Summary
- A high school student has successfully ported Doom (1993) to a PDF file, resulting in a slow but playable experience.
- Doom's compact size has enabled its operation on unconventional devices, such as the Nintendo Alarmo and within other video games like Balandro.
- The ongoing efforts to run Doom on various platforms underscore its lasting legacy and continued relevance in the gaming community.
The iconic game Doom, developed by id Software in 1993, has left an indelible mark on the video game industry, particularly within the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. Often cited as the game that coined the term "FPS," Doom inspired countless titles that were colloquially referred to as "Doom clones." Over the years, a fascinating trend has emerged where enthusiasts and programmers have taken to running Doom on the most unexpected devices, from fridges and alarm clocks to car stereos, showcasing the game's remarkable versatility and compact size.
In a remarkable display of ingenuity, high school student and GitHub user ading2210 has successfully ported Doom into a PDF file. The PDF format's support for JavaScript, which enables features such as 3D rendering, HTTP requests, and monitor detection, made this feat possible. However, rendering Doom's 320x200 resolution in a PDF presents significant challenges. Traditional interactive PDFs use small text boxes as pixels, but Doom requires thousands of such boxes for each frame, which is impractical. To circumvent this, ading2210 opted to use one text box per screen row, resulting in a slower gameplay experience with an 80ms per frame response time. The game, as demonstrated in a video by the creator, operates without color, sound, or text.
High School Student Ports Doom (1993) to a PDF
The compact nature of Doom, weighing in at just 2.39 megabytes, has facilitated its operation on a wide array of unconventional platforms. For instance, a programmer managed to run Doom on the Nintendo Alarmo in November, using the device's dials to control movement and side buttons to navigate menus. Similarly, another creative enthusiast integrated Doom into Balandro, allowing players to navigate the classic FPS across the game's spread cards, albeit with notable performance limitations similar to those seen in the PDF version.
These innovative projects are less about achieving smooth gameplay on these unconventional devices and more about exploring the boundless possibilities that Doom offers. The enduring relevance of Doom, even over three decades since its release, is a testament to its lasting legacy. As the gaming community continues to experiment, it's likely that Doom will find its way onto even more unusual platforms in the future.
