Magnetic Scrolls was a British
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
developer active between 1984 and 1990. A pioneer of audiovisually elaborate
text adventure
''
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is 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, either in the ...
games, it was one of the two largest and most acclaimed
interactive fiction
''
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is 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, either in the ...
developers of the 1980s.
''Magnetic Scrolls'' was one of the first game developers to use
graphics
Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...
and
animation in its text adventure games, which set it apart from other companies in the genre. The company's games were known for their complex puzzles, intricate storylines, and immersive gameplay. Some of the most popular games developed by Magnetic Scrolls include
The Pawn
''The Pawn'' is an interactive fiction game for the Sinclair QL written by Rob Steggles of Magnetic Scrolls and published by Sinclair Research in 1985. In 1986, graphics were added and the game was released for additional home computers by Ra ...
,
The Guild of Thieves
''The Guild of Thieves'' is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game ''The Pawn''.
Gameplay
The player's character is "an aspiring member of ...
, and
Jinxter
''Jinxter'' is an interactive fiction video game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Rainbird in 1987 for 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of the time. ''Jinxter'' tells the story of a man on a mission to save the fictional land of Aqu ...
.
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
The Sinclair QL (for ''Quantum Leap'') is a personal computer launched by Sinclair Research in 1984, as an upper-end counterpart to the ZX Spectrum. The QL was aimed at the serious home user and professional and executive users markets from small ...
home computer before deciding to take advantage of the emerging
Atari ST and
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...
gaming platforms. Having secured a publication deal with
Rainbird, a British software label owned by
Telecomsoft
Telecomsoft was a British video game publisher and a division of British Telecom. The company was founded by Dr. Ederyn Williams in 1984 and operated three separate labels: Firebird, Rainbird, and Silverbird. The first employee was James Leave ...
, they began work producing an ambitious text adventure game that would become ''
The Pawn
''The Pawn'' is an interactive fiction game for the Sinclair QL written by Rob Steggles of Magnetic Scrolls and published by Sinclair Research in 1985. In 1986, graphics were added and the game was released for additional home computers by Ra ...
''.
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 was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called ''Cornerstone''.
Infocom was founded on ...
, based in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...
, who practically redefined the genre by ensuring the interface (or
text parser
{{Refimprove, date=August 2007
In adventure games, a text parser takes typed input (a command) from the player and simplifies it to something the game can understand. Usually, words with the same meaning are turned into the same word (e.g. "take" a ...
) 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 in the United States.
Adventure International
Adventure International was an American video game publishing company that existed from 1979 until 1986. It was started by Scott and Alexis Adams. Their games were notable for being the first implementation of the adventure genre to run on a m ...
, 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, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre ...
, owned by Ken and Roberta Williams, who specialised in graphical adventure games.
During the early to mid-1980s
Level 9 Computing
Level 9 was a British developer of computer software, active between 1981 and 1991. Founded by Mike, Nicholas and Pete Austin, the company produced software for the BBC Micro, Nascom, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric, Atari, Lynx 48k, RML 380Z, ...
dominated the
UK text adventure market.
Delta 4
Delta 4 was a British software developer created by Fergus McNeill, writing and publishing interactive fiction.
Delta 4 designed games between 1984 in video gaming, 1984 and 1992 in video gaming, 1992. Some were self-published, others were rel ...
and
CRL CRL may refer to:
Organisations Science and technology research
* Chalk River Laboratories, a Canadian nuclear research center
* Charles River Laboratories, an American biomedical company
* Computational Research Laboratories, an Indian computer c ...
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 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 ...
in 1985, Infocom's titles were something of a rarity in the UK, only usually available as expensive imports. Magnetic Scrolls immediately took advantage of this considerable gap in the UK market with their first release, ''The Pawn''.
Early releases
''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
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
version of the game did not include graphics.
In 1987, Magnetic Scrolls released two new games. Steggles returned to write ''
The Guild of Thieves
''The Guild of Thieves'' is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game ''The Pawn''.
Gameplay
The player's character is "an aspiring member of ...
'', a traditional treasure hunt, while Georgina Sinclair and
Michael Bywater
Michael Bywater (born 11 May 1953) is an English non-fiction writer and broadcaster. He has worked for many London newspapers and periodicals and contributed to the design of computer games.
Biography
Bywater was educated at the independent Notti ...
wrote the contemporary fantasy of ''
Jinxter
''Jinxter'' is an interactive fiction video game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Rainbird in 1987 for 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of the time. ''Jinxter'' tells the story of a man on a mission to save the fictional land of Aqu ...
''. Both games met with similar critical acclaim as ''The Pawn''.
For their next release, ''
Corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
'' (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!'' 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 se ...
'', 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 is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
'' 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.
Later years and demise
''Wonderland'' had been in development at Magnetic Scrolls for some time and was finally released by
Virgin Mastertronic
Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwoo ...
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. 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
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
, 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 1988, Magnetic Scrolls began to collaborate with Infocom,
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...
and
Michael Bywater
Michael Bywater (born 11 May 1953) is an English non-fiction writer and broadcaster. He has worked for many London newspapers and periodicals and contributed to the design of computer games.
Biography
Bywater was educated at the independent Notti ...
on a sequel to
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...
. This project was never finished. A playable draft of an early part of the game, along with the personal and commercial circumstances behind its ill-fated development, came briefly to public attention twenty years later.
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 is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization'' and '' X-COM'' series. Most of their inte ...
later that year. A number of Magnetic Scrolls' staff went on to help develop a 3D role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
entitled '' The Legacy: Realm of Terror'', which was released on the PC to lukewarm reviews, but MicroProse did not capitalise on the Magnetic Scrolls name beyond that. In the late 1990s, Ken Gordon registered the ''magneticscrolls.com'' domain, which now redirects to the ''Strand Games'' website.
Two programmers from Magnetic Scrolls, Doug Rabson and Servan Keondjian later formed the company RenderMorphics 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 Rend ...
which produced the highly acclaimed 3D Graphics API Reality 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 Rend ...
. In January 1995 another Magnetic Scrolls programmer, Steve Lacey joined RenderMorphics and in February of the same year Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
acquired the company. Reality Lab became the basis for Direct3D
Direct3D is a graphics application programming interface (API) for Microsoft Windows. Part of DirectX, Direct3D is used to render three-dimensional graphics in applications where performance is important, such as games. Direct3D uses hardware ...
. Rabson and Keondjian are now at Qube Software
Qube Software is a British company specialising in advanced 3D technology. It was founded in 1998 by Servan Keondjian and Doug Rabson who created the Reality Lab renderer and who subsequently played a leading role at Microsoft turning it into Dire ...
, which they co-founded with Hugh Steers. Lacey remained at Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
as the graphics engine lead on Microsoft Flight Simulator
''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of amateur flight simulator programs for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and earlier for MS-DOS and Classic Mac OS. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed s ...
. In October 2006, Lacey moved to Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
. In 2011, he was killed in a car accident.
John Molloy moved to Florida, US, working on web-based applications, and died in 2018 following an illness. Phil South lives in South Wales, UK, and after many years working Disney Channel UK's web presence worked at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre.
BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...
for 7 years. He now works as a freelance writer and blogger and in 2022 published a novel under a pseudonym.
Anita Sinclair is now one of the UK's most successful bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
players, winning a number of domestic competitions, and winning a gold medal in China.
Reappearance
In May 2017 the Strand games initiative emerged. Strand Games was started by Hugh Steers — co-founder and core developer of Magnetic Scrolls — and Stefan Meier of the Magnetic Scrolls Memorial fanpage. It is supported by several members of the original Magnetic Scrolls team, including Anita Sinclair, Ken Gordon, Rob Steggles and Servan Keondjian. The non-profit initiative aims both to preserve the original works of Magnetic Scrolls and to remaster the games for modern devices. With the public appearance of the initiative a first beta version of the remastered classic The Pawn
''The Pawn'' is an interactive fiction game for the Sinclair QL written by Rob Steggles of Magnetic Scrolls and published by Sinclair Research in 1985. In 1986, graphics were added and the game was released for additional home computers by Ra ...
was released. The official release followed in June 2017.
In June 2017 Strand games worked on recovering the source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comment (computer programming), comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a Computer program, p ...
of their classics from tapes to remaster and re-release them. After the successful recovery of the original source code in a remarkable process, which involved baking the original backup tapes at low temperature in a kitchen oven, the initiative started to remaster The Guild of Thieves
''The Guild of Thieves'' is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game ''The Pawn''.
Gameplay
The player's character is "an aspiring member of ...
from the original source code. In December 2017 the remastered and enhanced game was published. This was followed by a similarly revived edition of Jinxter
''Jinxter'' is an interactive fiction video game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Rainbird in 1987 for 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of the time. ''Jinxter'' tells the story of a man on a mission to save the fictional land of Aqu ...
in 2019.
List of games
*''The Pawn
''The Pawn'' is an interactive fiction game for the Sinclair QL written by Rob Steggles of Magnetic Scrolls and published by Sinclair Research in 1985. In 1986, graphics were added and the game was released for additional home computers by Ra ...
'' (1985, Rainbird)
*''The Guild of Thieves
''The Guild of Thieves'' is an interactive fiction game by Magnetic Scrolls first published by Rainbird in 1987. The game takes place in Kerovnia like the previous game ''The Pawn''.
Gameplay
The player's character is "an aspiring member of ...
'' (1987, Rainbird)
*''Jinxter
''Jinxter'' is an interactive fiction video game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Rainbird in 1987 for 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of the time. ''Jinxter'' tells the story of a man on a mission to save the fictional land of Aqu ...
'' (1987, Rainbird)
*''Corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
'' (1988, Rainbird)
*''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 se ...
'' (1988, Rainbird)
*''Myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
'' (1989, Rainbird)
*''Wonderland
Wonderland may refer to:
Places
Municipalities
* Wonderland, California, a ghost town in Plumas County
* Wonderland, Ohio, a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Roads, streets, and trails
* Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los Ang ...
'' (1990, Virgin Interactive)
*''The Magnetic Scrolls Collection
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 two largest and most acclaimed interactive fiction developers of the 1980s.
''Magneti ...
Vol 1'' (1991, Virgin Interactive)
*'' The Legacy: Realm of Terror'' (1992, MicroProse)
References
External links
Magnetic Scrolls
at MobyGames
Magnetic Scrolls Fact Sheet
(walkthroughs, game information, interpreters, manuals, tools)
The Magnetic Scrolls Chronicles
(a Crash magazine interview with Magnetic Scrolls)
Interview with Anita Sinclair, 1989
*
dMagnetic - A Magnetic Scrolls Interpreter
An Open Source implementation of the virtual machine so that the games can be played on modern Computers.
{{Authority control
Video game companies established in 1984
Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom
Interactive fiction
Software companies of the United Kingdom