Doom in a document: Cult shooter now playable as a PDF
The Reddit community "ItRunsDoom" is renowned for porting the iconic '90s shooter to the most unexpected platforms and devices. Over the years, Doom has been played on a calculator, a cash machine and even a digital pregnancy test. Now, Reddit user vk6_ has taken this creativity to new heights. On January 13, they shared their latest achievement: a playable version of Doom embedded within a PDF file.
The project leverages the open-source engine doomgeneric, with its C code converted into WebAssembly using the Emscripten compiler. This allows the port to run in modern browsers (Chromium-based or Firefox) and directly in PDF readers that support JavaScript. A preview of this innovative adaptation can be seen in the following video:
The PDF version of Doom doesn't match the performance of the IBM PCs for which the game was originally released in 1993. The display is monochrome, offering six shades of gray, with a frame rate of approximately 12 FPS. Each screen line is rendered as a separate text field. The controls remain familiar: movement is handled with WASD, the space bar is used to fire and weapons can be switched using the number keys 1-7. The mouse isn’t needed for gameplay. DoomPDF is freely accessible and completely free to play.
While the original version of Doom remains the go-to choice for pure fun, DoomPDF showcases the incredible flexibility of the retro classic. The project has been warmly received on Reddit, with many praising it as a creative masterpiece. Comments like "This is very impressive" and "Best virus ever" highlight the community's enthusiasm. Fans can undoubtedly look forward to more inventive projects from the ItRunsDoom community in the future.
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