From the snippets I've read, I despise the new litRPG slop like Dungeon Crawler Crawl. It's probably impossible to produce good litRPG much as it's impossible to produce a good LivePlay if you're not a smooth brained retard.

But when I was first exposed to BECMI D&D as a kid it blew my mind and I was a lot easier to please. This was very early internet so my D&D experience was 100% analog. Very early on I read this book and for some reason it made an impression on me, particularly because it added the "Engineer" class.

I'd completely forgotten about it until today when two random memories floated to the surface:
>"when I was a kid, I read a book that featured an Engineer class"
>"the book reminds me of West World for some reason"

I've never watched West World but I know the concept. I couldn't remember a single other thing about the book. Just "D&D, Engineer, and West World". Lo and behold, 2 minutes of searching found it and another 2 minutes found the audiobook. I've listened to a few chapters now and I have absolutely zero memory of it, but this is 100% the book. Published in 1981 and it may well have invented litRPG and the West World concept. Very strange.

The original westworld film was in the 70s though

>>96135873
>The original westworld film was in the 70s though
Oh, so this book ripped it off. If it was a movie there's zero chance they were unaware of it, the concept is just too similar.

It's also interesting to read 1980s slop for the non-woke elements. The realistic portrayal of women, the use of a cargo cult as the rpg setting premise. It would get eviscerated by the Modern Audience on Reddit.

>>96135901
>realistic portrayal of women
>1980s pulp slop

i seriously doubt that my nigga

>>96135901
It's just too bad the book wasn't very good and only about half was involved in playing the game. The sequels were worse, sadly.

>>96135873
Not only that, it may or may not have been inspired by the old Astroboy cartoons in the 60s.