Doom Has Been Ported to a PDF File

Doom's Unlikely PDF Port: A Testament to its Enduring Legacy

A high school student's recent feat of porting the iconic 1993 game, Doom, to a PDF file underscores the game's enduring appeal and the boundless creativity of its fanbase. This unconventional port, while slow, remains playable, adding to the already impressive list of unusual platforms on which Doom has been successfully executed.

Doom's compact size (a mere 2.39 megabytes) has always been a key factor in its adaptability. This has allowed programmers and enthusiasts to run the game on everything from refrigerators and alarm clocks (like the Nintendo Alarmo, where controls were mapped to the device's dials and buttons) to other video games (such as Balandro, albeit with performance limitations). This ongoing trend showcases the game's lasting impact.

GitHub user ading2210 achieved the PDF port by leveraging JavaScript's capabilities within the PDF format. This allows for 3D rendering, HTTP requests, and monitor detection. However, rendering Doom's 320x200 resolution directly using individual text boxes as pixels proved impractical. Instead, ading2210 cleverly utilized one text box per screen row, resulting in a playable, albeit sluggish, experience. The resulting version lacks color, sound, and text, with a frame rate of approximately 80ms.

The significance of these unconventional ports transcends mere playability. They demonstrate the limitless ingenuity of gamers and the enduring legacy of Doom. Over three decades after its release, Doom continues to inspire innovation and remains a relevant title, suggesting future ports to even more unexpected platforms are inevitable.