Uncovering the Mysteries of "Amnesia": A Groundbreaking Interactive Fiction OdysseyYou wake up naked in a hotel room, with no recollection of who you are or how you got there. Your clothes are missing, and someone is knocking on the door. This is the chilling premise of "Amnesia," a pioneering text-based video game released in 1986, which challenges players to navigate a series of puzzles and uncover the protagonist's past while evading an assassin and clearing their name for a murder in Texas.

Unlocking the Narrative: Disch's Vision for an Interactive Computerized Novel

The game, created by acclaimed science fiction author Thomas M. Disch, was a groundbreaking attempt to merge the realms of literary fiction and interactive digital storytelling. Disch envisioned "Amnesia" as a computerized novel, where players would immerse themselves in a captivating narrative and actively shape its progression through their choices and actions.

Bridging the Analog and Digital Realms

Disch's creative process for "Amnesia" spanned both the analog and digital worlds. Before he even owned a personal computer, he meticulously crafted the narrative by hand, writing in notebooks and typing drafts on a typewriter. These handwritten notes and annotated typescripts are now on display, offering a glimpse into the author's creative journey.

The Kaypro II: Disch's Digital Companion

It wasn't until 1984 that Disch acquired his first computer, a Kaypro II, which weighed a hefty 29 pounds and boasted a mere 64 kilobytes of memory – a far cry from today's smartphones with their 8 gigabytes of storage. This technological leap is highlighted in the exhibit, underscoring the challenges Disch faced in realizing his vision for an interactive computerized novel.

Transforming the Written Word into Code

Disch's script for "Amnesia" was then transformed into computer code by the game-development company Cognetics Corporation. The exhibit features a printout of the source code, a testament to the intricate process of translating the author's literary vision into a playable digital experience.

Navigating the Complexities of "Amnesia"

The game's release in 1986 for the Apple II, IBM PC-compatible computers, and the Commodore 64 was met with praise for its strong writing and complex narrative, but also frustration over its seemingly endless puzzles and challenges. A flowchart on display maps the game's intricate web of locations, or "nodes," which accurately depict the blocks and neighborhoods of Manhattan's southern districts, further emphasizing the depth and attention to detail that Disch brought to his creation.

Preserving the Past: Reviving "Amnesia" for the Digital Age

As the decades passed, the technological landscape evolved, rendering "Amnesia" obsolete and unplayable on modern systems. This fate highlights the critical importance of digital preservation and the challenges faced by librarians and archivists in ensuring the accessibility of digitally created materials.

Emulating the Past: Bringing "Amnesia" Back to Life

In 2019, the Yale Library's born-digital specialist, Alice Prael, and software preservation and emulation librarian, Claire Fox, embarked on a mission to revive "Amnesia" using cutting-edge emulation techniques. By capturing the data stored on the game's floppy disks and replicating the obsolete hardware using specialized software, they were able to recreate the authentic experience of playing "Amnesia" on a Commodore 64.

The EaaSI Platform: Enabling Access to Digital Artifacts

This effort was made possible through the Yale Library's Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure (EaaSI) program, an international collaborative initiative aimed at increasing equitable access to collections dependent on legacy software. The EaaSI platform provided the librarians with the necessary tools and expertise to establish efficient methods for accessing and preserving digital materials that require interaction in a legacy computing environment.

Immersive Gaming Kiosks: Experiencing "Amnesia" Firsthand

The exhibit features three gaming kiosks that allow visitors to directly engage with the revived version of "Amnesia," showcasing the effectiveness of the emulation process. Visitors can navigate the game's intricate narrative, issuing commands and exploring the protagonist's plight, all while experiencing the authentic feel of a mid-1980s computing environment, complete with chunky keyboards that evoke the nostalgia of the era.

Preserving Digital Artifacts: A Crucial Endeavor

The preservation of "Amnesia" and the efforts to make it accessible to researchers and the public underscore the growing significance of video games and other digitally created materials as cultural artifacts. Beyond video games, emulation can also be used to preserve and enable access to a wide range of interactive content, from legacy websites and searchable databases to industry-specific software that requires the use of obsolete operating systems.The "Remembering Amnesia: Rebooting the first computerized novel" exhibit at the Yale Library's Hanke Exhibition Gallery serves as a testament to the creative vision of Thomas M. Disch and the tireless work of the library's digital preservation team. By bringing "Amnesia" back to life, they not only honor the game's historical significance but also pave the way for the preservation and accessibility of other digitally created materials, ensuring that these important cultural artifacts remain available for generations to come.