Remembering “Amnesia”: Rebooting the First Computerized Novel

“Amnesia,” an interactive science fiction work by Thomas M. Disch published in 1986, was an early effort to merge video games with literary art by turning a novelist’s script into an interactive computer experience.

This exhibition explores the journey of “Amnesia” from a story idea to a digital creation. Visitors can play the game at workstations in the Hanke Gallery at Sterling Memorial Library and in Bass Library, using Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure (EaaSI) software. The exhibition also highlights the efforts of the library’s Digital Preservation unit to revive this interactive, computerized novel.