The LitRPG genre has become surprisingly popular in recent years thanks to stories like Dungeon Crawler Carl getting mainstream attention. Matt Dinniman's fast-paced series has been helping to pave the way for the genre in the audiobook space, the tabletop RPG space, and even for television as an upcoming live-action series on Peacock.
For fans of the DCC books and LitRPG in general, this is all great news, but some readers have continued to question the decision to make a live-action TV series rather than taking the animated route. Dinniman has previously defended the decision, saying: "I think actually the majority of people who aren’t into animation are going to say, 'we want a live action,'" caveating that, "we’re not going to do it if it’s gonna look like absolute shit."
I had the chance to interview Pirateaba, author of the popular LitRPG series The Wandering Inn, and they offered a differing perspective on what they'd want for their own work. In contrast to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, they were firmly in the camp that animation would be the best way to go.
"There is no doubt in my mind that someday, if possible, I would like a TV show. A television show over a movie, and animated, preferably. There are a few western animation styles I like; a lot of anime styles would also work well for the story," said Pirateaba. "CGI or live action would surely fail given the complexities of characters like Antinium or even Drakes."
While it's true that many of the most popular shows in streaming are live action these days, anime has already proven that an animated RPG series can do quite well. When you look at the success of something like Sword Art Online across media, it's easy to see why an animated path would be preferable to live-action for a LitRPG author.
"I could cite any number of fantasy stories that got their shot and failed. Sometimes it’s just so hard to make, other times the production elements are the problem," Pirateaba said in the interview, "you don’t get infinite chances, especially with such gigantic and complex stories."
Although Pirateaba doesn't currently have a TV adaptation of The Wandering Inn in the works, the series has followed a similar self-publishing path as Dungeon Crawler Carl, so it's definitely possible the opportunity could arise down the road. If the author were to get the chance at a TV series, though, they said their biggest concern would be the company behind such a project.
"If there were any group in this world that I’d consider working with tomorrow, it wouldn’t be a traditional big studio like Netflix, Amazon, or HBO, actually. I’d have to talk to the director and get all that contractual stuff like Brandon Sanderson did."
Jacob Kienlen is a Senior Audience Development Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and 10 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different pop culture topics — from TV series to books and the latest Pokémon games.
