Doombuds refers to a project where the classic Doom game was ported to run on specialized wireless earbuds, specifically the PineBuds Pro.

How does Doom run on earbuds?

Doom runs on earbuds by sending a heavily compressed MJPEG video stream from the earbuds' UART contact pads to a web server, achieving playable frame rates.

Was the full Doom game used on the earbuds?

No, a specially optimized and compressed version of Doom called 'squashware' was used due to the limited flash memory and RAM of the earbuds.

Home / Technology / Doom Runs on Wireless Earbuds!

Doom Runs on Wireless Earbuds!

26 Jan

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Summary

Classic Doom game ported to specialized wireless earbuds.
Project uses heavily compressed video stream for graphics.
Earbuds require a specially optimized, smaller game build.

A remarkable feat of hacking has seen the classic first-person shooter Doom successfully ported to wireless earbuds. Coder Arin Sarkisan developed the 'Doombuds' project, targeting the PineBuds Pro due to their open-source firmware and SDK. This allowed Sarkisan to create a JavaScript interface that transmits a compressed MJPEG video stream via UART contact pads to a web server.

The data stream from the earbuds achieves approximately 22 to 27 frames per second, sufficient for playing the game which itself runs at a maximum of 18 fps on the earbuds' processing power. The limited flash memory of the PineBuds Pro necessitated the use of a highly compressed 'squashware' build of Doom, eliminating some animations and shortening music tracks.

Furthermore, the earbuds' limited RAM required a customized game version that optimized memory usage by pre-generating lookup tables and disabling caching systems. For those without the specialized earbuds, an interactive Twitch stream is available, allowing users to control the game for 45-second sessions via doombuds.com.