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Farewell Ray Barnholt's SCROLL - Issue 12: The MSX

M

metsallica

Member
The final issue of Ray Barnholt's beautiful magazine, Scroll, was just released and it's 100+ pages on the MSX (among other things). If you've never picked up a copy of this wonderfully-written/produced magazine I'd say there's no better time than the present! As an American my knowledge of the MSX is severely limited but that's kind of the point with Scroll: in-depth coverage of important gaming ephemera that either hasn't gotten a fair shake or just didn't escape a certain country. Since my knowledge is limited, though... which variant cover do I pick?!

zibfzn0.jpg
XXrTVtX.jpg
rltgfrG.jpg


Buy it digitally ($4.99) or in print ($22.99) here: http://scroll.vg/issues/12

Here are some sample pages from the link:

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And before you balk at that print price, that's MagCloud for you though the printed quality is very good. I have all 11 previous issues physically and can vouch. Can't wait for what's next, Ray, but very sad to see this go.
 
M

metsallica

Member
He's still doing Retronauts to my knowledge but who knows what's next! Maybe he'll grace us with his presence and let us know. Seems like Scroll was a Herculean task so 12 was maybe just a nice number to stop at.
 
M

mcw

Member
Chuck said:
Is he going on to do something else?
Click to expand...

I hope so. He's such a talented and passionate guy, but he's also struggled a lot over the years with the insane cost of living in the Bay Area and finding enough work to keep him afloat.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Why is he ending it?

It was neat when the first 11 issues were bundled together during that sale, but I had no idea that was building up to a last hurrah.
 
M

metsallica

Member
I don't know, but I suspect there are answers in the issue itself. I should have my print version in a little over a week and can update the thread then.
 
G

Gaogaogao

Member
metsallica said:
He's still doing Retronauts to my knowledge but who knows what's next! Maybe he'll grace us with his presence and let us know. Seems like Scroll was a Herculean task so 12 was maybe just a nice number to stop at.
Click to expand...

no hes not. listen to no more whoppers if you want to know what ray is up to.

he works at Wargaming (world of tanks).
 
R

Rydeen

Member
My thoughts from the Retronauts thread:

Rydeen said:
Bought it. I've loved every issue of SCROLL, but I feel Ray is being short-sighted to say this is definitively the "final issue". I know because of having a full-time job now, plus doing Retronauts, PLUS doing No More Whoppers, he thinks he won't have time to do another issue. But it's not like Scroll was coming out regularly anyway, I don't see it being an issue to put it aside and start it back up again when it suits him.
Click to expand...
 
M

metsallica

Member
I hope you're right, Rydeen. We need more stuff like Scroll, not less, and I'll take it whenever I can get it. Hell, I'd be happy to back a second Kickstarter if Ray ever decided to go that route again too...
 
R

Rydeen

Member
firehawk12 said:
Oh, is that it? He's at a gaming company now so he can't do a gaming magazine/gaming podcast?
Click to expand...
I don't think it's a conflict of interests thing, he's been at wargaming / world of tanks for at least two years now. He's just scaled down a lot on the projects he's been involved with.
 
Z

Zero-Crescent

Member
metsallica said:
Since my knowledge is limited, though... which variant cover do I pick?!

zibfzn0.jpg
XXrTVtX.jpg
rltgfrG.jpg
Click to expand...

Along with the color difference, each variant cover represents a different generation of MSX hardware. Cover A (Blue) features the Casio PV-7 from the MSX1 standard; it was likely a budget option at the time, since it only contained 8kb of RAM (expandable to 16kb with the KB-7 add-on that also added two more cartridge slots).

Cover B (Red) features the Sony HitBit-F1XD, an MSX2-standard computer with a built-in floppy drive, since by then more and more programs were releasing on 3.5" disks.

Cover C (Green) features the penultimate MSX device, the Panasonic FS-A1ST from the MSX turbo R standard. Panasonic was a company that had invested heavily in MSX products, so it was probably no surprise that in 1994, they were the only company that wanted to make computers under the MSX turbo R standard, which ended up being the final standard that carried the MSX name.

Personally, I went with Cover A, since I've always associated MSX with the color Blue, thanks to Metal Gear and Snatcher.
 
M

metsallica

Member
Awesome post, Zero! I researched the models chosen today myself and ended up going with A as well, mostly because I liked the blue! :) I also thought it was the coolest looking hardware.
 
D

Dragoon En Regalia

Member
Bought Variant C on digital recently.

Really good magazine, y'all. I bought #9 and crowdfunded #10 a while ago, but Barnholt's impressed me yet again. Not any games I was unaware of by now, but his detailed write-ups on Fray and Famicle Parodious could be definitive for years to come now. This finale's a buyer's guide for the most part, but he also details a few of the more overlooked yet influential soft houses who developed for the MSX, like Bit^2 and System Sacom. Never can fault its production values, and he writes as succintly as ever (though he plays both patron and critic for games few have played on this forum or anywhere outside of Japan, a problem I have with HG101's writing and article selection also). The bullet list for MSX's history is great if you don't know the significance behind this platform as well.

I hope more people on GAF take some time out of their day to dig into some gaming history with SCROLL #12.
 
M

metsallica

Member
Well said, Dragoon. I can't wait for my hard copy to arrive! Does he say in the magazine why he's considering it the last issue?
 
D

Dragoon En Regalia

Member
He doesn't outright state if there'll be another magazine project like SCROLL or even a new season of SCROLL, but he doesn't rule out projects covering material like this in the future. So I'm guessing he's going to continue with freelance work and Retronauts until he's ready to reveal his next works (maybe a website, I dunno). My impression is that he wants SCROLL to stand out as its own thing, perhaps because he wants to do coverage in a different format now.
 
G

Gloam

Member
Scroll's great. Will definitely pick this issue up. The MSX is very close to my heart. Good luck Ray, now and forever!
 
gingerbeardman

gingerbeardman

Member
I just finished reading this recently. I got the SCROLL back catalogue in a humble book bundle. Best set of game writing I've ever read. Love most issues.

This issue has resulted in me jumping head long into MSX emulation to try out what I missed.

I'm most interested in COMPILE output and the Disk Station series of disk magazines. Having so much fun going through them all.
 
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