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I'm inclined to believe literary novels are RPG texts for solo play. Burr Send a noteboard - 27/02/2010 10:07:56 PM
A novel clearly has roleplay elements. Less obviously, a novel also has game elements integrated with those roleplay elements: it presents the reader with choices regarding what to believe of the characters and their situations, how to interpret the fictional events and the narration itself given those beliefs, and what to predict given those interpretations; and it provides enough of a conclusion for the reader to interpret whether or not they chose correctly. (If it doesn't do all this, then I say it isn't really a literary novel; it's just a story.)

Not that I'd consider D&D literary. There are some indie RPGs which I think are more likely to guide players toward an artistic story-based experience, but there's a difference between them and literary novels. With a novel, the intended result is embedded into the artifact. What you see is what you get, plus (distinct from the literary artifact) whatever you bring yourself. But with most if not all RPGs, it's the process that is primarily embedded in the artifact. They are more like "How to Write a Novel" books than like actual novels.
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This message last edited by Burr on 27/02/2010 at 10:11:24 PM
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The Quickpoll got me thinking. Or: What is literature? - 25/02/2010 07:04:44 PM 693 Views
Literature, at its most basic, is using words with creativity. - 25/02/2010 07:40:18 PM 515 Views
Yep I agree. *NM* - 26/02/2010 08:16:17 PM 216 Views
how about those text based video-games? - 25/02/2010 09:22:47 PM 552 Views
On that note, - 26/02/2010 08:12:51 PM 468 Views
I'm inclined to believe literary novels are RPG texts for solo play. - 27/02/2010 10:07:56 PM 714 Views
yes, comic books/graphic novels are literature - 02/03/2010 03:28:58 AM 510 Views
Definitions of what literature is change all the time - 02/03/2010 01:17:38 PM 491 Views
Literary, perhaps. - 02/03/2010 01:23:33 PM 458 Views
I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. *NM* - 02/03/2010 01:24:26 PM 207 Views
Re: I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. - 02/03/2010 06:22:08 PM 481 Views
Re: I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. - 02/03/2010 06:27:39 PM 494 Views
I know. - 02/03/2010 06:29:42 PM 488 Views
Re: I know. - 02/03/2010 09:11:55 PM 483 Views
Re: I know. - 02/03/2010 09:40:36 PM 468 Views

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