Why Beyond the Bookshelf?
About a million years ago, I was introduced to a computer game called Zork, produced by a company called Infocom. I'd played text adventure games before, but this one was somehow different. From the first ambiguous opening sentences ("You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here."), I was hooked. My friend and I spent countless hours in the Great Underground Empire, collecting treasures and trying not to get eaten by ravening Grues. The game absolutely consumed my imagination.
Beyond the Bookshelf fulfills my desire (albeit about 15 years too late!) to create my own world. It's not a game, per se, but I hope if you decide to jump in, you'll find it engaging, and maybe eventually you'll want to contribute.
I've also been fascinated by the way that words and language work inside a MUSH. (Well, give me a break; I am an English teacher, after all!) Because the MUSH is a world made out of words ...it's like a story, in that sense, except it changes as we interact with it and add to it. The words are the reality inside the MUSH, to the degree that you're willing to read and interact imaginatively with them!
So what's Beyond the Bookshelf good for? Here's a few things I've got in mind:
Chat. A social MUSH like Beyond the Bookshelf is really just a chat room on steroids. There are different degrees of privacy—chew the fat with everybody on a "chat channel'; find a spot you like, and have private conversations with your friends; or, if you get some coding under your belt, build yourself a hut, lock the door, and hand out keys to only your nearest and dearest! However you decide to use it, it's open 24 hours!
Get help. Meet with me during my "virtual office hours" for help with anything! (It doesn't have to be just English...if I know about it, I'm glad to help!) Or, better yet, meet with your friends and work on stuff together! Beyond the Bookshelf can be an excellent resource if we can gather a good bunch of folks interested in learning and helping each other out.
Explore. A questing system complete with combat is in the final stages of development. Choose the life of an adventurer, if you dare!
Create. If you've got a good imagination and are willing to learn a little MUSHcode, you can eventually build areas and objects of your own; ask a Staff member about how you can become a builder. If you've got the desire and the creative juices, we can help you get started! (Visit the Building Hub in the MUSH to see what others have been working on!)
