If a processor contains a processor, there is a good chance that someone is trying to hack it to make it work Doem. A Nintendo Game & Watch? Natural. A MacBook Pro touchbar? Certainly. Calculators? Why not. Now, thanks to the YouTube channel Games Made of Cardboard, we can finally add “cardboard boxes” to that glorious list.
Ok, so technically Bill Thorpe did not do the impossible and successfully got the classic first person shooter Doom II to run on an actual cardboard box. But his ten-minute video is the next best thing. It recreates many of the best moments of the game using cardboard sets, characters and weapons. This is a huge project that took nine months of work, according to the description of the video.
The models are one thing, but perhaps the most impressive are the special effects of the video. Enemies occasionally bleed real liquid on their cardboard environment, or burst into real flames and burn to a brittle. At one point, one enemy blows his head off and reveals a small cardboard skull inside. Originally Doom II programmer John Romero even makes a cameo appearance.
Unfortunately, it seems that Thorpe is planning his Doom II cardboard leisure to be his last. In a video released last September, the YouTuber said he hopes to reach a climax after doing so much work on the project. Fortunately, on his channel you can recreate a significant back catalog of other classic cardboard games, along with a variety of videos about Doom II relaxation.