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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 746 Views
Literature, at its most basic, is using words with creativity. - 25/02/2010 07:40:18 PM 561 Views
Yep I agree. *NM* - 26/02/2010 08:16:17 PM 245 Views
how about those text based video-games? - 25/02/2010 09:22:47 PM 605 Views
On that note, - 26/02/2010 08:12:51 PM 529 Views
I'm inclined to believe literary novels are RPG texts for solo play. - 27/02/2010 10:07:56 PM 799 Views
yes, comic books/graphic novels are literature - 02/03/2010 03:28:58 AM 556 Views
Definitions of what literature is change all the time - 02/03/2010 01:17:38 PM 532 Views
Literary, perhaps. - 02/03/2010 01:23:33 PM 506 Views
I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. *NM* - 02/03/2010 01:24:26 PM 225 Views
Re: I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. - 02/03/2010 06:22:08 PM 527 Views
Re: I am not sure what you mean by the distinction. - 02/03/2010 06:27:39 PM 545 Views
I know. - 02/03/2010 06:29:42 PM 543 Views
Re: I know. - 02/03/2010 09:11:55 PM 536 Views
Re: I know. - 02/03/2010 09:40:36 PM 516 Views

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