Magnetic Scrolls
Founded in 1984 by Anita Sinclair, Ken Gordon, and Hugh Steers, this British company produced seven highly-regarded IF works. In common with contemporaries Infocom and Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls employed a virtual machine, but it was based on the machine code of a real 68000 chip, instead of an invented machine. Magnetic Scrolls' authoring system anticipated later trends by emphasizing more simulation.
The Games
The following games were distributed by Rainbird in the UK, and by Firebird in the US:
- The Pawn (Rob Steggles, illustrator: Geoff Quilley, music: John Molloy; 1985; Magnetic Scrolls).
- The Guild of Thieves (Rob Steggles, illustrators: Geoff Quilley and Tristan Humphries; 1987; Magnetic Scrolls).
- Jinxter (Georgina Sinclair and Michael Bywater, music: John Molloy; 1987).
- Corruption (Rob Steggles and Hugh Steers, illustrators: Alan Hunnisett and Richard Selby, music: John Molloy; 1988; Magnetic Scrolls).
- Fish! (John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, Rob Steggles, illustrators: Geoff Quilley, Alan Hunnisett, Chris Kent, Richard Selby, Tristan Humphries, music: John Molloy; 1988; Magnetic Scrolls).
This game was distributed through Official Secrets:
- Myth (Paul Findley, illustrators: Geoff Quilley, Tristan Humphries, Chris Kent; 1989; Magnetic Scrolls).
This game was distributed by Virgin Mastertronic or Virgin Interactive:
- Wonderland (David Bishop, illustrators: Alan Hunnisett, Chris Kent, Geoff Quilley, Anna Williams, music: Michael Powell; 1990; Magnetic Windows).
This game isn't IF, but an "adventure/RPG" hybrid, distributed by MicroProse:
- The Legacy: Realm of Terror (1993).
Collections
- The Magnetic Scrolls Collection, Volume 1 (1991). Contains The Guild of Thieves, Corruption, and Fish! remade with Magnetic Windows.
Interpreters
To play the games on modern hardware, two re-implementations of the virtual machine are available:
Links
- magneticscrolls.com is the offical Magnetic Scrolls site, owned by co-founder Ken Gordon. However, except for the logo, it's empty.
- magneticscrolls.net is an online Game Server, where the original games are playable over SSH
- Baf's Guide listing for Magnetic Scrolls.
- Magnetic Scrolls Memorial at IF-Legends.
- The Magnetic Scrolls Chronicles.