What must a litRPG novel have to be litRPG?

[Jon]

I've seen comments on amazon by folks who argue over what is litRPG. One person will say its this, another person will say its that. Maybe you fine folks here can clear this up.

What must a litRPG novel have (ingredients) for it to be considered true litRPG?

[Roger]

For me it is level ups and stats/skills, doesn't matter how they happen or what the system is. Just needs to be levels and stats/skills (and for me the more the better, but that's just preference)

[Riley]

For me, levels, but specifically levels that give a choice of some kind. Either stat distribution, "talent tree" choices, spells, etc. There needs to be some indication that the level means something more than just imaginary numbers going up that don't actually impact the story.

[Travis]

Agree with the comments posted here. According to the Russian author who invented the genre, LitRPG must have some sort of measurable advancement, (usually in the form of levels and skill progression), but as long as there's tangible progress that can be objectively measured, it's considered LitRPG.
With that said, I have to agree, that levels that actually contribute to character growth work best for me, as well as lots of stats. (I'm in the group who thoroughly enjoys stats), and it's of course always interesting to see unique skills that help the character get better as well. I also enjoy characters who make useful contributions with skills that at first glance are considered useless.

[Freedom]

LitRPG must have a game or a game-like world. There must be stats and there must be quantifiable progress for the character.

GameLit takes things down a notch by eschewing the stats in favor of focusing on a story that glazes over this element. Think isekai or Ready Player One.

Hope this helps!

[Aleister]

Would you guys consider Caverns and Creatures to be LitRPG? I had always thought so, but after reading the post above, I am thinking it is gamelit for sure, but possibly only borderline LitRPG.

[GaiusPrimus, Kindle Wizard]

I'm going to disagree with Fel (gasp)

Gamelit - anything that has game-like mechanics. Levels/stats/skills/loot. Stats are generally on the soft side. A general umbrella term that all other "categories" fall under.

LitRPG - a category of Gamelit where the stats are crunchy. Lots of tables.

[Freedom]

Aleister wrote: "Would you guys consider Caverns and Creatures to be LitRPG? I had always thought so, but after reading the post above, I am thinking it is gamelit for sure, but possibly only borderline LitRPG."

Hi Aleister! I haven't read the series, however, Ramon over at the LitRPG Podcast has read every title and reviews the new releases regularly. According to him, the Caverns and Creatures series is LitRPG.

You can find the Caverns and Creatures reviews by Ramon here: http://litrpgpodcast.com/search?q=cav...

Ramon is a source I trust when it comes to LitRPG; his preferences are similar to mine, and the reviews end up saving me eyeball time galore in respect to books I otherwise would not have appreciated.