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Show HN: I made a Doom-like game fit inside a QR code

(github.com)
531 points kuberwastaken | 1 comments | 18 Apr 25 16:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.272s | source

I sometimes pick up random projects just because I can, this was one of those times. I made it as a week long project a while back this year but never shared here, so thought to go for it haha.

I created a game inspired by Doom and the backrooms called The Backdooms under 2.4kb in minified html. (for reference, this entire post would be around 1.8kB haha) I had to use a not popular way of using GZip with Zlib headers (had to write my own script for compressing it, also in the repo) to eventually convert it a size 40 QR code that works right in your browser using Decompressionstream API.

This is of course a very oversimplified description of it, using a lot of the same technologies that DOOM had but combining it with infinite seed based map generation in 2.4kb (QR codes can only store 3kb, which includes changing formats) was pretty hard.

Here are some links about it if you want to nerd out and read more:

Repository Link (MIT License): https://github.com/Kuberwastaken/backdooms

A Hosted (slightly improved) version of The Backdooms: https://kuberwastaken.github.io/backdooms/

Game Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QWPr10cAuGc

My Linkedin post about it: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7295667...

(PS: You'd need something like https://qrscanner.org/ or something that can scan bigger QR codes and put the text data onto your browser to play it)

My Blogs documenting the process and development in detail:

https://kuberwastaken.github.io/blog/Projects/How-I-Managed-... https://kuberwastaken.github.io/blog/Projects/How-I-Managed-...

Show context
giarc ◴[18 Apr 25 17:19 UTC] No.43730024[source]▶
I scanned on an iPhone using native QR code scanner and it says "no usable data found".
replies(3): >>43730090 #>>43730091 #>>43730638 #
Jerry2 ◴[18 Apr 25 18:27 UTC] No.43730638[source]▶
I'm kinda relieved that it doesn't work on an iPhone. I often scan codes posted around to save the time typing URLs and running arbitrary code by just scanning a QR code freaks me out.
replies(4): >>43731023 #>>43731499 #>>43731599 #>>43734840 #
Blikkentrekker ◴[18 Apr 25 20:15 UTC] No.43731499[source]▶
It runs inside a web browser though. This is no different from visiting an arbitrary link and running whatever arbitrary code in the Javascript sandbox of that link and one already knows a q.r. code an take one to an arbitrary link.
replies(2): >>43731886 #>>43734818 #
1. Blikkentrekker ◴[19 Apr 25 07:23 UTC] No.43734818[source]▶
That said, I wouldn't mind an upgrade to the standard of say say if the link be printed above the code in human readable form in some way, the reader would refuse to open it, or at least be configurable to refuse to open it if they not match.