Chip8

CHIP-8 is an interpreted programming language, developed by Joseph Weisbecker. It was initially used on the COSMAC VIP and Telmac 1800 8-bit microcomputers in the mid-1970s. CHIP-8 programs are run on a CHIP-8 virtual machine. It was made to allow video games to be more easily programmed for these computers.

Dependencies for Running Locally

• cmake >= 3.7
  • All OSes: click here for installation instructions
• make >= 4.1 (Linux, Mac), 3.81 (Windows)
  • Linux: make is installed by default on most Linux distros
  • Mac: install Xcode command line tools to get make
  • Windows: Click here for installation instructions
• SDL2 >= 2.0
  • All installation instructions can be found here
  • Note that for Linux, an apt or apt-get installation is preferred to building from source.
• gcc/g++ >= 5.4
  • Linux: gcc / g++ is installed by default on most Linux distros
  • Mac: same deal as make - install Xcode command line tools
  • Windows: recommend using MinGW

Basic Build Instructions

1. Clone this repo.

Linux/Mac

2. Make a build directory in the top level directory: mkdir build && cd build
3. Compile: cmake .. && make
4. Run it: ./Chip8 <rom_name>. You can choose one from the 23 public domain ROMs in the roms directory.

Windows

2. Import the project on Visual Studio
3. Run it passing a rom file as param

Controls

Keypad                   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|
+-+-+-+-+                +-+-+-+-+

Testing the implementation

There are two roms that can be used to check the CPU:

BC_test

./Chip8 ../roms/test/BC_test.ch8

chip8-test-rom

./Chip8 ../roms/test/chip8-test-rom.ch8

Rubric points addressed

Loops, Functions, I/O

Rubric point	Location
The project demonstrates an understanding of C++ functions and control structures.	Yes, check all the files
The project reads data from a file and process the data, or the program writes data to a file.	Memory and Beeper
The project accepts user input and processes the input.	main

Object Oriented Programming

Rubric point	Location
The project uses Object Oriented Programming techniques.	Yes, check all the files
Classes use appropriate access specifiers for class members.	Yes, check all the files
Class constructors utilize member initialization lists.	Yes, check all the files
Classes abstract implementation details from their interfaces.	Yes, check all the files
Classes encapsulate behavior.	Yes, check all the files

Memory Management

Rubric point	Location
The project makes use of references in function declarations.	CPU
The project uses destructors appropriately.	Renderer and Beeper
The project uses scope / Resource Acquisition Is Initialization (RAII) where appropriate.	Yes, check all the files
The project follows the Rule of 5.	Yes, check all the files

References

http://devernay.free.fr/hacks/chip8/C8TECH10.HTM#Ex9E

http://www.multigesture.net/articles/how-to-write-an-emulator-chip-8-interpreter/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpLoS7B6T94

https://austinmorlan.com/posts/chip8_emulator/

Screenshots

Space Invaders

BLINKY