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Image: Boss Fight Books

Boss Fight Books, independent purveyors of gaming history, has opened a new crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, raising capital for the production of a book looking at one of the medium's most asked and most important questions: But Can It Run Doom?

As I'm sure anyone reading this knows, the past 20 years have seen id Software's landmark first-person shooter adapted for all manner of hardware. And by "hardware", we're not limiting ourselves to home computers and gaming consoles, as tinkerers worldwide have successfully "converted" Doom to a wildly comical range of appliances including calculators, smart fridges, oscilloscopes, gym equipment, a player piano and, perhaps most famously, a pregnancy test.

Now, obviously, these "ports" are not all coded conversions, and are typically a case of adapting the above devices into a monitor unit to display Doom, rather than actually run Doom. But obviously no one wants to let the truth get in the way of a good yarn, and so the ongoing chase to get Doom running on, well, everything, continues unabated.

Authored by David L. Craddock (Stay Awhile and Listen), But Can It Run Doom? will look at the development of the original PC release, along with some of its more complicated console ports. From there, chapters will look at a range of specific bizarro conversions, with a general overview of the viral trend itself. The 224-page book will be available in hardback, paperback, and eBook form with newly commissioned art from Daniel McGuffrey.

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Image: Boss Fight Books

In addition, a Special Edition of But Can It Run Doom? also features interviews with key personnel, including console soundtrack composer Aubrey Hodges, as well as id Software's key personnel John Carmack, Tom Hall, and, of course, John Romero, who also writes the book's foreword. The Kickstarter smashed its initial $5,000 target immediately, and is now taking pledges for a series of stretch goals.

The Kickstarter closes on December 10, with books expected to roll out in early 2027.

But can Kickstarter run Doom? Can Can It Run Doom? run Doom?... Hmm...