In a curious intersection of culinary technology and classic gaming, enthusiasts have achieved a novel feat by running the iconic 1993 video game “DOOM” on a modern electric cooking pot. The unconventional modification demonstrates not only the enduring adaptability of the original game’s codebase but also the growing trend of repurposing consumer appliances for digital experimentation.
According to a report titled “DOOM Conquers the Kitchen Through an Electric Cooking Pot: Classic Shooter Runs Seamlessly After a Full Device Firmware Refresh” published by Startup News FYI, the project involved bypassing the embedded firmware of the smart kitchen device and installing a modified version of DOOM. The cooking pot in question—which is typically used to prepare meals with programmable heat and timing settings—features a modest onboard processor, display, and input interface. These hardware components, while limited by traditional computing standards, were sufficient to sustain the game’s relatively lightweight architecture following a comprehensive firmware overhaul.
The original implementation of DOOM was notable for its performance on limited hardware, and the game has become something of a benchmark for developers exploring the boundaries of device compatibility. Over the years, DOOM has been successfully ported to everything from oscilloscopes and digital cameras to ATM machines and smartwatches. This latest contribution solidifies the game’s unofficial status as the ultimate stress-test for embedded computing systems.
The project required a combination of engineering skill and software insight, particularly in adapting DOOM’s source code—which was made publicly available in 1997—to operate within the restricted processing and memory environments typical of kitchen appliances. This involved stripping down the graphical demands, reconfiguring input translation to work with the device’s limited control set, and designing output to fit a low-resolution display originally intended to show cooking status updates rather than fast-paced first-person action.
While the undertaking may appear whimsical, it highlights broader implications for IoT (Internet of Things) security and firmware flexibility. Repurposing electronics in this way can illustrate potential vulnerabilities or unexpected uses of commercial products, something that manufacturers and technology ethicists alike continue to scrutinize.
Moreover, the project underscores a cultural phenomenon among retro gaming communities and open-source enthusiasts who celebrate the resilience and portability of early software design. More than three decades later, DOOM continues not only to entertain but also to provoke questions at the crossroads of innovation, obsolescence, and digital ingenuity.
Though playing a 30-year-old game on a rice cooker may not become a mainstream feature request, this accomplishment exemplifies the interplay between nostalgia and technical creativity in the modern tech landscape. Whether viewed as a lighthearted hack or a telling artifact of software durability, DOOM’s adaptability speaks volumes about the ongoing dialogue between old code and new machines.
