The Pawn

Infobox VG| title = The Pawn


developer = Magnetic Scrolls
publisher = Rainbird Software
designer = Rob Steggles
engine =
released = 1986
genre = Interactive fiction
modes = Single player
ratings = N/A
platforms = Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Sinclair QL, ZX Spectrum
media = Floppy disk, cassette
requirements =
input =

"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 (on some versions) and the opening music available in some game versions. Also the game itself - story and parser - got mostly positive reviews. The story takes place in the fairy land of Kerovnia, from which the player must escape.

Amiga version's title music

The Commodore Amiga version is notable for using digitized instrument samples in its title music. When the game was released, the Amiga was the only home computer which had hardware support for digitized samples. However, there was probably no other Amiga game released in 1986 that utilized the capabilities of Amiga's Paula sound chip like "The Pawn" did. This means that "The Pawn" was a pioneer release in the field of digitized computer game music. The peaceful title music was composed by John Molloy and it features guitar and flute sounds among others.

External links

* [http://msmemorial.if-legends.org/games.htm/pawn.htm Link at If-Legends.org]
* [http://msmemorial.if-legends.org/magnetic.htm Download "The Pawn" here]
*Lemon64 game|id=1901
* (The LHA-compressed Module file can be listened to with the freely-distributed DeliPlayer program, or alternatively using the Oldsk00l [http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details/2266] plugin for Winamp)
*WoS game|id=0006776; includes cassette inlay and links to original reviews
* [http://www.mschronicles.com/games/pawn/pmain.htm "The Pawn"] at the [http://www.mschronicles.com/ Magnetic Scrolls Chronicles]