Earlier this week, a Twitter user by the name of GaryOderNichts achieved the unexpected by hacking Nintendo’s Alarmo alarm clock to run the shareware version of the iconic game, Doom. He shared a video of this impressive feat on Twitter, along with some insights into the hacking process.
In his Twitter thread, Gary explains that while there’s no audio support at the moment, you do need to work around some technical challenges. This involves compressing the Doom shareware .wad file and uncompressing it on boot to navigate around the USB loader’s memory limitations. Fortunately, if you’re curious to try this yourself, there’s no need to tinker with your Alarmo physically. All the project files are conveniently available on GitHub for enthusiasts to explore.
So, how did Gary pull this off? In a detailed blog post, he reveals that the journey began by cracking open the Alarmo to examine its inner hardware. Inside, he discovered the device is powered by an STM32H730ZBI6 Arm Cortex-M7 processor. This processor is well-documented, which worked to Gary’s benefit as he managed to connect the Alarmo to his Raspberry Pi.
Even though Gary had to engage in some soldering and modification to bring his vision to life, the version he’s shared on GitHub is far more approachable. It doesn’t require any modifications on the Alarmo itself for you to launch Doom from a USB.
Playing Doom on the Nintendo Alarmo might sound unconventional, but it’s cleverly done. The game’s controls rely entirely on the alarm clock’s buttons and touch dial. For movement, swiping the dial lets you aim left or right, and the lower-right notification button serves as your shooting control. Gary’s demonstration video offers a glimpse of the classic Doom experience on this atypical gaming device, showcasing one of the early levels.
Unusual as it may seem to run a game on a $99 alarm clock, Alarmo is just another addition to the list of unlikely gadgets where Doom has made an appearance. The game has also been seen running on devices as unexpected as a smart lawnmower, a Raspberry Pi Pico RP2350 microcontroller, and even an air hockey table. Not to mention the person who got Doom to run on a Commodore 64 by creating a special expansion card just for the purpose. Clearly, where there’s a way, enthusiasts will find it, bringing Doom to life on the most improbable platforms.
