Your Arduino Nano ES32 can run Doom

“However can it run Doom?” is greater than only a joke within the tech world. Additionally it is an honest litmus check for the computing energy of {hardware}. That check isn’t very related for contemporary computer systems, however it’s nonetheless price asking when discussing microcontrollers. Microcontrollers range in dramatically in processing energy and reminiscence, with fashions to go well with each software. However you probably have an Arduino Nano ESP32 board, you may run Doom as Naveen Kumar has confirmed.

The Nano ESP32 is a small improvement board for the ESP32-S3 microcontroller. Espressif developed the ESP32 for IoT functions, so it has onboard Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® adapters. It additionally has a comparatively excessive clock pace and numerous reminiscence: 240MHz and 512kB SRAM, respectively. That also isn’t sufficient to satisfy the necessities of the unique Doom launch, which wanted much more RAM. However Kumar demonstrates using a microcontroller-friendly port that runs effectively on this extra restricted {hardware}.

To do that your self, you’ll want the Nano ESP32, an Adafruit 2.8″ TFT LCD protect, an M5Stack joystick, a Seeed Studio Grove twin button module, a breadboard, and a few jumper wires. You’ll then must compile and flash the Retro-Go firmware, which was designed particularly for operating video games like Doom on ESP32-based units. You’ll be able to then load the specialised WAD (The place’s All of the Information) recordsdata.

Kumar reviews a median body price at a 320×240 decision, which could be very playable.