PlayDOOM Turns a Reddit Post Into a Complete Freedoom Campaign

A full 32-map DOOM-compatible campaign is running inside Reddit

PlayDOOM started with one map. Now MAP01 through MAP32 from Freedoom Phase 2 can be played directly through a Reddit Custom Post.

Getting DOOM-compatible engines to run in strange places has become a tradition of its own, but a complete campaign inside a Reddit post is still a good one.

PlayDOOM uses a DOOM-compatible WebAssembly engine inside a Reddit Custom Post. What began as a MAP01 experiment has expanded into all 32 maps from Freedoom Phase 2.

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We ran PlayDOOM ourselves

This is not simply a Reddit post linking players to a game somewhere else. PlayDOOM runs through the Reddit post itself.

PlayDOOM gameplay captured by Fix Gaming Channel while testing the Freedoom campaign.

The screenshot above is our own capture from testing PlayDOOM. The presentation is immediately familiar, but the project is not distributing the commercial game data from DOOM or DOOM II.

It uses Freedoom, not DOOM.WAD

PlayDOOM uses Freedoom Phase 2 v0.13.0, free and open game data designed to work with DOOM-compatible engines.

The project’s Reddit developer page states that it does not distribute the proprietary DOOM.WAD or DOOM2.WAD files.

So the old “can it run DOOM?” joke still fits the experiment, but this is more accurately a DOOM-compatible Freedoom campaign running inside Reddit.

All 32 maps are playable

The original version focused on MAP01 and a leaderboard. The creator later expanded PlayDOOM into a full 32-map campaign, making MAP01 through MAP32 available.

Players can continue from their first unfinished map or select any of the 32 maps directly. There are no unlock requirements, so maps can be played in order, skipped around or replayed.

The project also adds competition around the campaign. Each map has its own speed leaderboard, while campaign scoring tracks completion and enemy kills. Weekly rankings give players another reason to return after finishing maps.

There is more going on behind the Reddit post

Behind PlayDOOM is a combination of Reddit Devvit Web, WebAssembly, TypeScript and Redis.

The roughly 28 MB Freedoom Phase 2 IWAD is split into smaller pieces, loaded through the browser and reconstructed in memory before being mounted into the Emscripten virtual filesystem.

Campaign progress and leaderboard data can persist between sessions. Desktop keyboard controls, mobile touch controls and physical controllers are supported, although mouse turning depends on whether the host environment allows Pointer Lock.

From one map to a complete campaign

PlayDOOM could have remained a small technical experiment. Instead, one Reddit challenge became an entire 32-map campaign with persistent progression and competition built around it.

DOOM-compatible engines have appeared on calculators, cameras, terminals and all kinds of unlikely hardware over the years.

Now you can add a Reddit post to the list.

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