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Magnetic Scrolls
Magnetic Scrolls was a British video game developer active between 1984 and 1990. A pioneer of audiovisually elaborate text adventure games, it was one of the largest and most acclaimed interactive fiction developers of the 1980s, and one of the "Big Two" with Infocom according to some. The company's games were known for their complex puzzles, intricate storylines, and immersive gameplay. Games developed by Magnetic Scrolls include The Pawn, The Guild of Thieves, and Jinxter. History Formation 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 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, including the first such game, ''Mystery House''. It is known for its graphical adventure game series ''King's Quest'', ''Space Quest'', ''Police Quest'', ''Gabriel Knight'', ''Leisure Suit Larry'', and ''Quest for Glory'', and as the original publisher of Valve Corporation, Valve's ''Half-Life (series), Half-Life'' series. After seventeen years as an independent company, Sierra was acquired by CUC International in February 1996 to become part of CUC Software. However, CUC International was caught in an accounting scandal in 1998, and many of the original founders of Sierra including the Williamses left the company. Sierra remained as part of CUC Software as it was sold and renamed sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' evolved into a "trilogy" of six (or five, according to the author) books which sold more than 15 million copies in his life. It was made into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame. Adams wrote ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' (1987) and '' The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul'' (1988), and co-wrote '' The Meaning of Liff'' (1983), '' The Deeper Meaning of Liff'' (1990) and '' Last Chance to See'' (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series ''Doctor Who'', including the unaired serial '' Shada'', co-wrote '' City of Death'' (1979), and served as script editor for its 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (1871). He was noted for his facility with word play, logic, and fantasy. His poems ''Jabberwocky'' (1871) and ''The Hunting of the Snark'' (1876) are classified in the genre of literary nonsense. Some of Alice's nonsensical wonderland logic reflects his published work on mathematical logic. Carroll came from a family of high-church Anglicanism, Anglicans, and pursued his clerical training at Christ Church, Oxford, where he lived for most of his life as a scholar, teacher and (necessarily for his academic fellowship at the time) Anglican deacon. Alice Liddell – a daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, Dean of Christ Church – is wide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Interactive
Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. During the company's time under the Virgin brand, they had developed and published games for major platforms and employed video game developer, developers, including Westwood Studios co-founder Brett Sperry and ''Earthworm Jim (video game), Earthworm Jim'' creators David Perry (game developer), David Perry and Doug TenNapel. Others include video game composer Tommy Tallarico and animators Bill Kroyer and Andy Luckey. Formed as Virgin Games in 1983, and built around a small development team called the Gang of Five, the company grew significantly after purchasing budget label Mastertronic in 1987. As Virgin's video game division grew into a multimedia powerhouse, it crossed over to other industries from toys to film to educatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myth (1989 Video Game)
''Myth'' is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls released in 1989. Some versions have static graphics. The game was only released in limited numbers to members of the Official Secrets adventuring club. Plot Zeus has ordered the gods of Olympus to perform various tasks to impress humanity. As Poseidon, the player's mission is to steal the Helmet of Invisibility from Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea .... References External links * * * * 1980s interactive fiction 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad PCW games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Magnetic Scrolls games Single-player video games Video games based on Greek mythology Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games {{adventure-videogame-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish!
''Fish!'' is a text adventure game by Magnetic Scrolls released in 1988. The game was designed by John Molloy, Phil South and Peter Kemp with contributions by Rob Steggles. Plot According to the game scenario, the Inter-Dimensional Espionage sends operatives throughout the dimensions to fight evil. This is done by possessing someone's body and controlling his actions. The player is Agent 10 who enjoys his leave of absence in the body of a goldfish. He learns that an inter-dimensional terrorist group named the Seven Deadly Fins have stolen a focus wheel. In the first part of the game, the player can visit three dimensions (a forest with a smithy, a hippie van near an abbey and a recording studio). Once the three parts of the wheel are gathered, he learns that the Fins are threatening to take over the water-world of Hydropolis by evaporating the ocean of that planet. The player must warp to Hydropolis to foil the Seven Deadly Fins. The player possesses Dr. Roach, who is in charge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corruption (interactive Fiction)
''Corruption'' is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls released in 1988. In this game, a successful stockbroker suddenly finds himself embroiled in a world of crime and danger. Gameplay The game is a text adventure with static graphics in all versions except for the Spectrum +3. It focuses primarily on character interaction instead of object interaction. The Amiga version has a " speech mode", though ''Computer Gaming World'' noted it only as a novelty. Development The working title of the game was "Upon Westminster Bridge". Reception The game was voted Best 8-bit Adventure Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. ''ACE''s reviewer The Pilgrim called it "a game that combines powerful programming, wry humour, and a compelling plot all at once. No doubt about it, ''Corruption'' is Magnetic Scrolls' best yet." In ''Computer and Video Games'', Keith Campbell wrote that "the game has very much the same feel as the Infocom mysteries, like ''Suspect'', although I f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Bywater
Michael Bywater (born May 11, 1953) is an English non-fiction writer, columnist, critic, and essayist. He has been a columnist for newspapers and periodicals, like ''The Times'', ''The Independent,'' and ''Observer''. He has written several books, including ''Lost Worlds'', ''Big Babies'', and ''The Chronicles of Bargepole''. Biography Bywater received his education at the independent Nottingham High School and later pursued studies at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was a long-running columnist for ''The Independent on Sunday'' and an early futurist for ''The Observer''. Bywater spent ten years on the staff of '' Punch,'' where he wrote a regular computer column and the anonymous "Bargepole" column. Additionally, he wrote regularly for ''The Times'' and had been a contributing editor to ''Cosmopolitan'' and ''Woman's Journal''. He also writes regularly on high-tech subjects for ''The Daily Telegraph'' and technology magazines. He is a cultural critic for the ''New Statesman' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and around the world in the following years, most notably in Europe and the United States. The machine was designed by English entrepreneur and inventor Sir Clive Sinclair and his small team in Cambridge, and was manufactured in Dundee, Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was made to be small, simple, and most importantly inexpensive, with as few components as possible. The addendum "Spectrum" was chosen to highlight the machine's colour display, which differed from the black-and-white display of its predecessor, the ZX81. Rick Dickinson designed its distinctive case, rainbow motif, and chiclet keyboard, rubber keyboard. Video output is transmitted to a television set rather than a ded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top United States publisher in 2016. The company was founded as Activision, Inc. on October 1, 1979, in Sunnyvale, California, by former Atari, Inc., Atari game developers upset at their treatment by Atari in order to develop their own games for the popular Atari 2600 home video game console. Activision was the first independent, third-party, console video game developer. The video game crash of 1983, in part created by too many new companies trying to follow in Activision's footsteps without the experience of Activision's founders, hurt Activision's position in console games and forced the company to diversify into games for home computers, including the acquisition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CRL Group
CRL Group plc was a Great Britain, British video game development and publishing company. Originally CRL stood for "Computer Rentals Limited". It was based in King's Yard, London and run by Clem Chambers. at World of Spectrum They released a number of notable interactive fiction, adventure games based on horror stories. ''Dracula (1986 video game), Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein (CRL game), Frankenstein'' were rated 15 (British Board of Film Classification), 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification, British Board of Film Censors for their graphics depicting bloody scenes; Dracula was the first game to be rated by the BBFC. ''Jack the Ripper (1987 video game), Jack the Ripper'' was the first game to receive an 18 (British Board of Film Classification), 18 certificate, ''Wolfman (video game), Wolfman'' also gained an 18 certificate. CRL-published games that achieved critical success include ''Tau Ceti (video game), Tau Ceti'' and ''Academy (video game), Academy''. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
