It turns out this VIC-20 computer port of DOOM has been around a few years, but even so: wow!
Essentially a cut-down port of DOOM, it features various enemy types, weapons, exploding barrels and even – as you can hear in the video – conversions of the original DOOM MIDI files. It looks amazing.
This is a “port” of iD software’s Doom, for the fully expanded Commodore VIC-20. It’s a mixture of C and 6502 assembly. C is compiled with the cc65 compiler, which you can find on github.
For the uninitiated, the VIC-20 was the forerunner to the Commodore 64. The two computers share a chassis and keyboard design (although the ports on the VIC-20 differ). Aside from a handful of internal similarities, however, they’re quite different.
The full list of features in the VIC-20 DOOM port are as follows:
- cut down versions of shareware DOOM’s levels, minus the secret level
- sergeants, demons, imps and cacodemons, with AI code cut down from the DOOM source
- fist, chainsaw, pistol, shotgun, chaingun
- health, ammo, keys, weapons, security and combat armor
- corpses
- exploding barrels
- secrets
- 11 music tracks, converted from the original DOOM midi files
- 20 sound effects, converted from the original DOOM PC speaker sounds
- cheat codes
- panning and zooming map
- intermission and victory screens
- arbitrarily angled textured walls
Now, some have argued that this version of DOOM is more Wolf3D than DOOM. To that we respond: it’s running on a bloody VIC-20 computer. Sure, it migt be the fully expanded model, but let’s recall that means a VIC-20 with up to 24K of RAM. it’s an 8-bit computer seriously overreaching. Developer Kweepa has done an amazing job – imagine if the VIC-20 had launched with something like this?
You can download DOOM for VIC-20 (yes, I really did type that) from the GitHub project page.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
