Move Over Toasters: Doom Is Now Playable Inside a PDF

Doom's been ported to everything from toasters to refrigerators, seemingly leaving little room for innovation. However, a high school student has achieved the seemingly impossible: a playable Doom port within a PDF file, runnable directly in your browser.

While lacking sound and detailed text, this version allows you to enjoy E1M1 while (pretending to) tackle those overdue taxes.

Github user ading2210, inspired by the TetrisPDF project, leveraged Javascript within a browser's PDF reader to accomplish this feat. Browser security restrictions limit the full potential of PDF scripting, but enough functionality remained to port Doom.

Using a six-color ASCII grid for visuals, ading2210 created a surprisingly readable Doom experience, albeit with an 80ms per-frame rendering delay. While not a replacement for your PS5, the accomplishment of running Doom inside a PDF is undeniably impressive.

TetrisPDF's creator, Thomas Rinsma, commented on Hacker News, acknowledging ading2210's superior implementation. Although not ideal for a first-time Doom playthrough, the continued porting of Doom to unconventional platforms, including files and even bacteria, remains a source of endless amusement.