Running DOOM on a Custom CPU Built From Scratch

Hackaday reports that two engineers, Armaan and Liam, have designed their own CPU from the logic gate level up, deployed it on an FPGA, and set their sights on running DOOM. After proving the CPU could handle Mandelbrot sets and Pong, they went for the big goal: getting the classic shooter to work on custom silicon. To pull it off, they had to optimize memory, build a keyboard interface, add HDMI output, and create a hardware timer—then port DOOM itself to the new architecture. Their first success was glacially slow: zero point seven frames per second. After optimizing the clock speed and compiler settings, they boosted it to fifteen to twenty frames per second. The goal ahead is thirty frames per second or better, which should make the game actually playable on the custom-built platform.

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