Revolutionizing Doom: Volumetric Voxel Display Brings Classic Game to Life

Check out James Brown, the talented Weta Workshop graphics engineer, who’s been tinkering with an amazing crystal ball that’s filled with shimmering, spinning volumetric light. And of course, he’s putting it to good use – playing Doom on it. Not just any Doom, mind you, but Voxel Doom, where the game’s graphics live in 3D space just like the dots on this mesmerizing display.

The physical illusion behind it is pretty straightforward: it’s like a hologram fan, but instead of spinning a 1D strip to create a 2D image, it spins a 2D panel to make a 3D image. James has been working on this project for over a year now, and he’s even shared his progress on his Mastodon account, complete with visual aids to help illustrate the concept.

But what’s really cool is that this isn’t just a one-off experiment – James has been using the crystal ball to play Voxel Doom, and he’s even shared a YouTube video of it in action. And yes, you can follow his progress on his Mastodon account, where you’ll find not only Doom, but also volumetric lunar landers, skulls, and dinosaur heads. The possibilities are endless!