Carl's Doomsday Scenario

LitRPG is a new subgenre of fantasy and science fiction that combines traditional fantasy with game mechanics and focuses on character development and skill progression. Magic Dome Books, a Russian fantasy book publisher, coined the term in 2012, stating that the subgenre “describes the hero’s adventures within an online computer game. […] merg[ing] traditional book-style narration with elements of a gaming experience” (“LitRPG.” Magic Dome Books). Though similar to the portal fantasy, another popular fantasy subgenre, LitRPG is distinguished by its heavy reliance on “interactive gaming language, such as the inclusion of various system messages, players’ stats” and other elements (“LitRPG.” Magic Dome Books).

Magic Dome Books’s inspirations include the 2011 novel Ready Player One and Sword Art Online, a Japanese web novel series that began in 2001 and has inspired a series of light novels, a manga, and an anime. Sword Art Online is the earliest example of the format that places characters inside a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game they must escape.

However, LitRPG has older roots. Ready Player One is inspired by 1980s video game culture, particularly the 1982 movie Tron. Likewise, Sword Art Online is inspired by the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, an online role-playing game in which players interact across the globe, earn points to progress, and participate in quests.