“But does it run Doom?” started off as a joke but it’s become a genuine challenge. What better way is there to show off your programming skills than to get id Software’s 1993 FPS on the unlikeliest of devices? Here are some of the weirdest things that can run Doom.
These Weird and Wonderful Devices All Run Doom
1. Pregnancy Test
Congratulations, it’s a Cacodemon! You might have to squint a little to play it, but hardware wizard Foone managed to play Doom ron a pregnancy test’s tiny black-and-white screen. They initially used it as a monitor, which is an accomplishment in itself, but took things one step further and got it running on the device itself.
2. Single Keyboard Key
Now out of production, the Optimus Maximus was a keyboard where every key was a small display screen. Modder Radio4Active got Doom running (at an admittedly low frame rate) on just one single key.
3. Supermarket Barcode Scanner
Bored to tears as your partner/relative/friend drags you around shopping? Simply grab one of the supermarket’s self-shop barcode scanners, install Doom and you’re away. Okay, it took modder tamay-idk more work than that but I’d still love to see shoppers reach for one of these to find Doom has been installed on every single one.
4. Medical Device
Why hack something to run Doom? For the challenge? The prestige? Just because it’s there? In the case of HTM Workshop, they wanted to show just how vulnerable some medical devices can be. I think they’ve proved their point.
5. Panasonic Welding Robot
I couldn’t hunt down the price for this Panasonic welding robot, but compared so similar models it’s worth five, maybe six figures. It’s probably going to murder us all, but in the meantime, Xenazorro squeezed Doom onto it. I’m assuming it was their own personal property, otherwise their supervisor is absolutely going to want a word.
6. McDonald’s Till
You may have seen the picture of Doom on a McDonald’s kiosk but, sadly, that turned out to be fake. Former McDonald’s manager Fleebs, however, had Doom running on a McDonald’s till which is the next best thing, especially if the lunchtime rush is eating away at your soul.
7. Espresso Machine
Need a boost to sharpen your reflexes? Rouge-agent007’s Doom-playing espresso machine could be just the thing. Decaf is not an option.
8. Kodak DC260 Digital Camera
Virtually every current mobile device can run Doom (and emulate half a dozen consoles) but back in 1998 it was a big deal. The idea of running Doom on one of that year’s Kodak DC260 digital camera seems ridiculous. But as VideoGameObsession shows, it can be done and what’s more it’s perfectly playable.
9. ATM
This hole in the wall machine is missing the wall, but it’s no less impressive that Aussie50 and team got this ATM playing Doom. While the video clearly shows them using a keyboard, the description states they eventually got it running using the side keys and pin pad alone.
10. Sex Toy
Dubbed “Dong DOOM” by modder MyTinyHappyplace, this is a creative use of an AliExpress sex toy. Why does this thing have an LCD screen? I’m not sure I want to know but they’ve succeeded in turning it into an altogether different kind of entertainment device.
11. Ticket Validator
Need your parking validated? This device, from Aussie modder Zbios, will punch, shoot and chainsaw your ticket. It helps that this device runs Windows CE though, slightly disappointingly, this was their own personal property. They didn’t just install Doom on a random street ticket machine and stroll off whistling nonchalantly
12. Thermostat
Ever got moaned at for playing with the thermostat? Cz7asm struck a blow for all of us with Doomstat, Doom running on a Honeywell Thermostat. It makes use of a SNES joypad and the “hot as Hell” jokes write themselves.
13. Treadmill
It’s cool that Kreeator3 got Doom running on a treadmill but what really makes this award worthy that they did this in their school’s gymnasium, while it was in use. “Sadly we got kicked out of the gym before I could figure out how to map the onboard buttons and get the belt to spin as you run in-game,” they explain.
14. John Deere Tractor
It’s not a good idea to get distracted when you’re operating heavy machinery but, like the hacked medical device there’s a point to this Doom device. John Deere has been accused of locking tractor owners out of their tractors’ internals, making it harder to repair them. It was only in 2023 that farmers won the right to repair their tractors. By putting Doom on this machine, modders Sickcodes and Skelegant were highlighting the possibility of jailbreaking John Deere’s tractors.
15. Ultrasound Scanner
I’d like to say that BwaveTV saw Doom running on a pregnancy test and had a hold my beer moment, but this was a full five years before that. Strafing doesn’t work on this ultrasound machine unfortunately, but everything else does and I can see it making for one hell of a gender reveal party.
These are the cream of the crop, as Macho Man Randy Savage would say. But if you’re curious as just what else can run Doom, check out the Will It Run Doom subreddit, which is where a handful of these awesome accomplishments came from.
Published: Jul 12, 2024 12:34 am