Interactive Fiction: A New Literary Genre?

HIS ESSAY offers a radical proposition: During the 1980s we may be witnessing the appearance of a new genreinteractive fiction. Because this literary form is new to many readers, I've divided the essay into three parts, two of which offer background. Part I describes software options, while Part II explores implications for literary writers. Part III raises a theoretical question: Is interactive fiction a new genre? Here's an illustrative scenario that would once have struck readers