Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 4 hrs ago
Doom Runs on DNS in a Very Slow, Turn-Based Experiment
A programmer has made Doom run using DNS, the system that helps computers find internet addresses.
The experiment uses DNS records as a database for the game’s memory and calculations, while a small program supplies the wiring and timing.
The game can only be played one turn at a time because processing is extremely slow.
In an early test, a move took 577 seconds; later changes cut that to 146 seconds.
The slowdown comes from the many DNS lookups needed for basic operations and game frames.
The experiment shows that DNS can be used for an unexpected purpose, but it is not a practical way to play Doom.
The programmer says further optimizations are possible, though the account does not say what happened next.
A programmer compiled Doom for a 32-bit machine whose arithmetic and memory are stored in DNS.
The game can be played only in turns because it runs far too slowly for real-time play.
The first Right-key press took 577 seconds to produce a result.
Changes including native transport, pipelining and densely packed registers cut that wait to 146 seconds.
The article says a single frame requires 6.6 million operations, while a 32-bit addition requires four DNS lookups.
- Who
- The programmer who compiled Doom for DNS; the article does not name them.
- What
- A slow, turn-based Doom experiment using DNS for arithmetic and memory.
- When
- The Register article was published on 2026-10-12.
- Where
- The experiment used DNS; a specific physical location is not stated.
- Why
- The programmer used DNS as a database to store answers, instructions and memory for a computer running Doom.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Pressing Right took 577 seconds to show what happened.
Native transport, pipelining, densely packed registers and optimized instruction blocks reduced the wait to 146 seconds.
- First attempt
- 577 seconds to get a result after pressing Right
- Optimized wait
- 146 seconds
- BIND response time
- About 7 µs per query over TCP and 4 µs over UDP
- 32-bit addition
- Four DNS lookups
- One frame
- 6.6 million operations
What people are saying
the best use of RFC 2136 DNS UPDATE
Sources
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