Racing Litrpg/Gamelit

[ThisAdamGuy]

I was just playing Mario Kart, and it occured to me that a battle racing tournament could be a really cool setting for a litrpg or gamelit. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you think it could be done well?

The first problem that jumps out at me is how to keep the readers attention in between races. Racing games aren't exactly known for having deep, engaging storylines, right? Maybe in between the major races, the story would focus on the competitors actually getting to the next race, leading to Death Race-style battles on public roads when other racers try to sabotage them.

The other problem is that racing strikes me as a very visual sort of entertainment. Like, sure you can describe what's going on, but I don't know how exciting that would be compared to actually watching a race. There's only so many times you can write "He spun the wheel to the right, narrowly skirting around the driver in front of him, and then swerved hard to the left as he approached a sharp turn" before it gets boring.

What do you think? Could a story like this do well, or is racing just not a sport that translates well to books?

 

[LilRora]

The main problem with this is that a story centered on racing caters mostly to a group of people that generally don't have much to do with books. There's very little overlap between the two interests, unlike historical fiction not to search far.

Writing a book about racing is not a bad idea at all, but I don't think it would get a large audience unless you combine this with other themes and topics to keep people uninterested in racing hooked.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Are you familiar with the old Speed Racer cartoon? That might be a good template for something like this. There is also a cultivation novel my wife was listening to called "God Among Men" that seems to get into this a bit.

 

[John_Owl]

The main problem with this is that a story centered on racing caters mostly to a group of people that generally don't have much to do with books. There's very little overlap between the two interests, unlike historical fiction not to search far.

Writing a book about racing is not a bad idea at all, but I don't think it would get a large audience unless you combine this with other themes and topics to keep people uninterested in racing hooked.

You might be surprised. Sports manga is quite popular, even here in america. It's worth a shot. If it's well-written and engaging and marketed well, it could be a breath of fresh air in a genre that's over-inundated with dime-a-dozen JRPG or MMORPG storylines.

In short, I say go for it. Maybe use the racing as a plot device rather than the primary focus. As @CharlesEBrown said, check out the old speed racer anime as a possible source of ideas, then I'd also suggest prince of tennis and other sports manga.

 

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

The main problem with this is that a story centered on racing caters mostly to a group of people that generally don't have much to do with books. There's very little overlap between the two interests, unlike historical fiction not to search far.

Writing a book about racing is not a bad idea at all, but I don't think it would get a large audience unless you combine this with other themes and topics to keep people uninterested in racing hooked.

JoJo's Bizzarre Adventure Part 7 is a huge horse race across the US, and is hype af. While it's a manga, you can absolutely make it interesting with having the competitors ride animals (maybe fantasy animals) with abilities themselves, or have the LitRPG aspect give said animals their own abilities through the rider. You would have more characters by including the mounts and stuff like that.

 

[cabbag3]

I think a large part of why car or racing themed comics and shows are popular is because they "look" cool. A roommate of mine who's really into F1 would rather watch than read.
So in the end, the target audience would still be the ones that usually read, and like what the other said, the racing part wouldn't be the primary focus, but rather the plot towards it.
Now that I think about it, Cars (Disney) really did a great job, I'm gonna re-watch the first one.