Magnetic Scrolls
Encyclopedia
Magnetic Scrolls was a British computer game developer during the mid 1980s and early 1990s. It was one of two largest interactive fiction game makers of the 1980s. Their primary focus was the development of text adventure games (also known as interactive fiction
) on a variety of 8-bit
and 16-bit
home computer platforms.
Formed by Anita Sinclair, Ken Gordon and Hugh Steers in 1984, London-based Magnetic Scrolls initially dabbled with development on the Sinclair QL
home computer before deciding to take advantage of the emerging Atari ST
and Amiga
gaming platforms. Having secured a publication deal with Rainbird
, a British software label owned by Telecomsoft
, they began work producing an ambitious text adventure game that would become The Pawn
.
During the mid-1980s, the text adventure market was thriving, although only a very few developers exclusively specialised in the genre. The undisputed giants of the genre were Infocom
, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, who practically redefined the genre by ensuring the interface (or text parser
) never provided a barrier between the player and the fictional elements of the game.
Infocom's dominance of the text adventure market ensured they had very few rivals, especially in the United States. Adventure International
, owned by Scott and Lexis Adams, had been an early competitor of Infocom, but they went out of business long before Infocom had hit their stride. Their only other serious competitor was Sierra On-Line
, owned by Ken and Roberta Williams, who specialised in light-hearted point-and-click
adventure games.
During the early to mid-1980s Level 9 Computing
dominated the UK text adventure market. Delta 4
and CRL also produced a number of text adventures that were critical and commercial hits but were never a serious rival to Level 9. Until they were acquired by Activision
in 1984, Infocom's titles were something of a rarity in the UK, only usually available as expensive imports.
Magnetic Scrolls immediately took advantage of the considerable gap in the UK market. The Pawn, written by Rob Steggles, was released in 1985, on a wide range of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms, to considerable acclaim. One of the game's biggest selling points, besides the advanced text parser, engrossing story and exquisite packaging, were the high resolution illustrations that accompanied many of the game's locations. Although decidedly antiquated by today's standards, at the time they were considered state-of-the-art. The ZX Spectrum
version of the game didn't include graphics.
In 1987, Magnetic Scrolls released two new games. Rob Steggles returned to write The Guild of Thieves
, a traditional treasure hunt, while Georgina Sinclair and Michael Bywater wrote the enchanting contemporary fantasy of Jinxter
. Both games met with similar critical acclaim as The Pawn.
For their next release, Corruption (1988), Magnetic Scrolls decided to experiment with the boundaries of interactive fiction. Once again written by Rob Steggles, with the help of Hugh Steers, the game was a contemporary thriller that explored corporate corruption and greed. Corruption abandoned the traditional puzzle-solving, treasure-hunting gameplay of many text adventure games, requiring the player to progress by conversing with characters, collecting evidence and working against the clock in order to beat the game. The game came packaged with a cassette tape containing a series of audio conversations. The player would be prompted to play them at specific points during the story, adding an extra layer of depth to the game.
Released towards the end of 1988 was Fish!
, a more light-hearted, surreal adventure game, where the player assumed the role of a dimension-jumping goldfish. Written by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South and edited by Rob Steggles, Fish! would prove to be the last of Magnetic Scrolls' traditional commercial releases.
Myth
was released in 1989 through Official Secrets, an adventure gaming club set up by Tony Rainbird after he (and Magnetic Scrolls) parted ways with Telecomsoft. Now based in Hertfordshire, Magnetic Scrolls produced this mini-adventure as a freebie that would be given away to those who signed up to join Official Secrets. The gaming club didn't last long, however, and was quickly assimilated into Tony Rainbird's new Special Reserve company, specialising in mail order computer hardware and software.
Wonderland had been in development at Magnetic Scrolls for some time and was finally released by Virgin Interactive
in 1990. Magnetic Scrolls had devised a brand new interface, christened Magnetic Windows, to take advantage of the Amiga and Atari ST's advanced capabilities, as well as Microsoft
's new Windows
operating system. Incorporating auto-mapping, icons, help functions and separate, resizable windows for graphics and text, Wonderland, written by David Bishop and based on the works of Lewis Carroll
, was a deliberate attempt to push the text adventure in a new, hi-tech direction. Magnetic Scrolls certainly succeeded in all their objectives, but the traditional text-based genre had already begun to die out as gamers craved more visually elaborate gaming experiences.
In 1991, Virgin Interactive released The Magnetic Scrolls Collection Vol 1, containing new versions of The Guild of Thieves, Corruption and Fish! that took advantage of the Magnetic Windows engine. A second collection, containing their remaining games, was planned but never completed. As a consequence of the dying text adventure market, Magnetic Scrolls ceased publishing in 1992. They were acquired by Microprose
later that year. A number of Magnetic Scrolls' staff went on to help develop a 3D role-playing video game
entitled The Legacy: Realm of Terror
, which was released on the PC
to lukewarm reviews, but Microprose didn't capitalise on the Magnetic Scrolls name beyond that.
In the late 1990s, Ken Gordon registered the magneticscrolls.com domain, but so far the accompanying web site remains empty.
. In January 1995 another Magnetic Scrolls programmer Steve Lacey joined RenderMorphics and in February of the same year Microsoft
acquired the company. Reality Lab became the basis for Direct3D
.
Doug and Servan are now at Qube Software, which they co-founded with Hugh Steers. Steve remained at Microsoft
as the graphics engine lead on Microsoft Flight Simulator
. In October 2006, Steve moved to Google
. Sadly in 2011 Steve was killed in a car accident
John Molloy currently lives in Florida, USA, working on web based applications.
Phil South lives in Somerset, UK, and works at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
.
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
) on a variety of 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
and 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
home computer platforms.
History
Sinclair QL
The Sinclair QL , was a personal computer launched by Sinclair Research in 1984, as the successor to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum...
home computer before deciding to take advantage of the emerging Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
gaming platforms. Having secured a publication deal with Rainbird
Rainbird
Rainbird, Rain Bird or Rainbirds may refer to:- Birds :* Rainbird, colloquial name given to various birds thought to sing before rain, including the European Green Woodpecker, Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo, Pacific Koel, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Burchell's Coucal and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, as well as...
, a British software label owned by Telecomsoft
Telecomsoft
Telecomsoft was the computer software division of British telecommunications company British Telecom . It was the owner of the well-known Firebird and Rainbird labels, under which it sold video games at a variety of price-points....
, they began work producing an ambitious text adventure game that would become The Pawn
The Pawn
The Pawn is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls which was first published by Rainbird in 1986. It is remembered for its excellent graphics and the opening music available in some game versions. Also the game itself - story and parser - got mostly positive reviews...
.
During the mid-1980s, the text adventure market was thriving, although only a very few developers exclusively specialised in the genre. The undisputed giants of the genre were Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, who practically redefined the genre by ensuring the interface (or text parser
Text parser
In an adventure game, a text parser takes typed input from the player and simplifies it to something the game can understand. Usually, words with the same meaning are turned into the same word and certain filler words are dropped .The parser makes it easier for the game's author to react on input...
) never provided a barrier between the player and the fictional elements of the game.
Infocom's dominance of the text adventure market ensured they had very few rivals, especially in the United States. Adventure International
Adventure International
Adventure International was a computer game publishing company that existed from 1978 until 1985, started by Scott and Alexis Adams. Their games were notable for being the first implementation of the adventure genre to run on a microcomputer system...
, owned by Scott and Lexis Adams, had been an early competitor of Infocom, but they went out of business long before Infocom had hit their stride. Their only other serious competitor was Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, owned by Ken and Roberta Williams, who specialised in light-hearted point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure games.
During the early to mid-1980s Level 9 Computing
Level 9 Computing
Level 9 was a British computer text adventure game company which produced some of the most advanced games of the 1980s. Founded in 1981 by Mike Austin, Nicholas Austin and Pete Austin, the company produced about 20 games for BBC Micro, Nascom, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric, Atari, Lynx 48k, RML...
dominated the UK text adventure market. Delta 4
Delta 4
Delta 4 was a British software developer created by Fergus McNeill, writing and publishing interactive fiction.Delta 4 designed games between 1984 and 1987. Some were self-published, others were released by CRL Group, Piranha or Silversoft...
and CRL also produced a number of text adventures that were critical and commercial hits but were never a serious rival to Level 9. Until they were acquired by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in 1984, Infocom's titles were something of a rarity in the UK, only usually available as expensive imports.
Magnetic Scrolls immediately took advantage of the considerable gap in the UK market. The Pawn, written by Rob Steggles, was released in 1985, on a wide range of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms, to considerable acclaim. One of the game's biggest selling points, besides the advanced text parser, engrossing story and exquisite packaging, were the high resolution illustrations that accompanied many of the game's locations. Although decidedly antiquated by today's standards, at the time they were considered state-of-the-art. The ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
version of the game didn't include graphics.
In 1987, Magnetic Scrolls released two new games. Rob Steggles returned to write The Guild of Thieves
The Guild of Thieves
The Guild of Thieves is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game also takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game The Pawn....
, a traditional treasure hunt, while Georgina Sinclair and Michael Bywater wrote the enchanting contemporary fantasy of Jinxter
Jinxter
Jinxter is a text adventure computer game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Rainbird in 1987 for popular 8-bit and 16-bit machines of the time as well as the 32-bit Acorn Archimedes...
. Both games met with similar critical acclaim as The Pawn.
For their next release, Corruption (1988), Magnetic Scrolls decided to experiment with the boundaries of interactive fiction. Once again written by Rob Steggles, with the help of Hugh Steers, the game was a contemporary thriller that explored corporate corruption and greed. Corruption abandoned the traditional puzzle-solving, treasure-hunting gameplay of many text adventure games, requiring the player to progress by conversing with characters, collecting evidence and working against the clock in order to beat the game. The game came packaged with a cassette tape containing a series of audio conversations. The player would be prompted to play them at specific points during the story, adding an extra layer of depth to the game.
Released towards the end of 1988 was Fish!
Fish!
Fish! is a text adventure game by Magnetic Scrolls released in .- Plot :An inter-dimensional terrorist group named the Seven Deadly Fins are threatening to take over the water-world of Hydropolis. It's up to a single Inter-Dimensional Espionage Agent to stop them—as a fish.- Gameplay :The game is a...
, a more light-hearted, surreal adventure game, where the player assumed the role of a dimension-jumping goldfish. Written by John Molloy, Pete Kemp, Phil South and edited by Rob Steggles, Fish! would prove to be the last of Magnetic Scrolls' traditional commercial releases.
Myth
Myth (1989 adventure game)
Myth is a text adventure game by Magnetic Scrolls released in .- Plot :Zeus has ordered the gods of Olympus to perform various tasks to impress humanity...
was released in 1989 through Official Secrets, an adventure gaming club set up by Tony Rainbird after he (and Magnetic Scrolls) parted ways with Telecomsoft. Now based in Hertfordshire, Magnetic Scrolls produced this mini-adventure as a freebie that would be given away to those who signed up to join Official Secrets. The gaming club didn't last long, however, and was quickly assimilated into Tony Rainbird's new Special Reserve company, specialising in mail order computer hardware and software.
Wonderland had been in development at Magnetic Scrolls for some time and was finally released by Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
in 1990. Magnetic Scrolls had devised a brand new interface, christened Magnetic Windows, to take advantage of the Amiga and Atari ST's advanced capabilities, as well as Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's new Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system. Incorporating auto-mapping, icons, help functions and separate, resizable windows for graphics and text, Wonderland, written by David Bishop and based on the works of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
, was a deliberate attempt to push the text adventure in a new, hi-tech direction. Magnetic Scrolls certainly succeeded in all their objectives, but the traditional text-based genre had already begun to die out as gamers craved more visually elaborate gaming experiences.
In 1991, Virgin Interactive released The Magnetic Scrolls Collection Vol 1, containing new versions of The Guild of Thieves, Corruption and Fish! that took advantage of the Magnetic Windows engine. A second collection, containing their remaining games, was planned but never completed. As a consequence of the dying text adventure market, Magnetic Scrolls ceased publishing in 1992. They were acquired by Microprose
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
later that year. A number of Magnetic Scrolls' staff went on to help develop a 3D role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
entitled The Legacy: Realm of Terror
The Legacy: Realm of Terror
The Legacy: Realm of Terror is an adventure/RPG computer game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Microprose in March 1993.-Premise:...
, which was released on the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
to lukewarm reviews, but Microprose didn't capitalise on the Magnetic Scrolls name beyond that.
In the late 1990s, Ken Gordon registered the magneticscrolls.com domain, but so far the accompanying web site remains empty.
Where are they now?
Two programmers from Magnetic Scrolls, Doug Rabson and Servan Keondjian later formed the company RenderMorphics which produced the highly-acclaimed 3D Graphics API Reality LabReality Lab
Reality Lab was a 3D computer graphics API created by RenderMorphics to provide a standardized interface for writing games. It was one of the main contenders in the realtime 3D middleware marketplace at the time, alongside Criterion Software's RenderWare and Argonaut Software's BRender.Reality Lab...
. In January 1995 another Magnetic Scrolls programmer Steve Lacey joined RenderMorphics and in February of the same year Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
acquired the company. Reality Lab became the basis for Direct3D
Direct3D
Direct3D is part of Microsoft's DirectX application programming interface . Direct3D is available for Microsoft Windows operating systems , and for other platforms through the open source software Wine. It is the base for the graphics API on the Xbox and Xbox 360 console systems...
.
Doug and Servan are now at Qube Software, which they co-founded with Hugh Steers. Steve remained at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
as the graphics engine lead on Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although it was marketed as a video game. It is one of the longest-running, best-known and most comprehensive home flight simulator series...
. In October 2006, Steve moved to Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. Sadly in 2011 Steve was killed in a car accident
John Molloy currently lives in Florida, USA, working on web based applications.
Phil South lives in Somerset, UK, and works at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
.
List of games
- The PawnThe PawnThe Pawn is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls which was first published by Rainbird in 1986. It is remembered for its excellent graphics and the opening music available in some game versions. Also the game itself - story and parser - got mostly positive reviews...
(1985, Rainbird) - The Guild of ThievesThe Guild of ThievesThe Guild of Thieves is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game also takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game The Pawn....
(1987, Rainbird) - JinxterJinxterJinxter is a text adventure computer game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Rainbird in 1987 for popular 8-bit and 16-bit machines of the time as well as the 32-bit Acorn Archimedes...
(1987, Rainbird) - Corruption (1988, Rainbird)
- Fish!Fish!Fish! is a text adventure game by Magnetic Scrolls released in .- Plot :An inter-dimensional terrorist group named the Seven Deadly Fins are threatening to take over the water-world of Hydropolis. It's up to a single Inter-Dimensional Espionage Agent to stop them—as a fish.- Gameplay :The game is a...
(1988, Rainbird) - MythMyth (1989 adventure game)Myth is a text adventure game by Magnetic Scrolls released in .- Plot :Zeus has ordered the gods of Olympus to perform various tasks to impress humanity...
(1989, Rainbird) - WonderlandWonderland (adventure game)Wonderland is a computer text-driven adventure game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published in 1990 by Virgin Games.-Story:Wonderland is based on Lewis Carroll's classic children's book Alice in Wonderland, with the player taking on the role of Alice...
(1990, Virgin Interactive) - The Magnetic Scrolls Collection Vol 1 (1991, Virgin Interactive)
- The Legacy: Realm of TerrorThe Legacy: Realm of TerrorThe Legacy: Realm of Terror is an adventure/RPG computer game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Microprose in March 1993.-Premise:...
(1993, Microprose)
External links
- The Magnetic Scrolls Memorial
- Magnetic Interpreter for different operating systems to play the games on Modern Computers
- Magnetic Scrolls Fact Sheet
- Magnetic Scrolls section of The Interactive Fiction Archive (walkthroughs, game information, interpreters, manuals, tools)
- The Magnetic Scrolls Chronicles
- Message in a Microchip (a Crash magazine interview with Magnetic Scrolls)