DOOM Ported To Run Atop AMD ROCm + LLVM libc

An open-source developer at AMD has carried out a DOOM port that runs almost entirely atop AMD GPUs for rendering and the game logic. This DOOM GPU port relies on the AMD ROCm library with the LLVM libc C library for offloading the classic DOOM to the AMD GPU.

Joseph Huber who works for AMD decided to experiment with porting DOOM to run atop AMD GPUs using ROCm and the LLVM C library for GPUs. Huber explains in his GitHub repository for this intriguing DOOM port:

"The clang compiler can target GPUs directly. We emit a single kernel that calls the 'main' function. Functions that require the operating system are handled through the RPC interface. See my LLVM talk for more information.

This implementation defines the amdgpu-loader utility, which handles launching the main kernel, setting up the SDL2 window interface, and provides functions to get the input keys and write the output framebuffer. Okay, it's not entirely on the GPU, but all the logic and rendering runs on the GPU."

And here is Huber showing off this DOOM GPU port with LLVM libc + ROCm:

Fascinating port and great for showing off the possibilities of the LLVM C library for GPUs. Those curious about the code or to learn more on the project, visit this GitHub repository.