Summary
- A high school student has successfully ported Doom (1993) to a PDF file, creating a slow yet playable version of the game.
- Doom's small file size has enabled its execution on various unconventional platforms, including the Nintendo Alarmo and within other video games like Balandro.
- These creative endeavors showcase Doom's enduring legacy and the continuous exploration of its potential applications.
One dedicated high school student has achieved a remarkable feat by porting the iconic game Doom (1993) to a PDF file. This innovative adaptation adds to the growing list of unexpected devices on which Doom has been successfully run.
Developed by id Software, Doom is widely regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, particularly within the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. The game's impact was so significant that it inspired the term "FPS," and for many years, similar games were simply referred to as "Doom clones." Over recent years, a trend has emerged where programmers and gaming enthusiasts have taken up the challenge of running Doom on the most unconventional devices. These include everything from refrigerators and alarm clocks to car stereos and other tech-enabled gadgets. This playful yet impressive trend has now reached a new milestone.
High school student and GitHub user ading2210 has successfully ported the classic Doom into a PDF file. The PDF format's ability to support JavaScript allowed ading2210 to implement features such as 3D rendering, HTTP requests, and monitor detection. While most interactive PDFs use small text boxes as pixels, Doom's 320x200 resolution necessitates thousands of text boxes per frame, which is impractical. Therefore, ading2210 opted for one text box per screen row, resulting in a slower but playable game. A video shared by the creator demonstrates the game running without color, sound, or text, and with a response time of 80ms per frame.
High School Student Ports Doom (1993) to a PDF
One of the reasons this achievement is possible is Doom's compact file size of just 2.39 megabytes. Recently, in November, a programmer managed to make Doom playable on the Nintendo Alarmo, utilizing the device's dials to move the character and side buttons to navigate the game's menu. However, fans have not limited their creativity to hardware alone. Another innovative player managed to run Doom within Balandro, allowing players to experience the classic FPS across the game's spread cards, though with notable performance limitations similar to the PDF version.
The primary goal of these projects is not to play Doom smoothly on these unconventional platforms but to highlight the endless possibilities that creative players can explore. More than 30 years after its release, Doom's continued relevance is a testament to its enduring legacy. As enthusiasts continue to experiment, it's likely that Doom will be ported to even more unusual devices in the future.
