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 Software in the UK, and by Firebird in the US:

• The Pawn (Rob Steggles; 1985).
  • Illustrator: Geoff Quilley.
  • Music: John Molloy.
• The Guild of Thieves (Rob Steggles; 1987).
  • Illustrators: Geoff Quilley and Tristan Humphries.
• Jinxter (Georgina Sinclair and Michael Bywater; 1987).
  • Music: John Molloy.
• Corruption (Rob Steggles and Hugh Steers; 1988).
  • Illustrators: Alan Hunnisett and Richard Selby.
  • Music: John Molloy.
• Fish! (John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South, and Rob Steggles; 1988).
  • Illustrators: Geoff Quilley, Alan Hunnisett, Chris Kent, and Richard Selby, and Tristan Humphries.
  • Music: John Molloy.

This game was distributed through Official Secrets:

• Myth (Paul Findley; 1989).
  • Illustrators: Geoff Quilley, Tristan Humphries, and Chris Kent.

This game was distributed by Virgin Mastertronic or Virgin Interactive:

• Wonderland (David Bishop; 1990).
  • Illustrators: Alan Hunnisett, Chris Kent, Geoff Quilley, and Anna Williams.
  • Music: Michael Powell.

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.

Links

• magneticscrolls.com is the offical Magnetic Scrolls site, owned by co-founder Ken Gordon. However, except for the logo, it's empty.
• Magnetic Scrolls Memorial at IF-Legends.
• The Magnetic Scrolls Chronicles is an excellent site maintained by Peter Verdi.