LitRPG is a new and developing sub-genre of fantasy fiction. Thus far, the term has mostly been applied to Russian, Korean, and Japanese light novels as well as to stories that take place in a virtual reality world.

These virtual reality worlds are characterized by their imitation of how an RPG video game is played. While there are a number of appeals and conveniences that come with presenting a story in this way, there are also a number of setbacks and potential problems for the narrative. I...