This week, Unreal Engine developer Jackson Clayton shared a video that looked likeDoom 1993at first. The graphics aren’t great, but the UI, weapons, and enemies are all there. Then, out of nowhere, Doom Guy starts building platforms and stairs like he’s inFortnite. That’s because he is.
This isn’t a new port ofDoom 1993running on some made piece of hardware like anelectric toothbrushor asex toy. It’s the classic FPS built to run insideFortniteusing Unreal Engine for Fortnite. Clayton’s message alongside the video explains, “But can #Fortnite run DOOM? Obviously, I can’t publish this, but it was a great way to learn more about Materials and PostProcessing in #UEFN.” While it’s not another device in the growing list of them that can runDoom 1993, it’s certainly one of the most unique ways to get it running.
Yes,Fortnitehas been Doomed
Theoriginal post from Jackson Claytonshows just over a minute ofDoom 1993gameplay insideFortnite. It honestly blew my mind because I truly thought I was just watching the original FPS and was shocked when I saw Fortnite’s building mechanics in action.
But can#Fortniterun DOOM?Obviously I can’t publish this, but it was a great way to learn more about Materials and PostProcessing in#UEFN#FortniteCreativepic.twitter.com/POlf4obJlm
I first saw this engineering feat throughDigital Trends in its report. As per that article, Clayton had actually already spoken toKotakuon the matter. He told the site that at first, he exported E1M1 as a 3D model fromUltimate Doom Builderand ported it into UEFN.
Apparently,Doom 1993looked too good in UEFN, so Clayton employed some “creative” techniques to pixellate it and get it running to make it look like the original game. Luckily, he’s released a few games on Steam that replicate the game’s look and feel, so he has plenty of experience in making games run that way.
This project shows that it’s entirely possible to getDoom 1993to run insideFortnite. However, you won’t be able to download and run Clayton’s version because he doesn’t have the IP rights. Instead, this was a fun exercise in learning UEFN.
Part of the reason this video is so great is that Clayton was using it to deliberately trick his friends. He told Kotaku, “I wanted to put together a video to trick my friends, so I ported the map and created the post-process materials, and they really liked it.” As I mentioned above, I was totally fooled, so Clayton achieved his goal as far as I’m concerned.
This isn’t even the first port ofDoom 1993in an unexpected place that I’ve seen this week, and I know it won’t be the last. One of my favorite software ports in the game wasWolfenstein: The New Order, and I’d love to see more in other games if anyone can pull the ports off.
