Retro tech and gaming YouTube channel LGR has published a new video showing the original DOOM video game being played on a 1998 Kodak DC260 digital camera. This model was quite expensive at the time with a price tag of $999.99; the cost was due, in part, to the surprisingly capable hardware packed into the camera, including a 66Mhz PowerPC CPU, 8MB of RAM and an 11khz sound chipset.
As explained in the video, the Kodak DC260 was unusual for its time in that it features USB and support for sideloading apps. Though this sideloading functionality was intended to expand the camera's capabilities in unique ways, it also makes it possible to install and run a special version of the original DOOM video game, which appears to play without issue on the camera.
DOOM is one of the multiple apps demonstrated in the video, which includes instructions on downloading, sideloading and running the software.
Kodak, inventor of the digital still camera, was still far ahead of its time in 1998. In 1999, US photographic film sales peaked. Quite a cautionary tale.
It annoys me that even back in 1998 there was such an open OS for cameras. I actually remember reading a review of one od these back then, with the mention that it can run Doom so man I wanted one of those (even tho I hadn't even played Doom up to that point).
And where are we now? Nothing but closed proprietary systems. A handful of cameras with Android which is completely not suited for that task even tho it was originally made for cameras.
I wish more hardware enthusiasts were interested in improving our current cameras firmware, which still seems stuck in the 90s. Imagine ramping frame rate in time lapse or hdr video on a modern mirrorless camera.
The major appeal of the DC260, and why I bought one when it was first released, was the Digita environment and possibility of running programs in the camera. It did, and still does, fairly easily run quite a range of applications... but mostly games. At least as it was originally released, the DC260 doesn't easily do fancy things with the camera functionality. We really haven't had manufacturer-endorsed user-writable camera app support since.
CHDK's scripting support on Canon PowerShots is similar, except CHDK is distributed as C source code, and you can extend the lower-level camera functions by writing C modules that execute as compiled native code in the camera. ML offers similar properties for EOS models. Sony's PlayMemories camera apps looked even better -- a protected Android app environment under Linux -- but Sony discontinued support in new models as soon as OpenMemories made it possible for users to write their own camera apps.
I did not know that it could be sideloaded, was on my list I think (a Kodak model was, and most companies only had 1 or 2 models) for my first digicam but I got the Oly C3000 instead. Used to play that game for hours on my PC!
modern smartphones are almost same and even better - great for games, have sometimes even few lenses and can take photos with at least enough quality for ordinary people...
Canon "has" chdk and magic lantern the same way your kitchen "has" a blender. Users created it and hacked the cameras to install it, much against Canon's will. Canon hate it when users make cameras more valuable because that takes away their power to control when they become obsolete and you have to buy a new model.
Apologies to Henrik! - I was 180 degrees out, yes it's the DPR editors that are in error - I've just liked Henrik's comment (I'd edit my reply above to correct this, but can't).
As far as I know, the original Doom was enough reason for many people to purchase a PC instead of Amiga or similar. And it's great to see a "doom" tag on DPReview :D
I remember when it came out on shareware. My mate came over and didn't call it Doom. He said it was called 'Knee deep in the dead', which I later found out was the title of the first level or chapter.
I've still not beat it as I got side-tracked by Rise of the Triad, but... what an excellent game it was and such a huge step above the competition of the time.
I've not played TNT Evilution. I may be in the minority, but I LOVED Quake I and then later Quake II. Quake III really seemed a convergence with Doom. And Unreal man... oh man... Anyone play Marathon? System Shock? Or heck, just Ultima Underworld?
@shigzeo Quake 1 was rad as well, though I didn't get to it until much, much later. Back in '96 Doom 2 was the most captivating thing, at least as far as FPS go. :)
@Ilia Snopchenko - I didn't enjoy Quake 1 at all. Yes, it was a more technologically advanced game, but if I remember correctly there were far fewer enemies on screen at one time. And yes, Doom 2 was good and I enjoyed that immensely.
The thing I remember about Doom was they kept launching the "final, bug-free, definitive" version, then finding a problem and doing another one... They got ever more ambitious with the names as they launched each new "final" one and then got stuck with where they go next. (v1.666 was supposed to be it, again, but 1.7, 1.7a, 1.8, 1.9 and Ultimate still rolled along, and then Final and then Final/Anthology.)
@Dr_Jon I think 1.9 was alright, even though I've switched to Windows ports years and years ago so my memory may be hazy.
What I had back in the 90s was the Windows 95 port which could, at times, expend all memory and send the system into a death spiral. :) But it was still fun.
What's creepy was playing it on the easiest difficulty setting and everything was so empty. I would have to go up to the more difficult levels because the horror of hordes of demons was preferable to the emptiness and echos.
The first digital camera I got to use was a Kodak DC240 from work. And the next digital camera I used was a Kodak DC4800 my dad gave me to take pictures of my daughter.
I remember reading about this back then.
And I remember reading about the Digita operating system that Kodak used on the DC cameras back then. I think the early Pentax digital cameras used the same OS.
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