SoylentNews

upstart [soylentnews.org] writes:

████ # This file was generated bot-o-matically! Edit at your own risk. ████

upstart [soylentnews.org] writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:

doomed-to-captcha

Tired of Boring CAPTCHAs, This Developer Created a Doom-Themed One [pcmag.com]:

(Credit: Miquel Camps Orteza)

Not all CAPTCHA [pcmag.com] tests need to be boring. A web developer in Spain has decided to create one revolving around the classic PC game Doom.

The developer, Miquel Camps Orteza, uploaded his creation [github.io] to his GitHub page. To prove you’re a human, and not a bot, the test asks you to shoot four “imps” from Doom using a handgun.

What ensues is a simple, but fun mini-game. There are no moving sprites; the monsters and background are rendered in static 2D images. Nevertheless, the CAPTCHA test is loaded with the game's music and gunshot sound effects to help recreate the feel of playing the original Doom.

If you gun down all four imps in the time allotted, you’ll pass the test. If not, play again.  Try it below. (Note: The music is loud, but it will stop once you solve the puzzle.)

Orteza said he came up with the idea last Friday, developed a prototype on Saturday, and then released the first version on Sunday. His CAPTCHA test then quickly reached the top spot [producthunt.com] on the website Product Hunt. “I think that today there have been much better projects than this one, but somehow Doom Captcha has brought you some kind of nostalgia and you felt the project as yours,” he wrote on his GitHub page.

Orteza told PCMag he's currently looking for a job, so he's been creating an online portfolio [github.io] to demonstrate his coding skills. This has involved developing a virtual resume using iconic games, including Resident Evil [github.io], The Legend of Zelda [github.io] and Doom [github.io].

"I thought that maybe the CAPTCHA will catch the attention of some people and companies," he said. "Before this CAPTCHA, I did another one that forces you to do some squats [producthunt.com] before purchasing on Amazon using [your PC's] webcam."

However, the Doom-themed CAPTCHA test is currently a concept project more about fun, than actually trying to stop bots. Orteza himself notes it wouldn’t be hard for a computer programmer to break the security of the test. "Most CAPTCHAs have two sides: user and server," he said. "The user completes the CAPTCHA and the server validates it."

"My CAPTCHA about Doom only validates from user-side (client). There is no backend to a server to validate the user request," he added. "For [someone] who can code, they can see how easy it is to validate the CAPTCHA."

On the plus side, Orteza's project removes the nuisance associated with most conventional [pcmag.com] CAPTCHA tests, which often involve the boring process of identifying random objects in a grid of images. "It was funny to see the people's reaction because everyone hates CAPTCHAs and they found fun in the Doom CAPTCHA," Orteza added.

Anyone can also freely incorporate his Doom-themed CAPTCHA test into a website form.

Original Submission