Magnetic Scrolls
From IFWiki
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.
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The Games
The following games were distributed by Rainbird Software 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).
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Collections
- The Magnetic Scrolls Collection, Volume 1 (1991). Contains The Guild of Thieves, Corruption, and Fish! remade with Magnetic Windows.
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Links
- magneticscrolls.com is the offical Magnetic Scrolls site, owned by co-founder Ken Gordon. However, except for the logo, it's empty.
- Baf's Guide listing for Magnetic Scrolls.
- Magnetic Scrolls Memorial at IF-Legends.
- The Magnetic Scrolls Chronicles.
