You can play id Software’s classic game Doom using the most unexpected things such as McDonald’s cash registers and calculators. But now, here’s another surprise: it’s now available on Twitter.
Tweet2Doom, created by Georgi Gerganov with art by Yanknov Kras (assuming that is his real name), is a Twitter bot that lets you input a series of commands by replying to any tweet. The full list of commands can be found on the following pinned tweet. Once you’ve typed in your commands, the bot will reply back with a 10-second rendered video of what you’ve done.
Your commands must run a minimum of 18 frames (this version of Doom runs at 35 frames per second), but you can go as high as 350 frames on a single tweet. Seeing as the bot can only output a 10-second video per tweet, longer inputs result in a string of videos that come out every 36 seconds.
🎥 Random plays
Auto-generated highlights from @tweet2doom nodes.
The commands are tweeted by people and executed by a bot.🤖 Generated daily at 14:00 UTC pic.twitter.com/wfhKjdPDwA
— Tweet2Doom (@tweet2doom) October 17, 2021
This transforms the traditional action game into a turn-based title. A typical run follows you typing in a string of commands then waiting for the bot to render your inputs into a video. You watch the video to see how far you’ve progressed then put in succeeding commands to supplement the development. This loop repeats ad infinitum until you beat the game or give up.
It isn’t the best way to experience a first-person shooter genre, but it is unique! I’ve tried playing a couple of runs myself and just kept running into and shooting walls.
🏆 New Achievement! 🏆
Completed E1M3 via @tweet2doom
Difficulty: Hurt me plenty
Time: 2:15Tweet chain:https://t.co/EKNfdBAujY
🎥 #t2d_achievements pic.twitter.com/a2cl0QcUQR
— Tweet2Doom (@tweet2doom) October 18, 2021
Of course, with something as complex as Tweet2Doom’s input commands, there are bound to be a select few who can only finish the game in mere tweets and minutes. Completing a level, finishing the game, or earning a community achievement will automatically render that specific video in full and make it viewable for everyone. These are the minority though – most runs involve players flailing around as they come to grips with the control inputs.
If you have a Twitter account and some time to kill, you might want to consider trying Tweet2Doom. Its user interface may not be the easiest to understand, but if you want to learn something new while playing an almost 30-year-old game, this more than scratches that itch.
