Doom is over 30 years old. Yet the fastest quantum computer in the world cannot play the ancient classic. However, an initial version for the quantum computer can be tested on your own computer, reports the developer behind the special edition.
What has the developer done? The user Lumorti has written software that can play the first level of Doom on a quantum computer. You can find the software “Quandoom” directly on Github and can also download it here. However, even the currently fastest quantum computer in the world cannot play the classic.
You can watch another legendary game in the video:
The fastest quantum computer has too few qubits for Doom
What is the problem? To run Quandoom, 70,000 qubits and 80 million logical gates are required. A qubit is comparable to a bit in a normal computer: it is the smallest possible unit of storage and also defines a measure of quantum information.
The fastest quantum computer in the world comes from the company “Atom Computing” and broke the record of 1,225 qubits in early 2024, according to the magazine Forbes.com. Currently, it is possible to simulate Quandoom on a laptop thanks to the QASM simulator, but it cannot actually be executed on a quantum computer. Unfortunately, it is still impossible to play Doom on a quantum computer.
What does the future look like? The developer has already stated that he is in the process of cleaning up and optimizing the code of his game. After all, Lumorti had to write 8,000 lines of functions in C++ to implement quantum operations and develop a small 3D game logic. The regular game does not work on a quantum computer and cannot process the data.
Quandoom can be simulated on a conventional computer
What kind of version is this? It is not the full version of the game, but only the first level of the classic. The developer explains that there is no music and no sound, that enemies cannot move between rooms, and that the goblin fireball is now a hit-scan and no longer a projectile. The changes are also intended to reduce the code, which is still at 8,000 lines.
Can you play Quandoom? Yes, according to the developer, Quandoom can be efficiently simulated on a classic computer and can run on a laptop with the associated lightweight (150 lines of C++) QASM simulator at 10-20 FPS. However, the file is quite large and takes a while to load. If you want to try it out, please be patient while loading.
Quantum computers for personal use: You can actually buy a portable quantum computer, but it won’t be able to run Doom either. After all, the company behind the quantum computer promises that it is supposed to achieve a computing power of 2 qubits: For €8,000, you can now buy the first portable quantum computer – Here’s what you get for your money
