The Search for Doom Is Over
Google Search is doomed! No, not because of AI, but because of Pedro Webber, who hacked a playable version of Doom into the search bar.
Back in 1993 when Doom was first released, it was an epic game that forever changed the industry. But in those early days, no one could have predicted the impact it would still be having on us over 30 years later. It seems like Doom is everywhere we look now. Brush your teeth…Doom. Adjust the thermostat…Doom. Deck the halls…Doom. Go for a drive…Doom. Turn on the faucet…well, maybe not yet. But someone will probably project Doom onto the stream of water flowing from a faucet before long (if that’s you, post it here).
It seems that we are all doomed. That now also includes Google — but their shareholders will be pleased to learn they are not doomed because AI has killed web searches (at least not yet), but rather because hacker and retro gaming enthusiast Pedro Webber has made Doom playable on the Google search page. Yes, right on the Google website. Doom. It has finally happened! There is now one less Doom-free area in our daily lives.
Exactly how Webber achieved this marvelous feat has not been fully detailed yet, but it involves the use of a Python port of Doom. Rather than the traditional graphics that we have come to know and love, this version displays everything in ASCII characters so that it can be shown within the search bar. The frame rate is on the low side, and you have to do some serious zooming to see the action at a reasonable size, but the game is still very playable. It even supports sound and game controllers for maximum carnage.
Without question, hacking Doom into unexpected places is the pinnacle of success for a hacker. But Webber has also had some fun with other games. For example, Webber has recently figured out how to run Baldur’s Gate 3 in Notepad, has turned Elden Ring into ASCII art, and has even inserted Doom into the Visual Studio Code Editor for when you need a quick break from work. You really never know what is going to happen next in this world, so stay tuned if you don’t want to miss out! We’ll always bring you the latest and weirdest hacks right here at Hackster News.