Abandonware DOS title

Games based on a novel

A lot of old games were based on a book, being it a novel or even a short story. Some novels that inspired developers to create video games are The Lords of the Rings (by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rendez Vous with Rama (by Arthur Clarke), The Mist (by Stephen King).

Most popular based on a novel games

Dune 2000
strategyWindows XP/98/95
Dune
strategyDOS
20000leagues-3

20000 Leagues under the sea

DOS19883.8/5 Coktel Vision
9-princes-in-amber-02

9 Princes in Amber

DOS19854.1/5 Telarium
alice-wonderland-if-01

Alice in Wonderland

DOS19893.3/5
arrakis-05

Arrakis

DOS20003.9/5
arthur-excalibur-02

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur

DOS19894/5 Infocom
belowroot-1

Below The Root

DOS19843.7/5 Dale Disharoon, Inc.
Below the root is an atipycal early 2 dimensional adventure game based on the Zilpha Keatley Snyder novels: the Green Sky Trilogy. The player can choose one of many characters, each with different skills and embark in a quest to eliminate the distrust between two races: the Erdling and the Kindar.
betrayalkrondor-7

Betrayal at Krondor

DOS1993protected4.1/5 Dynamix
callahan-crosstime-03

Callahan's Crosstime Saloon

DOS19974/5 Legend Entertainment
castleelsinore-1

Castle Elsinore

DOS19923.5/5 Temple Software
circuitsedge-2

Circuit's Edge

DOS19904.1/5 Westwood Studios
Circuit's Edge is a single-player science fiction blend of adventure game and RPG, developed by Westwood Studios and released by Infocom in 1990. Circuit's Edge is based on George Alec Effinger's cyberpunk novel "When Gravity Fails".
xanth-1

Companions of Xanth

DOS1993protected3.8/5 Legend Entertainment
conancimmerian-3

Conan: the Cimmerian

DOS19914.2/5 Synergistic Software
death-gate-01

Death Gate

DOS1994protected3.9/5 Legend Entertainment
discworld-splash

Discworld

DOS19954.2/5 Perfect Entertainment
discworld2-08

Discworld 2: Mortality Bytes!

DOS19964.1/5 Perfect Entertainment
dracula-in-london-03

Dracula in London

DOS19883.5/5 SDJ Enterprises
dragonflight-01

Dragonflight

DOS19913.6/5 Thalion
dragonriderspern-1

Dragonriders of Pern

DOS19873.1/5 Everlasting
dune-4

Dune

DOS19924.1/5 Cryo Interactive Entertainment
Dune, released in 1992, is a game developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Virgin Games. It's based on the iconic science fiction novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. In Dune, players assume the role of Paul Atreides, the young scion of House Atreides, as he arrives on the desert planet Arrakis with his family to take control of spice pro...
dune2000-splash

Dune 2000

Windows XP/98/9519984.2/5 Westwood Studios
Dune 2000 is an abandoned science fiction classic real-time strategy game based on the popular Dune franchise. The Dune "universe" took form in the books of science fiction writer Frank Herbert and went on to include movies, TV series, comics, and of course video games. Dune 2000 is one of the finest RTS of its era; it was developed by We...
dune-generations-06

Dune Generations

Windows XP/98/952002canceled3.8/5 Cryo Interactive Entertainment
Dune Generations was a canceled 3D MMO strategy game set in the Dune universe that was never published. Dune Generations was in development by Cryo Interactive Entertainment, but it was canceled in 2002 when the company filed for bankruptcy. As of 2002 the game was still in the alpha stage; what's left are some screenshots ...
dune2-7

Dune II: The building of a dynasty

DOS19924.2/5 Westwood Studios
Dune II, released in 1992, is a pioneering real-time strategy game developed by Westwood Studios. Set in the world of Frank Herbert's Dune, players command noble houses in a battle for control over the planet Arrakis. With base-building, resource management, and tactical combat, the game introduced key elements of the genre and influenced future RT...
emmanuelle-2

Emmanuelle: A Game of Eroticism

DOS1989NSFW4/5 Coktel Vision
farehneith451-04

Farenheit 451

DOS19843.4/5 Telarium
flight-of-the-intruder-03

Flight of the Intruder

DOS19904.2/5 Rowan Software
frankenstein-02

Frankenstein

DOS19944.1/5 Junkyard
gateway1-3

Frederik Pohl's Gateway

DOS19924.1/5 Legend Entertainment
Frederik Pohl's Gateway is one of the best abandoned adventures games from Legend Entertainment. Gateway is an interactive fiction with graphics and an improved interface (unusual for IFs), based on the Frederik Pohl's novel Gateway. Tt was designed by Michael Verdu and Glen R. Dahlgren and published by Legend Entertainment in 1992.
gateway2_home_000

Gateway 2: Homeworld

DOS1993protected3.9/5 Legend Entertainment
hook-04

Hook

DOS19924.2/5 Shadow Software
ihnom-4

I have no Mouth and I Must Scream

DOS1995protected4.1/5 The Dreamers Guild