This is a good first project for learning low-level system architecture and graphics. This CHIP-8 emulator is written in C++ using the SDL2 library to handle the screen.
This project simulates the CHIP-8 system. It acts like a very old computer that can run simple games like Pong, Tetris, and Space Invaders.
Building this, I learned basics of:
- Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle
- Memory Management
- Graphics Rendering
- Bitwise Operations inside a system
The original CHIP-8 had a weird keypad. I mapped it to the left side of the keyboard:
| 1 2 3 4 | | Q W E R | | A S D F | | Z X C V |
For Ubuntu linux,
- Install SDL2 using following command
sudo apt-get install libsdl2-dev
- Compile the code
g++ main.cpp -o chip8 -lSDL2
- Run the game(or any other ROM file of your choice)
./chip8 30 10 roms/Brix.ch8