It runs Doom

It runs Doom (or its alternative phrase, "Can it run Doom?") is a popular phrase and internet meme where people modify or homebrew various devices to run the 1993 first-person shooter, Doom.[1] The phrase is generally used whenever tech users find a device that is not considered to be a video game console nor personal computer,[1] examples being a treadmill, calculator, or a pregnancy test.[2][3][4] The point of the meme is to port the game to various absurd devices, which is enabled by the official 1997 release of the source code for Doom's unofficial Linux port.[5][6]

Background

An early example of porting Doom to unconventional platforms was a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) port developed by Sculptured Software. The SNES lacked a 32-bit processor, running on a 16-bit chip instead.[7][8] In order for the SNES to run Doom, it required the Super FX expansion chip, a coprocessor that helped run 3D games like Star Fox[8][1] and Yoshi's Island. According to the port's head programmer Randy Linden, neither the Super FX chip nor the development kit were available to Sculptured Software at the time when the port was being made,[9][1] so Linden had to compromise. Linden used a "hacked-up" Star Fox cartridge to get access to the Super FX chip and wrote his own engine for the port, which he dubbed the Reality Engine.[8][9]

In 1997, the source code for Doom was released under a non-commercial license before being officially released in 1999 under the GNU General Public License.[5] The source code came from an unofficial Linux port, which was created by id Software programmer Dave Taylor.[10][6] According to another id programmer, John Carmack, the code is only designed to run on Linux, but is portable enough to be modified to run on "just about any" other device.[1][6] Following the source release, the Doom community would start to create modified versions of the engine called source ports, expanding the technical capabilities of the engine, and enabling new forms of modding. Some of these modified versions were also used to port the game to other devices. Two of the most popular source ports for this are Chocolate Doom and PrBoom, minimalist source ports that are derived from both the Linux and Windows ports.

Notable examples

Graphing calculators

Graphing calculators are considered to be some of the most popular third-party porting platforms for Doom, due to its minimal memory and processing power requirements.[11] The earliest example of Doom being ported to a calculator was in February 2011, when users from the Omnimaga forums released a beta build of the port alongside videos demonstrating the gameplay.[12][13] The build used to play Doom on the calculator was a early build of the source port NDoom, a reworked version of the FPS.[14]

ATMs

In 2014, YouTube user Aussie50 was able to acquire an ATM. With this ATM, he and his friend were able to install and play Doom on it, as well as have the ATM's built-in buttons control the game.[15] ATMs typically run a version of Windows,[16] providing easy compatibility with Doom. The ATM in the video is shown running Windows XP, but features the MS-DOS command line, suggesting the use of an MS-DOS emulator like DOSBOX.[17]

Pregnancy test

In September 2020, California-based programmer Foone Turing posted videos on her X (at the time Twitter) account showing pre-recorded videos of Doom playing on a pregnancy test.[4] Turing explained in a later post that she had to replace the test's CPU and LCD with an external processor and screen in order for it to eventually run Doom interactively.[18][19]

Mouldy potatoes

In October 2020, YouTube user Equalo was able to run Doom on a graphing calculator that was powered by 100 pounds of boiled, aging potatoes[20][21], in a manner similar to a "potato battery". To achieve this, Equalo used russet potatoes, which produced the most energy out of all of the potatoes that he tested.[22] Originally, Equalo was going to use a Raspberry Pi Zero, due to its low powered requirements, but eventually switched to a TI-84 calculator after the experiment failed with the Pi Zero.[23][24]

John Deere tractors

In August 2022, Australian security researcher Sick Codes revealed at DEF CON that he was able to jailbreak his John Deere tractor's console to play a farm-themed version of Doom,[25][26] created by DOOM modder Skelegant.[27] The jailbreak was made in support of the right to repair movement, and in protest of John Deere's anti-repair efforts.[26] To develop the jailbreak, Sick Codes had examined many different John Deere tractor control touchscreen consoles. By soldering controllers onto the tractor's circuitry, Sick Codes was able to falsify a reboot check, causing the tractor to act as though it was being serviced by a licensed dealer. [26][28]

E.Coli bacteria

In 2024, Lauren Ramlan, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology biotechnology researcher, was able to make a 32x48 1-bit display using cell wall of E. coli bacteria to display Doom.[29] Ramlan connected the grid of cells to a controller that alters the fluorescence of the cells based on the game pixels, using the controlled addition of a repressor.[30][31] According to Ramlan, it will take up to 600 years in order to play DOOM in full due the display taking 70 minutes to illuminate one frame and 8 hours to go back to its starting state.[30][32]

Satellite in Earth orbit

In March 2024, Doom demo files (LMPs) of user input were played back on OPS-SAT-1, a cube satellite operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). (As cube satellites are small, there was no crew to play the game directly, hence the use of recordings of player input.) A port, doomgeneric, was used to modify the game subtly to include images taken by the OPS-SAT camera as background. Screenshots were taken of the demo playback in space with these new backgrounds, and sent back to Earth.[33][34][35]

Human brain cells

In 2026, Australian biotechnology company Cortical Labs promoted the CL1, a code-deployable biological computer, by publishing a YouTube video demonstrating approximately 200,000 human brain cells controlling a copyright-free version of Doom, called Freedoom.[36][37][38][39] To be able to adapt the game to the CL1, the researchers had to map a video feed of the game to “patterns of neural stimulation”.[38][40] By doing so, the neurons generate a output, responding to the event the video feed is showing.[41]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hindy, Joe (June 30, 2026). "If It Has a Screen, It Can Run Doom. How a Game From 1993 Became a Porting Legend". CNET. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  2. ↑ Scherwin, Mac (May 21, 2025). "The Monster-Slaying Game You Can Play Almost Anywhere". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ "But Can It Run Doom?". Wired. January 1, 2003. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Bankhurst, Adam (September 7, 2020). "Programmer Has Made 1993's Doom Playable on a Pregnancy Test". IGN. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  5. 1 2 DeCarlo, Matthew (March 11, 2010). "A List of PC Game Classics Available Free of Charge". Tech Spot. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "DOOM Open Source Release". Github. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Inside the work to get Doom on the Super Nintendo". Game Developer. June 6, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Sanglard, Fabien (December 10, 2018). Game Engine Black Book: DOOM. America: Fabien Sanglard. pp. 317–327. ISBN 979-8362469443. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Let's Interview; Dragon's Lair, Doom and Bleem Developer Randy Linden". Gaming Reinvented. December 31, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  10. ↑ Taylor, Dave (September 9, 1994). "Linux Doom for X Released". Tech Insider. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017.
  11. ↑ Segura, Enrique (March 20, 2026). "From a calculator to a human brain cell: What runs Doom?". Mastercard. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ Raby, Mark (March 3, 2011). "Doom ported to TI calculator". Game Radar. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  13. ↑ Reeves, Ben (February 18, 2011). "The Original Doom Running On A Calculator". Game Informer. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ Sheffer, Sam (February 21, 2011). "TI-Nspire calculator: yes, it plays Doom". Engadget. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  15. ↑ Fingas, Jon (July 27, 2014). "Sure enough, you can play 'Doom' on an ATM". Engadget. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  16. ↑ Rybicki, Joe (June 23, 2019). "It Runs DOOM #5". Slayers Club. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  17. ↑ Osgood, Rick (July 26, 2014). "Playing DOOM On An ATM". Hackaday. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  18. ↑ Schroeder, Stan (September 7, 2020). "Guy runs 'Doom' on a pregnancy test and wait, what?". Mashable. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  19. ↑ Shibu, Sherin (September 8, 2020). "Yes, Doom Is Playable on a Pregnancy Test". PC Mag. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  20. ↑ Bonthuys, Darryn (October 14, 2020). "Doom Is Now Playable On Potatoes". Gamespot. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  21. ↑ Coulson, Josh (October 14, 2020). "Here's Doom Running On A Calculator Powered By Potatoes". The Gamer. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ Simmons, Nathan (October 12, 2020). "We Finally Know How Many Potatoes It Takes To Play Doom". SVG. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  23. ↑ Livingston, Christopher (October 13, 2020). "Here's Doom running on 100 pounds of moldy potatoes". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  24. ↑ Gach, Ethan (October 14, 2020). "Doom Running On A Calculator Powered By Old Potatoes". Kotaku. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  25. ↑ Silva, Christianna (August 16, 2022). "Wanna play 'Doom'? Do I have the John Deere tractor for you!". Mashable. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  26. 1 2 3 Newman, Lily (August 13, 2022). "A New Jailbreak for John Deere Tractors Rides the Right-to-Repair Wave". Wired. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  27. ↑ Al-Shibai, Noor (August 15, 2022). "Hacker Installs DOOM on John Deere Tractor For Some Reason". Futurism. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  28. ↑ Murray, Sean (August 20, 2022). "Doom Can Now Be Played On A Tractor". The Gamer. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  29. ↑ Bonk, Lawerence (January 30, 2024). "Here's a video of Doom running on gut bacteria, proving you really can play the game on anything". Engadget. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  30. 1 2 Paul, Andrew (February 1, 2024). "Running 'Doom' on E. coli cells… very, very slowly". Popular Science. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  31. ↑ Jarvis, Matt (January 29, 2024). "You can play Doom using gut bacteria, but the framerate is atrocious". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  32. ↑ Stanton, Rich (January 29, 2024). "Power-crazed boffin gets Doom running through the medium of gut bacteria". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  33. ↑ Wilkins, Joe (October 31, 2025). "Hacker Gets "Doom" Running on Satellite in Outer Space". Futurism. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  34. ↑
    • Waage, Ólafur (October 23, 2025). "DOOM in Space". Ubuntu Summit 25.10 - Day One. Event occurs at 45:47. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
    • Waage, Ólafur (March 29, 2024). Running DOOM on a satellite. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  35. ↑ Fieldhouse, Rachel (March 13, 2026). "How the classic computer game Doom became a tool for science". Nature. Vol. 651. p. 866. doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00813-4.
  36. ↑ Bloom, Josh (March 6, 2026). "Human Brain Cells Taught to Play Doom. Seriously". ASCH. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  37. ↑ Tangermann, Victor (March 1, 2026). "Researchers Get Human Brain Cells Running Doom". Futurism. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  38. 1 2 Chavez, Maria (March 7, 2026). "Scientists Taught a Petri Dish of Brain Cells to Play Doom—They're Getting Better". Inc. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  39. ↑ Felton, James (March 3, 2026). ""They Are Learning": Cortical Labs Makes 200,000 Living Human Brain Cells Play DOOM". IFLScience. Archived from the original on July 7, 2026. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  40. ↑ Hashemi, Sara (March 27, 2026). "A Clump of Human Brain Cells on a Computer Chip Learned to Play the Nostalgic Video Game 'Doom'". Smithsonian. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  41. ↑ Pelley, Rich (March 16, 2026). "A petri dish of human brain cells is currently playing Doom. Should we be worried?". The Guardian. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
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