Summary
- A high school student has successfully ported the classic game Doom (1993) to a PDF file, resulting in a playable, albeit slow, experience.
- Doom's compact size has consistently enabled its execution on unconventional devices, including the Nintendo Alarmo and even within other video games.
- The ongoing exploration of novel platforms to run Doom underscores its enduring legacy and remarkable adaptability.
One dedicated high school student has achieved the remarkable feat of porting the highly influential Doom (1993) to a PDF file. This surprising accomplishment adds to the long list of unexpected platforms on which Doom has been successfully played.
Developed by id Software, Doom is widely recognized as one of the most influential video games ever created, particularly within the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. Its impact is so significant that it's credited with popularizing the very term "FPS," with many early games in the genre often described as "Doom clones." Recently, a trend has emerged among programmers and gaming enthusiasts: running Doom on the most unusual devices imaginable. From refrigerators and alarm clocks to car stereos, almost any device with even a hint of technological capability has been pressed into service. This humorous yet impressive trend has now reached a new level of ingenuity.
High school student and GitHub user ading2210 has ported the classic Doom game into a PDF file. Leveraging the fact that PDFs support JavaScript, which allows for 3D rendering, HTTP requests, and monitor detection, ading2210 created this unique port. While most interactive PDFs use small text boxes as pixels, Doom's 320x200 resolution would require thousands per frame—an impractical approach. Instead, ading2210 cleverly uses one text box per screen row, resulting in a playable, albeit slow, experience. As demonstrated in a video, the PDF version lacks color, sound, and text, with a frame rate of approximately 80ms.
High School Student Ports Doom (1993) to a PDF
One key factor enabling this achievement is Doom's remarkably compact size (2.39 megabytes). Just last November, a programmer successfully made Doom playable on a Nintendo Alarmo, utilizing its dials for movement and side buttons for menu navigation. However, the creativity doesn't stop at physical devices; another player cleverly ported Doom to run within the game Balandro, albeit with performance limitations similar to the PDF version. Players navigate the classic FPS across Balandro's spread cards.
These projects aren't solely about achieving smooth gameplay on unconventional platforms. Their significance lies in showcasing the boundless creativity of players and the endless possibilities for running Doom. The fact that, over 30 years later, Doom remains relevant and continues to inspire such innovative projects is a testament to its enduring legacy. As players continue their experimentation, we can expect Doom to appear on even more unexpected platforms in the future.
