Location: Margram
I've been asking about for education-related content in Metaplace. I came up with this (tip o' the Mad-Scientist's tin-foil hat to Cuppycake):
Welcome to Margram, my opening foray in creating a fun game that will help folks learn grammar. The idea is simple: create a magical world where all the spells you cast have to be grammatically correct: else, they will backfire! And heck, words like "subjunctive" and "participle" already sound like arcana to most people -- might as well treat them as truly magical!
I figured I might do well at the game. After all, a PhD in English knows everything about grammar, right? All those years of Father Raymond's steel rod on my shoulders or arms taught me lots of things, including how to spell O-N-O-M-A-T-O-P-O-I-A. One stroke was delivered for every letter, when spelled incorrectly.
Ah, the good old days of eduacation as Dick Cheney might have designed it...but back to Margram. If you have a Metaplace account, visit Margram yourself and try.
The world is very much a-building, but the idea is to go on an heroic quest and, along the way, use correct grammar to solve puzzles, cast spells, and advance in general.
I met a bunch of "fuzzies" there, some of whom are said to respond to text-chat. I understand that more puzzles and levels are coming. Right now, Margram is more a factory for what will be there, and the creator welcomes suggestions for spells and weapons. I thought that a monster that could only be defeated by correctly using semicolons would be perfect.
Good grammar CAN be fun! Moving up with the command of it in a game, as a way to gain rewards? It's not too far from how formal English works in the world of flesh. Use it well, and advance in the circles of power and prestige. Eventually...next stop...Oval Office.
Wait.
You'll certainly do better at Margram than George W. Bush. Maybe I should send Pappy over; W. did not even get past the first level at Margram.
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