entered into a multi-level dungeon that serves as the backdrop for universally syndicated reality tv show. It is loaded with fantastical beast such as, goblins, zombies, demons, gods, gnomes, shapeshifters, and vampires. Magic and Technology are widely used, as well as a wide variety of weapons and armors.

How can this not be considered SciFi / Fantasy? Is the fact that there is a leveling system for the characters the sole detractor from adding this series, and others like it, from this site. Is it a formatting issue as many LitRPG books are exclusively audiobooks? 95% of the books I "read" are audiobooks that I am listening to on my daily commutes. Not to mention, as I write this, I'm staring at hardcovers of the first three books of the series, sitting on a bookshelf in my office.

There are tons of series in the genre that should be on here, and I believe LitRPG should definitely be included on WWEnd as nothing less than a sub-genre. Lets give these authors the credit they deserve and open up their works to people who might not even know they exist.
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Administrator
Posted 2024-12-30 11:04 PM (#30685 - in reply to #30684)
Subject: RE: LitRPG books and their authors excluded from the site



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Wicked Lobstah - 2024-12-30 7:32 PM
Is there a reason we don't recognize any LitRPG books on this website? I completely understand that this website is solely dedicated to SciFi, Fantasy, and Horror, but almost all of these LitRPG books are based on these genres. Additionally, their authors don't have any mention.

I have never heard of "LitRPG" books but it sounds like tie-in books for non-video games which are just fine to be added to WWEnd. We have books based on genre video games so why not genre role playing games? If you don't find any on the site it's only because they are not in the running for the awards we cover or the lists we feature -- which would automatically get them in -- or that nobody has ever asked for any of those books or authors to be added.

Wicked Lobstah - 2024-12-30 7:32 PM
Let's take a quick look at one series that has become pretty popular / mainstream: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. The series consists of 7 books, to date, set on earth after an alien race has initiated an apocalyptic event killing off most of humanity in order to harvest the planet for resources...

So here is where we run into troubled waters. The story and contents are genre but your example author, Matt Dinniman, is mostly self-published. We do not, at this time, include self-published authors in the database unless their books have been nominated for an award. His books that have been picked up by Ace -- from what I can tell are the first 3 books in the DC series -- are eligible for entry but not the ones from Dandy House which is his company.

Wicked Lobstah - 2024-12-30 7:32 PM
There are tons of series in the genre that should be on here, and I believe LitRPG should definitely be included on WWEnd as nothing less than a sub-genre. Lets give these authors the credit they deserve and open up their works to people who might not even know they exist.

All you have to do to get them in is to make your requests in the request thread. Our Ubers will put them in for you so long as they are traditionally published. Please do your research before you make requests that our Ubers will have to deny. Nobody likes having to do that. Also, please don't flood us with tons of these right off the bat. The request list is long already and giant list requests will just get you ignored. Throw down a couple series then a couple more when those have been seen to.

As far as a sub-genre just for LitRPG goes I'm not sure that's the way forward. They should fit within the subs we already have just fine. The fact that I've never heard of these before means nobody in the last 20 years has asked for them to be added. Our membership skews towards the more mature end of the spectrum so these are probably new to more folks than just me. Start your requests with the best ones you know and let's see how people react.

If you'd like to have a conversation about LitRPG I'm usually hanging out in Ten Forward on Discord when I'm in front of my computer -- which is all the time. Hit me up if you'd like to chat directly. Link is on the Contact Us page. It's hard to have an in-depth conversation via text sometimes.

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Wicked Lobstah
Posted 2024-12-31 12:52 PM (#30689 - in reply to #30685)
Subject: RE: LitRPG books and their authors excluded from the site



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Location: Salem, MA
Administrator - 2024-12-31 12:04 AM

Administrator - 2024-12-31 12:04 AM
I have never heard of "LitRPG" books but it sounds like tie-in books for non-video games...

This genre of books have nothing to do with video games. LitRPG stands for Literary RPG. I understand that RPG stands for Role Playing Game, but this refers mostly to the heavy character-building aspect of the books, which is similar to the character building of an RPG game I suppose. Think of it like this, you have a D&D character that you've played and developed for years, and all the game nights that you played with your buddies were transcribed down on paper.

Administrator - 2024-12-31 12:04 AM
We do not, at this time, include self-published authors in the database unless their books have been nominated for an award. His books that have been picked up by Ace -- from what I can tell are the first 3 books in the DC series -- are eligible for entry but not the ones from Dandy House which is his company.

I didn't know this. I've only been using this site for a few months, mostly just to track my reads and find others. I never tried to add a book to the database and can understand how this is a conflict with your protocols.

Administrator - 2024-12-31 12:04 AM
All you have to do to get them in is to make your requests in the request thread. Our Ubers will put them in for you so long as they are traditionally published. Please do your research before you make requests that our Ubers will have to deny. Nobody likes having to do that. Also, please don't flood us with tons of these right off the bat. The request list is long already and giant list requests will just get you ignored.

Great info, thank you.

Administrator - 2024-12-31 12:04 AM
Our membership skews towards the more mature end of the spectrum so these are probably new to more folks than just me. Start your requests with the best ones you know and let's see how people react.

Don't be misled by the RPG connotation to video games. A lot of these novels are very graphic and intended for adult readers, as opposed to the 500+ children's books in the "Juvenile Fantasy" Sub-Genre on this site. I'll add a few below just to point people towards some of the series I've enjoyed.

Here are 5 series for a quick dive into the genre:
Dungeon Crawler Carl -Matt Dinniman (7 titles)
He Who Fights With Monsters -Shirtaloon (11 titles)
The Primal Hunter -Zogarth (10 titles)
Warformed: Stormweaver -Bryce O'Connor (2 titles)
Azarinth Healer -Rhaegar (4 titles)

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