The enduring legacy of Doom, the iconic first-person shooter originally released in 1993, has long transcended the world of gaming. Its reputation as one of the most adaptable and groundbreaking games in history continues to inspire creators, hackers, and innovators who find new ways to push its limits. The recent achievement of playing Doom on a volumetric voxel display, accomplished by the same individual who previously managed to run Doom on a Lego brick, speaks volumes about both the game’s cultural significance and the creative ingenuity that it still inspires decades later.
This feat highlights the intersection between technological innovation and nostalgia, while underscoring Doom’s unique place in both gaming history and modern hacker culture. The shift from playing Doom on a two-dimensional Lego brick screen to a 3D voxel display marks a leap not only in the game’s adaptability but also in our understanding of the creative potential of old-school software. This critical affirmation explores the technological challenges, cultural implications, and broader significance of this latest evolution in Doom’s journey from the 1990s to the bleeding edge of experimental technology.
The Cultural Legacy of Doom
Before delving into the technical achievement of porting Doom to a voxel display, it’s essential to understand the game’s place in the cultural and technological landscape. Doom was revolutionary when it was released in 1993, popularizing the first-person shooter genre with its fast-paced gameplay, atmospheric level design, and innovative use of 3D graphics. Developed by id Software, Doom has since become one of the most iconic games in history, inspiring countless successors and establishing itself as a touchstone in gaming culture.
Over the years, Doom has found its way onto an almost absurd range of platforms and devices, from ATMs to smartwatches to pregnancy tests. This phenomenon, often referred to as “Can it run Doom?”, is a meme that encapsulates both the technical challenge of porting the game to unusual hardware and the cultural reverence for Doom as a symbol of technological ingenuity. It is this same cultural backdrop that contextualizes the move to a volumetric voxel display, offering a new frontier for Doom enthusiasts to explore.
The Technical Feat: From Lego Brick to Voxel Display
In 2020, the idea of running Doom on a Lego brick made headlines as one of the most inventive ways to experience the game. The original Lego Doom experiment involved squeezing a version of the game into the small screen embedded in a Lego brick, an astonishing example of hacking and miniaturization. It was a fun, playful experiment, representing the lengths to which hobbyists are willing to go to challenge the boundaries of technology. The appeal was not necessarily about having the best experience of Doom but about celebrating the marriage of the game’s flexibility and technical curiosity.
Now, with the Doom on a voxel display project, the same creative mind has taken that ingenuity a step further. Volumetric displays, especially those using voxel (3D pixel) technology, offer a way to render objects and images in three dimensions without the need for glasses or headsets, providing a holographic-like experience. Running Doom on such a display, which projects images into a three-dimensional space using light-emitting voxels, represents a radical shift from flat, two-dimensional displays to an immersive and tactile experience.
The challenge of porting Doom to a voxel display involves not only coding adjustments but also significant hardware considerations. Unlike traditional displays, where pixels are laid out in a flat, 2D grid, voxel displays represent objects in three-dimensional space, requiring real-time rendering of 3D models that change based on the viewer’s perspective. This makes the experience of playing Doom far more interactive and dynamic, offering a glimpse of what gaming could look like as volumetric displays become more sophisticated.
The Evolution of Gaming Experiences: A Window into the Future
The move from a Lego brick display to a volumetric voxel display is more than just a quirky tech demonstration. It represents a shift in how we might think about gaming experiences in the future. While traditional gaming platforms have evolved from bulky PCs to sleek consoles, handheld devices, and VR headsets, volumetric displays offer the potential to push gaming into new realms of immersion.
The voxel display that now runs Doom allows players to experience the game in a way that wasn’t possible in the 1990s, when it was first released. It brings depth to a flat game, allowing players to observe enemies, objects, and environments from different angles. This not only makes the game more visually engaging but also demonstrates how classic titles can be reimagined using cutting-edge technology.
It’s worth noting that volumetric voxel displays are still relatively niche, with limited practical applications in the consumer market. However, as the technology matures, it could open up entirely new forms of interaction for games and other types of digital media. The successful porting of Doom to this platform offers a small, but fascinating, glimpse into the future of 3D visualization and interactive entertainment. It suggests that as these technologies become more affordable and widespread, we might soon see games that exist entirely in volumetric space, breaking free from the confines of flat screens.
The Importance of Hacker Culture in Technological Progress
Much of what makes Doom’s continual adaptation exciting is its position at the crossroads of gaming and hacker culture. Hackers, modders, and hobbyists who take on challenges like running Doom on everything from a Lego brick to a voxel display are not merely creating technical oddities for novelty’s sake. They are experimenting with the potential of technology, testing the boundaries of what old and new hardware can achieve, and finding new ways to reimagine iconic software.
The ethos of hacker culture is about exploring the “what if?” possibilities of technology. In this case, the person behind both the Lego Doom and voxel display Doom projects exemplifies that spirit of experimentation and innovation. They are pushing the boundaries of what we think of as traditional gaming experiences and showing how even decades-old software like Doom can be relevant in cutting-edge technological spaces.
Moreover, projects like this highlight the importance of open-source communities and the sharing of knowledge. Many of these experiments are not developed in isolation but are the result of collaboration between coders, engineers, and enthusiasts who contribute to the project. The community-driven aspect of these projects is what enables them to come to life and continue pushing the boundaries of technological progress.
Broader Implications for the Gaming Industry and Innovation
The continued reinvention of Doom—from its original release on MS-DOS to its latest appearance on a volumetric voxel display—speaks to the enduring appeal of innovation in the gaming industry. While modern game developers are focused on delivering high-fidelity graphics, immersive storylines, and virtual reality experiences, there is still value in looking back at the technical limitations of older games and finding new ways to experience them.
This kind of innovation reminds us that progress in gaming and technology is not always linear. The essence of great games like Doom lies in their adaptability. Doom’s gameplay, while simple compared to modern titles, remains engaging enough to thrive on platforms as diverse as wearable devices, Lego bricks, and volumetric displays. This speaks to a broader truth: that the heart of gaming lies not just in high-end graphics or cutting-edge realism, but in creativity and player engagement.
From an industry perspective, this constant reinvention of Doom also shows that there is a market for innovative reimaginings of classic games. While AAA games will always dominate the industry, projects like this demonstrate the power of nostalgia when paired with forward-thinking technology. The excitement generated by these projects can help inspire new generations of game developers to experiment with both old and new software, and push the boundaries of what interactive entertainment can look like.
Celebrating Innovation Through Nostalgia
In many ways, playing Doom on a volumetric voxel display is both a nostalgic celebration and a bold step toward the future of gaming. By bringing a classic title into a 3D space, the creator has not only paid tribute to Doom’s legendary status but has also demonstrated the power of modern technology to breathe new life into old ideas. What started as an experiment with running Doom on a Lego brick has evolved into something far more ambitious: an experiment in how we can rethink the ways we experience digital worlds.
This achievement reminds us that while gaming technology continues to evolve, some things—like a passion for experimentation and a love of classic games—will always endure. As we look to the future of gaming, projects like this offer a tantalizing glimpse of what’s possible when creativity, technology, and nostalgia come together.
