Developer creates Quake levels in JavaScript with size of 13kB

Developer Dominic Szablewski has converted two levels of the legendary shooting game Quake into JavaScript that, with further adjustments, only take up 13kB. The levels are playable in the browser.

szablewski, alias PhobosLab, calls his Q1K3 project a tribute to Quake. The two levels are inspired by the E1M1 and E1M3 levels of the original, and the JavaScript package also includes three weapons, five different enemies and audio, Kotaku describes. The browser version contains low-resolution images, but the playback is fast, smooth and perfectly playable. The code is on GitHub.

The project is part of the 2021 Js13KGames competition. This annual event started in 2012 with the goal of participants developing a game of 13kB or less using HTML 5 and JavaScript. All minigames from this year and previous competitions are playable. For example, this year’s event also featured a Portal-inspired game.