Doom, the iconic first-person shooter, has been remarkably versatile, finding its way onto everything from toasters to fridges. However, the novelty of running Doom on unconventional devices is starting to wane. Enter a high school student, ading2210, who has ingeniously ported Doom into a PDF file that you can run directly in your browser.
While this version of Doom lacks traditional elements like text and sound, it still allows you to enjoy the classic E1M1 level, perhaps while procrastinating on those overdue taxes. Inspired by the TetrisPDF project, ading2210 harnessed the power of Javascript within a browser's PDF reader to bring Doom to life in a new format.
Doom in a PDF? Why not? Image credit: YouTube / vk6.
Despite the limitations imposed by browser security on PDF scripting, ading2210 leveraged the PDF specifications' Javascript capabilities to perform the necessary computations. The result is a functional port of Doom, rendered in a six-color ASCII grid, albeit with an 80ms delay per frame.
While you might not be ready to ditch your gaming console, the achievement of running Doom within a PDF file is impressive, especially given the clarity of the visuals. Thomas Rinsma, the creator of TetrisPDF, acknowledged ading2210's work on Hacker News, noting that it was "neater in many ways."
Although this PDF version of Doom might not be the ideal way to experience the game for the first time, the ongoing trend of running Doom on increasingly absurd platforms—from files to living gut bacteria—continues to captivate and entertain fans worldwide.
