GoKawiilDeveloper Renders Doom Using SQL Database Queries
Lukas Vogel built SQLDoom, a project that renders the classic game Doom using CedarDB database tables and about 1,300 lines of SQL across 89 common table expressions, generating 35 full-color 640x480 frames per second. A small Python client handles input, timing, and display, while the game logic and graphics generation run entirely through SQL queries. This follows Vogel's earlier DoomQL project, which produced only grayscale ASCII-style graphics.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The project demonstrates how far SQL, a language designed for data queries, can be pushed to handle real-time graphics and game logic, which is not its intended purpose. It suggests growing interest among developers in testing the limits of unconventional tools for creative or educational projects, rather than solving a practical computing problem.
- SQLDoom renders full-color Doom frames using SQL queries and CedarDB tables instead of traditional game engines.
- The project improves significantly on Vogel's earlier DoomQL, which only produced grayscale ASCII graphics.
- Users can run SQLDoom locally via GitHub and a Doom WAD file, or try a free online hosted demo.
Source: developers.slashdot.org, 2026-10-03
Published there as: “Someone Got Doom In an SQL Database”
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