Classic worlds, ready to play.
A curated browser hub for open-source retro games, classic engines and WAD worlds that run through WebAssembly.
Open RetroPlay · Browse the catalog · Report an issue · View releases
RetroPlay is no longer only a Doom WAD launcher. It is a deliberately small, curated collection of independently built browser runtimes: first-person action, top-down combat, adventure, shooters, transport strategy and theme-park strategy. The shell provides discovery, a local library and PSP-inspired touch controls; each game runtime owns its engine, data path and persistence model.
Design rule: a game marked Ready includes the free content it needs and launches from the browser. It does not ask the player to upload a commercial archive, create an account or install a native application.
The project is published as a static GitHub Pages site. Its browser runtimes use WebAssembly, a web standard intended to run compiled code efficiently in the browser [1], with Emscripten used by the project’s C and C++ build paths [2]. GitHub Actions builds the deployable artifact and GitHub Pages serves the static result [3].
| Area | What RetroPlay provides |
|---|---|
| Discover | A searchable catalog that combines classic WAD material with standalone, free-content games. |
| Play | One click opens the relevant browser runtime; bundled entries are designed to start on first load. |
| Control | Keyboard, mouse and desktop gamepad support alongside PSP-style touch controls on supported runtimes. |
| Keep progress | Game-specific browser-local persistence, plus the hub’s local library and settings. |
| Respect rights | Source, asset and license notices remain with each runtime; no commercial game data is repackaged. |
The ready entries below are the current focus of the project. Each has a direct link from the main catalog and a dedicated runtime page.
| Runtime | Genre | Content status | Direct page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doom / Freedoom catalog | First-person action | Free WAD bundles and optional local WAD tooling | Open catalog |
| C-Dogs SDL | Top-down action | Ready with libre upstream game data | Launch C-Dogs |
| GNU FreeDink | Action-adventure | Ready with redistributable game data | Launch FreeDink |
| OpenTyrian2000 | Vertical shooter | Ready with documented freeware data | Launch OpenTyrian |
| LibreQuake | First-person action | Ready with LibreQuake Lite data | Launch LibreQuake |
| OpenTTD | Transport strategy | Ready with OpenGFX, OpenSFX and OpenMSX | Launch OpenTTD |
| FreeRCT | Theme-park strategy | Ready with clean-room, free game data | Launch FreeRCT |
| Neverball | 3D physics puzzle | Ready with bundled base data and Easy set | Launch Neverball |
Two deliberately limited pages remain visible for transparency. ECWolf is an engine-only browser host and therefore requires lawfully obtained compatible data selected locally; it is not represented as a zero-friction bundled game. OpenResident is a WebGL2/WebAssembly technical probe, not a playable Resident Evil distribution, because its upstream engine source contains no game data.
All catalog and README visuals are sourced from actual game or local browser-runtime captures. The images below show fully bundled runtimes in their native interfaces, including Neverball’s real 3D course gameplay.
| OpenTTD browser runtime | FreeRCT browser runtime | Neverball browser runtime |
|---|---|---|
|
 |
 |
| OpenTTD uses its free graphics, effects and music sets. | FreeRCT uses its project-generated clean-room graphics and data. | Neverball uses its bundled base content and Easy level set. |
Start at the main hub, select a Ready game card and choose its launch action. The hub opens independent runtimes in their own pages when the game requires a different engine. On mobile, use the visible D-pad, face buttons and shoulder controls where supplied; on desktop, click the game canvas once if the runtime asks to capture pointer input.
| Task | Recommended action |
|---|---|
| Play a bundled title | Select a game marked Free / bundled or Ready, then use its launch action. |
| Enter fullscreen | Use the runtime’s Fullscreen control after the canvas has initialized. |
| Save progress | Let the game use browser-local storage; do not clear site data if you want to retain saves. |
| Use a Doom mapset you own | Use the separate local WAD importer on the main hub. Files stay in the browser session and are never uploaded to a RetroPlay server. |
| Find a game | Use catalog search, genre filters and the local pinned library. |
RetroPlay intentionally does not force all games through one emulation layer. The hub is static HTML, CSS and ES modules; the individual runtime pages load their own WebAssembly build and assets. This isolates dependencies and lets each classic engine keep its natural rendering, audio and input model.
Browser
├── RetroPlay hub
│ ├── index.html + styles/ + src/
│ ├── catalog search, filtering and local library
│ └── Doom WAD runtime and optional local WAD importer
│
├── Independent WebAssembly runtime pages
│ ├── cdogs.html → C-Dogs SDL
│ ├── freedink.html → GNU FreeDink
│ ├── opentyrian.html → OpenTyrian2000
│ ├── librequake.html → LibreQuake / Qwasm
│ ├── openttd.html → OpenTTD + free base sets
│ ├── freerct.html → FreeRCT + clean-room game data
│ ├── neverball.html → Neverball + bundled base / Easy set
│ └── ecwolf.html → ECWolf engine host
│
└── GitHub Actions
├── compiles and packages runtime assets
├── copies the static hub into dist/
└── deploys the artifact to GitHub Pages
| Directory | Responsibility |
|---|---|
src/ |
Hub catalog, UI behavior, Doom runtime bridge and browser persistence. |
styles/ |
The shared PSP-inspired visual system. |
scripts/ |
Reproducible builders and validation utilities for browser runtimes. |
linuxdoom-1.10/ |
Doom source and browser-specific platform layer. |
third_party/ |
License-preserving upstream source material and adapters. |
.github/workflows/ |
The reproducible GitHub Actions build-and-deploy workflow. |
docs/ |
Research, feasibility notes and runtime test records. |
The authoritative build is .github/workflows/build-and-deploy.yml. On a push to main or master, it installs the pinned Emscripten SDK, packages the redistributable content, compiles the engine modules, copies the static frontend to dist/ and deploys the artifact to GitHub Pages.
git clone https://github.com/MahanKenway/RetroPlay.git
cd RetroPlay
# The repository is a static frontend. To inspect an already generated artifact locally:
python3 -m http.server 4180 --directory dist
# Then visit http://localhost:4180/A complete local rebuild needs the pinned Emscripten toolchain plus the prerequisites used by the individual scripts. Use the same order as CI when validating a substantive engine change:
# After activating a compatible Emscripten environment:
./scripts/build-cdogs-web.sh
./scripts/build-freedink-web.sh
./scripts/build-opentyrian-web.sh
./scripts/build-liberquake-web.sh
./scripts/build-openttd-web.sh
./scripts/build-freerct-web.sh
./scripts/build-neverball-web.sh
./scripts/build-ecwolf-web.shDo not commit generated dist/ content. It is a deployment artifact and is rebuilt by CI. For a documentation-only or hub-only change, push to the deployment branch and use the workflow run as the canonical build check.
A contribution should preserve the project’s practical rules: the public build must remain static, an advertised Ready runtime must launch with its included lawful content, touch controls must not compromise desktop input, and fullscreen must be exercised before a release. Use actual gameplay captures for catalog art; generated concept art does not substitute for a runtime screenshot.
| Change type | Expected evidence before merge |
|---|---|
| Hub copy, catalog or styling | No broken navigation, correct title/metadata and a checked build artifact. |
| New ready-to-play runtime | Reproducible script, license/source notice, browser launch test, fullscreen test and real screenshot. |
| Runtime control change | Desktop input check and a touch interaction check on the runtime page. |
| Asset/data addition | Clear upstream provenance, license compatibility and no requirement for a player to upload proprietary files. |
Open an issue for defects, compatibility reports or candidate free-content runtimes. Pull requests should keep attribution files intact and describe both the technical change and the runtime verification performed.
RetroPlay is a non-commercial deployment. The hub does not claim ownership of the engines, game data or artwork represented in the catalog. Each package remains subject to its own license and attribution obligations; the repository keeps runtime-specific notices alongside the relevant bundles and source material.
| Component | Primary licensing / attribution path |
|---|---|
| Hub frontend and browser integration | LICENSE |
| Doom source lineage | DOOM source license |
| Freedoom and FreeDM bundles | Freedoom project [4] |
| C-Dogs SDL | C-Dogs SDL source [5] |
| GNU FreeDink | GNU FreeDink project [6] |
| OpenTyrian2000 | OpenTyrian2000 source [7] |
| LibreQuake | LibreQuake project [8] |
| OpenTTD and base sets | OpenTTD [9] |
| FreeRCT | FreeRCT source [10] |
| Neverball | Neverball source and GPL licence [11] |
| ECWolf | ecwolf/ notices and its upstream project |
For the historical legal and technical decision not to package OpenRCT2 or proprietary RollerCoaster Tycoon data, see docs/openrct2-runtime-feasibility.md.
[1] WebAssembly — official overview
[3] GitHub Pages documentation
[4] Freedoom project
[5] C-Dogs SDL source repository
[6] GNU FreeDink
[7] OpenTyrian source repository
[9] OpenTTD project
[10] FreeRCT source repository
[11] Neverball source repository
Built and maintained by MahanKenway. RetroPlay is a preservation-minded, non-commercial experiment in making free classic game worlds easier to explore.