In the beginning, there was MS-DOS. Before Windows gaming started to gain momentum, there was a blank screen and plain old command prompt where everything had to be typed in. There's a great deal of overlap between DOS and Windows gaming. Technological limitations in both managing memory and processing power made playing games in Windows expensive and inefficient, so gamers often had to switch between the two platforms according to their needs. It was during this era that many of PC gaming's biggest titles make their marks in history. These include all the popular Sierra and LucasArts adventure games, Doom, Command & Conquer and a huge list of others. These classic games were so good that some of them are making a comeback either with all-new games or through a DOS emulator.

This was the period that really set gamers apart from average computer users, since getting games to work often seemed like it required a minor degree in programming. Boot disks were needed to help manage memory, and gamers had to be painfully aware of exactly how much memory hardware drivers for the video card, sound card and mouse took up. It was a rough time, but despite the major limitations, DOS continued to be popular as CD-ROM and 3D acceleration technology both emerged to revolutionize gaming in the mid-90's.

Notable Games: Quake, Warcraft, Wing Commander series, Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall and many more.