Can It Run Doom? Yes — Even Bacteria, Potatoes, and Toothbrushes

Retro gaming fans refuse to let their beloved games die by creating modifications or porting them to modern console and software versions. Among these efforts, the iconic game Doom from 1993 stands out as a particular favorite. Players began running Doom not only on PCs and consoles but also on any device with a screen and processor. This phenomenon has become something of a meme. The game, built on the id Tech 1 engine, was designed to run on even the most modest hardware configurations.

Over time, after Doom's release, many technologies evolved. In 2007, Apple initiated a revolution with the launch of its first iPhone. Soon after, displays became an integral part of the 21st century, integrated into more and more products and everyday tools: refrigerators, toasters, cash registers, cars, e-cigarettes, and even pregnancy tests. With this, it became possible to run Doom on all these devices. Thus, the concept of "Doom running on everything" (DROE) was born, giving rise to a culture where people played Doom on potatoes, the aforementioned pregnancy tests, and much more.

Doom on a TI-84 Plus Calculator Powered by Potatoes

A Reddit user named onesmallserving managed to run Doom on a TI-84 Plus calculator powered by approximately 200 potatoes. He also released a video showing the setup and gameplay process.

Initially, the enthusiast planned to run Doom on a Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer, which requires 150 mAh for power. To power the board, he used around 200 boiled potatoes cut into pieces and connected in a series. Each piece of potato had a nail and a coin inserted to create an electrochemical potential.

Doom 2 Launched on a Chainsaw

This trick turned out to be simpler than one might think. An enthusiast simply embedded a Raspberry Pi Zero miniature computer inside a portable chainsaw and connected a controller and keyboard to it.

The video is styled to resemble an old recording from a worn-out videotape. Interestingly, the date displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen corresponds to the release date of the original Doom.

Doom Ported to a Fan Remake of Morrowind on the Skyrim Engine

The TESRenewal team humorously "ported" Doom into Skywind—a remake of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind on the Skyrim engine. Modders placed a book on Red Mountain containing a well-known parody among Doom fans—a short story titled Repercussions of Evil ("Consequences of Evil"). You can play the classic shooter directly on the book's pages.

The modders emphasized that the footage shown in the video represents real gameplay. Likely, this "port" will remain an April Fools' joke, as TESRenewal admitted they do not have the rights to distribute the game.

Doom 2 Launched on a Soviet Tram and Gameplay Shown on the Onboard Computer

An enthusiast demonstrated how they managed to run the legendary Doom 2: Hell on Earth on the onboard computer of a LM-68M2 tram. This is a retro modification of the LM-68M model, produced in the USSR from 1973 to 1988.

Despite the modernized technology, the system did not recognize a USB keyboard. The creator of the video had to connect an older PS/2 device to the onboard computer.

Doom Launched in Microsoft Word

An enthusiast known as wojciech-graj released a modification that runs the classic Doom directly within Microsoft Word. The character in the text-based first-person shooter is controlled via the keyboard. Technically, the port is not very complex. It is based on the doomgeneric project, which simplifies the transfer of Doom to other platforms; the docm file contains a library implementing the game code and an asset file taken directly from Doom.

To display the game image, a relatively simple technique is used. Each game tick creates a bmp image (the developer did not specify why a more modern format isn't used), which is displayed in Word. User input is read through GetAsyncKeyState.

Doom Launched on a Sheet of Paper—Inside a PDF File

A user under the name vk6 ported the original Doom into a PDF file. The developer mentioned that they were inspired by a similar port of "Tetris." You can try it out here. The source code for the project is available on GitHub.

The creator of the Doom port explained that the game can be fully completed within the PDF file. Doom PDF works only in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, etc.) and supports custom WAD files (Doom modifications, such as the recent Gallery Experience), although the original Doom WAD file is required for their operation.

Doom on a Nintendo Alarm Clock

Developer GaryOderNichts successfully ran Doom on a smart alarm clock called the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo.

Although the alarm clock lacks advanced capabilities, the internal performance proved sufficient for running Doom. However, due to limited storage space, the enthusiast had to use external memory.

The game runs on a STM32H730ZBI6 microcontroller, with controls handled via a touch sensor and the clock's buttons. While rotating the Doomguy isn't very convenient, shooting and opening doors work without issues.

Doom Played on a 3D Display as a Hologram

Developer James Brown, who previously played Doom on a ring (a homemade device with a screen) and a LEGO block (same story), showcased another unusual device capable of destroying demons: a homemade 3D display.

Technically, Brown's device resembles a "holographic fan." Such a fan spins a strip of LEDs to create the illusion of a two-dimensional image; Brown's device rotates an entire LED panel to simulate a three-dimensional picture.

To play Doom on this display, the enthusiast had to modify the game to show the Doomguy and his surroundings from a third-person perspective.

Doom Played on a Smart Toothbrush

Programmer Aaron Christofel played the first part of Doom on a new device—a smart toothbrush. The chosen gaming platform was the Planck Mini model, equipped with a microcomputer.

The device carries only 4 megabytes of memory. To fit Doom into such a limited memory capacity, Aaron had to create a special version of Doom: the developer minimized the number of locations and texture volume.

For image output, the developer used the toothbrush's built-in screen. Playing was fairly comfortable, as the enthusiast connected a mouse to the toothbrush.

Doom Played via Sound Waves

A Reddit user named Wojtek-Graj managed to transform the game into an audio signal and transferred the image onto a spectrogram—a device that visualizes sound waves.

Controls are transmitted via a microphone. Specific frequencies correspond to certain actions when fed into the microphone. The sound in the video isn't particularly pleasant, but the fact itself is impressive!

Doom Displayed Using E. Coli Cells

MIT biotechnologist Lauren Ramalan successfully launched the iconic computer game Doom using real intestinal bacteria. She didn’t digitally simulate the bacteria but converted actual bacteria into pixels to display the 30-year-old FPS game.

Specifically, Ramalan created a display inside a cell wall entirely composed of E. coli bacteria. The resolution of 32x48 pixels with a color depth of just 1 bit may not impress, but who cares—it’s Doom running on bacteria! The researcher "lit up" the bacteria with fluorescent proteins so they glowed like digital pixels.

Doom Launched on a Real American Tractor

At the DefCon 22 conference in Las Vegas, hackers demonstrated a jailbroken computer from a John Deere tractor. Hacker Sick Codes showed the agricultural mod for Doom running on the device, drawing attention to outdated software that cannot be modified or repaired.

In 2021, the hacker discussed issues with tractor software at a conference. Sick Codes was concerned about food security since malicious actors could gain control over farming equipment, as seen in the case of a U.S. meat processing company.

Doom on a Tiny LEGO Monitor

Engineer James Brown constructed a charming LEGO monitor that fits into a single LEGO piece and can display various images. Naturally, if something has a monitor, Doom must run on it. No exceptions!

As Brown explains, the LEGO monitor operates at a resolution of 72x40 with one bit per pixel—meaning it displays only monochrome images. To run Doom (resolution 320x200 with 256 colors) under these conditions, significant engineering effort was required: “The display performs adaptive histogram equalization to smooth the dynamic range, adds noise, and applies threshold values.”

Doom Ported to a Modified Pregnancy Test

Blogger foone published an unusual experiment. He managed to run Doom and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim on the screen of a pregnancy test. The device features an OLED display measuring 128x32 pixels at 1bpp, an 8-bit Holtek processor with 64 bytes of memory, and an 8 MHz clock speed.

Initially, the blogger displayed only text on the screen. Eventually, this progressed to Doom and a famous Skyrim video clip. The launch occurred after wetting the paper strip treated with a chemical reagent.

Doom Ported to Balatro Cards

Balatro is a poker roguelike, but user UwUDev proposed an unconventional approach to the project: since cards have images, these could be replaced with something else. A tech enthusiast thought it would be interesting to insert the gameplay of Doom into the cards.

The idea worked, though the Doom experience in this mode is noticeably laggy. Nevertheless, successfully implementing this concept constitutes a notable achievement. After such a modification, the "card nature" of Balatro remains intact—players can move the cards, and along with them, a "piece" of Doom moves as well. The creative experiment was appreciated by the developer of the card game.

 Doom on the Box and a Pocket Cacodemon

Image: x.comThe publisher Limited Run Games has revealed the physical edition of DOOM + DOOM II, which will be available for preorder starting April 18. The discs will be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, while Nintendo Switch users will have the option to use a cartridge. 

There will also be two special editions available for purchase: the Big Box Edition, styled after the packaging of computer games from the '90s, and the Will it Run Edition, which is sure to intrigue collectors!

The name itself hints that this edition references the famous meme about the possibility of running Doom on the most unexpected devices. In this case, the device in question is... the game box itself! Additionally, you can play the legendary shooter on a pocket-sized cacodemon.

Main image: x.com