Another Chip8 emulator writed For educational purposes 2018-2026 by Javier Crespo
CHIP-8 is an interpreted programming language, developed by Joseph Weisbecker on his COSMAC VIP and Telmac 1800 8-bit microcomputers in the mid-1970s. It was designed to allow video games to be more easily programmed for these computers, which had very limited memory and processing power. The language runs on a virtual machine, providing a simple yet powerful abstraction for graphics, sound, and input.
The architecture of a CHIP-8 system typically includes 4KB of memory, 16 8-bit registers (V0 to VF), a 16-bit address register (I), and two timers for delay and sound. The display is a monochrome grid of 64x32 pixels, and input is handled through a 16-key hexadecimal keypad. This minimalistic set of specifications makes it an ideal "first project" for developers interested in emulator development.
Programs for CHIP-8 are composed of two-byte opcodes that perform operations such as clearing the screen, jumping to addresses, performing arithmetic, and drawing sprites onto the display. Because it is interpreted, CHIP-8 code is platform-independent, meaning a game written for the COSMAC VIP can run on any system that has a CHIP-8 interpreter.
Over the decades, CHIP-8 has maintained a dedicated following in the hobbyist and retro-computing communities. Its simplicity allows developers to focus on the core concepts of emulation—such as fetch-decode-execute cycles, memory management, and hardware abstraction—without the overwhelming complexity of modern architectures.
- Wikipedia CHIP-8 // Description
- Cowgod's CHIP-8 Technical Reference // Technical Reference
- How to write an emulator CHIP-8 interpreter // Tutorial
The emulator uses the following mapping for the CHIP-8 hexadecimal keypad:
| CHIP-8 | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| 1 2 3 C | 1 2 3 4 |
| 4 5 6 D | Q W E R |
| 7 8 9 E | A S D F |
| A 0 B F | Z X C V |
For Pong:
- Player 1:
1(Up),Q(Down) - Player 2:
4(Up),R(Down)
To run the emulator with a specific ROM:
javac *.java
java Chip8 path/to/rom