DOOM Hacked into Microsoft Paint: A Surreal Gaming Experience

Mark Russinovich, CTO of Microsoft Azure and a self-proclaimed fan of id Software's classic 1993 FPS, DOOM, has created an unusual project that makes the game playable in Microsoft Paint. Dubbed DoomPaint, this hack pastes constantly overlapping screenshots into Paint, allowing for surprisingly smooth gameplay. The performance can range from snappy to slow, but as Russinovich notes, 'the spreadsheet-tier framerate is part of the charm.'

Russinovich's documentation on GitHub explains that every frame is placed on the Windows clipboard and pasted into Paint's canvas as a genuine document edit, essentially making Microsoft Paint act like a monitor. While it's not the most conventional way to play DOOM, DoomPaint is an entertaining example of the game running in unexpected places.

To run DoomPaint, users need to install Python, which adds a layer of complexity to this unusual project. Nevertheless, this hack stands as the latest example of DOOM's versatility and the creativity of its fans.