Speaking of Doom, besides being a classic original FPS game, it also serves as an example for skilled people to show off their talents. Almost any device with a screen can be used to port Doom. This time, the focus is on the Canon EOS 550D camera released 16 years ago. A Japanese netizen was able to run Doom on the LCD screen of a Canon DSLR, and the camera’s buttons and dials can also control the character, with support for saving and background music.
Kiss X4 is the EOS 550D: an entry-level DSLR from 15 years ago.
The Canon EOS Kiss X4 in the video is an 18-megapixel digital SLR camera announced by Canon on February 8, 2010. It is called the Kiss X4 in Japan, the EOS Rebel T2i in North America, and the EOS 550D in Europe and other regions.The three are the same model.This camera uses the DIGIC 4 image processor and features a 3-inch LCD screen with 1.04 million dots and a resolution of 720×480. At the time, it was a representative model in the entry-level product line, and a considerable number of second-hand units are still in circulation today. It is precisely because the hardware is so dated that being able to run a full version of *Doom* on such a device makes the technical novelty of the port all the more striking.
This Doom port was built by developer lauris-nl using the Magic Lantern expansion framework. Doom550D ModuleDone, the code has been made public on GitHub. According to the GitHub project description, Doom550D is a port of Doom that runs as a Magic Lantern module. Magic Lantern is an open-source third-party firmware extension framework for Canon DSLR cameras that can load modules via an SD memory card and access the camera’s display, button, storage, and audio hardware without replacing the original firmware. The developer used this framework to let the EOS 550D read game data directly from the memory card and run Doom I and II just like a handheld console.
The project is currently marked as experimental, with the latest release being v0.4.1. It has been tested by the developer on a physical EOS 550D and is the most stable playable version so far. The author explicitly warns against installing this binary on other camera models or firmware versions. The GitHub page also includes real-device gameplay footage and multiple screenshots, showing the title screen, in-game content, and menus as displayed on the camera screen.
Defeat Monsters with the Shutter Button: Controls, Saving, and Multi-WAD Support
The original poster mentioned that this port allows playing *Doom* using the camera’s buttons and dials, and supports save/load, multiple WAD files, background music and sound effects, while making full use of the 720×480 LCD screen. The feature list in the GitHub README provides a more complete cross-reference for these descriptions.
- Operation correspondence: : Supports Canon 550D press and release events, including long-press acceleration and horizontal movement correction, cleans up input, display, and color cache states when exiting the game, and the project also offers a hidden cheat menu.
- Save mechanism: Each WAD file name corresponds to an independent save space. Saves and settings are stored separately in ML/DOOM/SAVES and ML/DOOM/CONFIG, managed through the Games > Doom submenu in the Magic Lantern menu.
- WAD selectionYou can place up to 32 alphabetically sorted IWAD files in the ML/DOOM directory and switch between them in the menu. After switching, you need to restart the camera before starting the game.
- Full screen modeProvide an additional unofficial fullscreen setting that renders the game at 360×240, then displays it on a 720×480 screen with each game pixel mapped to a 2×2 block of physical pixels, achieving point-to-point scaling.
These details show that the port is highly complete in terms of controls and flow, with menus, saving, and stage transitions all doable on the camera, bringing the overall experience close to playing on a handheld.
キャノンの一眼レフデジカメ『EOS Kiss X4』(EOS 550D)に、あの「Doom」が勝手移植!!
本作は、デジカメのボタン／ダイヤルでDoomを操作可能。セーブ＆ロード、複数WAD、BGM＆効果音まで対応し、720×480液晶をフル活用している
撮影の息抜きにDoomができるのは最高だッッ!!https://t.co/RDtV2iTTns pic.twitter.com/q2gS5mkHsc
— 吉野@連邦(renpou.com) (@yoshinokentarou) August 17, 2026
The legend of “Everything can run Doom”
For those familiar with “It runs Doom”Everything can run Doom.For players of culture, the camera is not the first platform to have been challenged; previously, there have already beenmale masturbator、E-cigarette、Charging dock, calculators, refrigerators, tire pressure monitors, and other devices, but this Doom550D port is relatively more complete—it includes audio, save support, and multi-WAD management, rather than just getting the visuals running. If you happen to have this camera on hand, you can give it a try.
Source: KOCPC Chinese