Doomscrolling: The Game Author: David Friedman Date: 09 Sep 2025 Read time: 7 minutes --- Overview Doomscrolling is commonly understood as endlessly scrolling through bad news feeds, making people feel worse. Inspired by the concept, the classic game Doom, and the act of scrolling, David Friedman created a browser game where the only interaction is scrolling. The game is playable on desktop or mobile here. --- Game Concept and Gameplay A unique game where you move forward and backward by scrolling up or down. No lateral or jumping controls, just scrolling as the main mechanic. The player fights monsters while continually scrolling forward. Features included: Weapon upgrades after every 100 monsters defeated. A chasing "wall of fire" that punishes inactivity. Obstacles like brick walls and spider webs to slow progress. Health potions appearing as health gets low. Five different background textures for visual variety. Visual markers for surpassing record distances. Pause screen showing game stats. The game blends minimalistic scrolling control with classic arcade shoot-'em-up elements. --- Development Journey Initial attempts about nine months prior failed due to AI limitations, specifically GPT-4’s inability to interpret scrolling mechanics correctly. With the release of GPT-5, a functional prototype was created within two hours. Early monsters were simple shapes with two-frame animations inspired by Space Invaders. Over time, features and polish were added daily during morning work sessions. --- Visual and Thematic Design The game takes place in a futuristic cave sealed on the day you play. News headlines from the New York Times RSS feed appear as plaques on the floor, integrating real-world news into the game world. These plaques are decorative and tempt players to read news during gameplay, mimicking “doomscrolling.” Monster designs went through multiple iterations: Initially simple pixel art monsters were pre-rendered but lacked charm. Final monsters are rendered programmatically using AI "labs," where designs can be tweaked via sliders. Backgrounds, plaques, spider webs, and torches are rendered on-the-fly with randomized variations for uniqueness each playthrough. The game manages smooth performance on both desktop and mobile despite computed rendering. --- Interactions with AI During Development AI was both an enabler and a challenge. The creator created "labs" — test pages where design elements could be iterated independently with AI assistance and manual fine-tuning. This approach reduced frustration with direct chatbot interaction, allowing visual tweaking and settings export for integration. Elements like plaques had controls for text style, size, and appearance to blend with the game world. --- Current Status and Future Plans Version 1.0 is ready and available publicly. Supports mobile and desktop play with the ability to save as a standalone app on home screens. Plans to potentially tweak and add features later, but the core idea and gameplay scratched the initial itch. The game offers a new, engaging way to experience doomscrolling as a fun mechanic rather than a frustrating habit. --- Additional Notes The article offers insight into iterative AI-assisted development. Encourages readers to support the creator via membership or donations. Includes links to related posts and further reading. --- Play the game here: Doomscrolling: The Game Try the plaque design lab: Headline Tile Lab --- Related Articles Keyword: Illusion (3 min read) — Exploring what a computer perceives as an illusion. One Year of Gisnep (11 min read) — Reflections on