A twitter user Foone posted today a video of them playing DOOM on a pregnancy test. They made this work by replacing a few components of the device and porting the game onto it. Though there are some obvious limitations to it, it’s still amusing how this is possible.
DOOM was developed back in 1993 id Software and it became a sensation in the gaming world. Since then, there have been multiple sequels of the game. Bethesda released the latest sequel of the game, DOOM Eternal, in March 2020. The game revolves around the player massacring through hordes of zombies/demons as you progress into further levels. What makes 1993 DOOM crazy is its low requirements and open-source codes, which means it can run on almost any device.
Following Wolfenstein 3d, id Software released the source code of DOOM in 1997 for reuse as they found porting a DOS-designed game to other devices to be too labored. From that point onwards, people have used the code to develop their own levels as well as somehow managed to run the game on almost everything. From smart fridges, toasters, old digital cameras, calculators to now even pregnancy tests, it seems like this game can be run on anything.
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You can run DOOM on a Pregnancy Test
Every now and then someone claims to have run the game on a device no one would have thought of. This leaves us amazed at how can such a bizarre idea can work. Furthermore, the open-source is what has kept the game alive for so long. Today Foone, on twitter, claimed to have run DOOM on a Pregnancy test.
Yesterday I had a lot of retweets and reddit posts and such for playing Doom on a pregnancy test.
But as I explained then, it wasn't really PLAYING on a pregnancy test, it was just a video being played back, not an interactive game.
Well, now it is. It's Pregnancy Test Doom! pic.twitter.com/Nrjyq07EVv
— foone?️⚧️ (@Foone) September 7, 2020
Foone posted a video of the game running on a pregnancy test. In the video we see them playing it using a wireless keyboard. Although we can’t make much of what we can see on the pregnancy test screen due to its limitations (128×32 pixel monochrome display), It’s still mind-blowing to even think this is possible.
How did they make it wor? Well, first they had to swap out the CPU and the display of the device since it was unprogrammable. The CPU they have used is Teensy 3.2. Next up they had to find a Bluetooth controller. With all working parts assembled, they ported the game onto the device and were able to play on it. Something to point out would be that they are only using the shell of the pregnancy test. This might seem somewhat deceptive but it still looks impressive, to say the least. You can find the complete story on Foone’s twitter thread.
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Other devices that can run this game
People have used the code to develop their version of the game that can run on a device of their choice. The whole catalog of these devices can be found on the website itrunsdoom. As the name suggests, this website is devoted to making a list of all the devices that can run the game apart for a PC. As we browse through it, we can see gadgets and appliances no one would have ever thought of. One of these would be an early Kodak digital camera. The game runs perfectly on the camera and you can enjoy it without any limitations.
Earlier this year, Linus Tech Tips, a youtube channel posted a video where they ran the game on a TI-84 calculator. Their main project was to water cool the calculator in order to overclock it. After doing so, they also ended up installing DOOM on it and proceeded to play the game. The easy process goes on to show how easily second parties can use the source to run DOOM on almost anything.