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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 694 Views
Literature, at its most basic, is using words with creativity. - 25/02/2010 07:40:18 PM 516 Views
Yep I agree. *NM* - 26/02/2010 08:16:17 PM 217 Views
how about those text based video-games? - 25/02/2010 09:22:47 PM 553 Views
On that note, - 26/02/2010 08:12:51 PM 469 Views
I'm inclined to believe literary novels are RPG texts for solo play. - 27/02/2010 10:07:56 PM 716 Views
yes, comic books/graphic novels are literature - 02/03/2010 03:28:58 AM 511 Views
Definitions of what literature is change all the time - 02/03/2010 01:17:38 PM 492 Views
Literary, perhaps. - 02/03/2010 01:23:33 PM 459 Views
I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. *NM* - 02/03/2010 01:24:26 PM 208 Views
Re: I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. - 02/03/2010 06:22:08 PM 482 Views
Re: I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. - 02/03/2010 06:27:39 PM 495 Views
I know. - 02/03/2010 06:29:42 PM 489 Views
Re: I know. - 02/03/2010 09:11:55 PM 484 Views
Re: I know. - 02/03/2010 09:40:36 PM 469 Views

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