Doom launched in a PDF file

Doom continues to appear on the most unexpected devices – from ATMs and printers to calculators and even chainsaws. Now the cult shooter has managed to run in PDF format, which would have seemed impossible.

The developer under the nickname ading2210 implemented this project, taking advantage of the fact that PDF supports JavaScript through built-in libraries. In DoomPDF, the image is formed using text fields, each of which represents a row of pixels on the screen. Visualization is achieved through the use of ASCII characters, which create a six-color monochrome image.

The system’s performance leaves much to be desired – frames are updated with a delay of about 80 milliseconds. However, the very fact that Doom can be run in a PDF document has already attracted the attention of the technical community.

The game can be tested by downloading the corresponding file, and the details of the project are published on GitHub. True, it is not possible to launch in all browsers, but, according to the author, there are no problems with Chrome.