Magazines
As of eXoDOS Version 6, magazines have been added as part of the Media Add-On Pack. Both digital and print magazines have been included.
Example Magazines
Digital Magazines
Big Blue Disk
Big Blue Disk was a monthly On-Disk magazine published by Softdisk. Called "magazettes" by the company, the company began publishing Big Blue Disk (the IBM PC-based magazine) in November of 1986. Due to the popularity of some of their game titles, a spin-off called Gamer's Edge was published in 1990. The primary developers behind Gamer's Edge would eventually go on to start id software. Due to the nature of floppy disks, it was a difficult (and expensive) task to acquire many of these disks. Currently, issue #125 is missing. Copies of it online appear to be corrupt. However, every other issue up to the final issue #141 is accounted for. The magazine changed names a handful of times over the years. It was known as Big Blue Disk, On Disk Monthly, and Softdisk PC.
A menu launcher in eXoDOS allows the user to browse and launch each archived magazine. The disks include reviews, editorials, software, and other fun surprises.
Game Bytes
Game Bytes was a BBS (bulletin board system) magazine that ran for 21 issues between 1992 and 1994[1]. The magazine was largely text, however, it did provide a version with screenshots of upcoming and recently released games.
Interactive Entertainment CD
IE Interactive Entertainment was a multimedia CD ROM magazine founded by Yale Brozen with Steve Scivally. After the prototype issue zero, the first issue was released in May 1994. The CD magazine went on for 24 issues. The CDs had previews, reviews, tips, etc, all in video/voice format. Many of the reviewers were pretty funny, and had some good banter back and forth, especially in the reviews when they disagreed. Near the end, the CD Magazine was merged with Computer Games Strategy Plus Magazine, where the computer magazine became the packaging for the CD.
All 24 issues are accounted for and included.
Print Magazines \ Newsletters
ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)
Launched in October 1987, ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment was a multi-format computer and video game magazine first published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing. Coverage initially included Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC, but also included newer machines as they were released. Although game features were the mainstay, other articles on graphics and computer music were featured.[2]
Broderbund News
Broderbund News was a newsletter from Broderbund/Synapse that featured a variety of items such as product announcements, user tips, and personality profiles.
Computer Game Forum
Computer Game Forum was a seasonal publication in 1987 that was meant to coincide with Computer Gaming World magazine, but only two issues were ever produced.
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World, also often referred to as CGW, first published just after Electronic Games in December of 1981. The magazine was incredibly successful and ran until 2006. For the purposes of eXoDOS, however, only issues through December of 1998 have been included. Later issues will be archived along with relevant Windows preservation projects.
175 issues are present in the current archive, with all issues within the 1981-1998 era accounted for.
Electronic Games
As the first dedicated video game magazine in the United States, Electronic Games was breaking new ground when it released its premiere issue in October of 1981. The magazine ran until 1985 when it was briefly renamed Computer Entertainment before ceasing publication.
In May of 1992 the magazine was resurrected under its original name. This iteration of the magazine ran until July of 1995 at which point they retired the name and shifted to the short-lived Fusion magazine.
All known issues are archived and accounted for.
InterAction
Published by Sierra On-Line, InterAction magazine focused on their existing and upcoming catalog of games. Starting in June of 1981 as The On-Line Letter, the magazine ran for 18 years into the spring of 1999. In that time, it was also known as the Sierra Newsletter, the Sierra/Dynamix News Magazine, and then eventually its final name: InterAction. 38 issues were published during this time, all of which are archived and included in the Media Add On Pack.
K-Power
K-Power described itself as "The Magazine for the Computer Generation." It was a computer magazine with an emphasis on education, published in the United States by Scholastic, Inc. Eight issues of K-Power were published, running from February to November/December 1984.[3]
New Zork Times
Published by Infocom, the New Zork Times was the company's official newsletter. It eventually changed its name to The Status Line due to legal threats from the New York Times. These newsletters feature news and hints for Infocom games. All known issues are accounted for and archived.
PC Gamer (US)
PC Gamer started as a magazine in the United Kingdom in 1993. An American edition launched in May of 1994. The magazine was extremely popular due heavily to its packed in CD. This disk often contained demos, patches, trailers, and their strange mascot, Coconut Monkey.
For the purpose of the eXoDOS archive, issues from the inception of the magazine through December 1998 are of interest. Multiple issues do not have proper scans however, leading to a fairly significant list of missing issues. Copies of the magazine tend to go for interestingly expensive amounts on sites like eBay.
Missing
- Vol 1, No. 2, Jul 1994
- Vol 2, No. 4, Apr 1995
- Vol 2, No. 6, Jun 1995
- Vol 2, No. 10, Oct 1995
- Vol 3, No. 7, Jul 1996
- Vol 3, No. 8, Aug 1996
- Vol 3, No. 10, Oct 1996
- Vol 3, No. 11, Nov 1996
- Vol 4, No. 6, Jun 1997
- Vol 4, No. 7, Jul 1997
- Vol 4, No. 10, Oct 1997
- Vol 5, No. 3, Mar 1998
- Vol 5, No. 5, May 1998
- Vol 5, No. 6, Jun 1998
- Vol 5, No. 7, Jul 1998
- Vol 5, No. 8, Aug 1998
PC World
PC World is a global computer magazine published monthly beginning in 1983. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal technology products and services. In each publication, PC World reviews and tests hardware and software products from a variety of manufacturers, as well as other technology related devices such as still and video cameras, audio devices and televisions.[4] For the purposes of eXoDOS, only issues through December of 1999 have been included.
PC Zone
PC Zone was started in 1993 as the first magazine dedicated to IBM PC games in the UK. It was spun off from a multiformat magazine known as Zero. The Media Add On Pack contains all published issues from its inception through the year 2000, including several "XMAS" special editions. The magazine included floppies which contained game demos.
QuestBusters
Started by Shay Addams in November of 1984, QuestBusters started as a simple fan-made newsletter primarily focused on interactive fiction and adventure games. The newsletter was essentially a print version of what would later become bulletin boards and internet forums. Several hint books were sold through the newsletter. It lasted until 1996, which coincidentally is around the time adventure games began to exit the zeitgeist.
All known issues are archived and accounted for.
Red Herring
Red Herring was a UK text adventure fanzine that ran for a total of sixteen issues, publishing every two months, between October 1991 and February 1994. Red Herring was notable for its professional production style and its look was designed by professional cartoonist Ken Taylor who also provided the illustrations. The content of the fanzine was provided by the editorial staff and the magazine's subscribers. Each issue consisted of regular features like the editorial, news, and feedback pages. A large number of reviews were included together with solutions, tips, and maps, as well as advertising from all the major homegrown UK text adventure companies. The magazine covered all aspects of text adventure gaming and also included some features on other genres such as point-and-click games, strategy titles, and RPGs.[5]
run 5
run 5 was published by SSG with a focus on their strategy games. Starting in January of 1986 the magazines ran for 25 issues, ending in January of 1992. The impetus behind the magazine was finding a way to share custom scenarios with their users without having to pay for the procurement, copying, and shipping of disks. The majority of the magazine was made up of detailed instructions, and code, necessary for the user to create these scenarios.
All known issues are archived and accounted for.
Softline
With only 16 issues over 3 years, Softline wasn't around very long. The magazine was an offshoot of Softalk, which was focused on the industry as a whole, while Softline focused specifically on gaming. While the Apple II platform was a primary focus through the early issues, the magazine covered gaming on multiple platforms as they became more relevant.
All known issues are archived and accounted for.
The Adventurer
This was LucasArt's official newsletter. It promoted upcoming LucasArts releases and featured background information on their development in the form of essays and staff interviews. Copies were distributed free of charge as it was more of an advertisement for their games than an actual magazine. 13 issues were published (with #13 being skipped, so the final number is 14) with the first issue in the Fall of 1990 and the final issue in the Winter of 96. All issues are archived and included.
Westwood Studios News & Notes
Westwood Studios News & Notes was a seasonal newsletter from Westwood Studios that was intended to introduce gamers to their development house and solicit feedback from their customers regarding the software that they produced.