Doom on the Vectrex turns classic shooter into Tron-like vector art
The 1993 game runs on the 1982 console thanks to a modified cartridge.
Vector graphics have been mostly abandoned in gaming, but small pockets of enthusiasts still keep the Vectrex, the only vector-based home console ever released, alive. And what do you do to attract attention on a niche platform? Why, put Loss on that, of course.
We saw Loss find their way onto a strange array of devices, including iPods, graphing calculators, and toasters. Unlike many other strange Loss ports, however, the Vectrex version (via Extension of deadline) offers a truly unique visual language. This comes from the console’s fundamentally different display: instead of a grid of pixels, it directs a beam of electrons to draw lines directly on the screen. This gives the game its Tron-like appearance, with clean lines that make it feel more like an artistic statement than just a silly port.
How an earlier console works Loss at 11 years old, start the game? Well, technically it doesn’t. Modder Jason Kopp (ArcadeJason) built the demo around his Ultimate Vectrex Multicart 2 (UVMC2), a cartridge that essentially acts as a small plug-in PC. The UVMC2 handles processing while using the console’s built-in CRT for display. Meanwhile, audio goes through the cartridge’s separate 3.5mm output. The project also uses an SDK created by modder Daniel Ferrer Guerrero.
Even with the asterisk indicating that this is not a native Vectrex port, the result is still one of the most remarkable. Loss visual presentations we saw. You can check out Kopp’s work below.
