🎮 CHIP-8 Emulator

A lightweight and accurate CHIP-8 emulator written in C++ using SDL2 for graphics, input, and audio. Experience classic 8-bit games like Pong, Space Invaders, Tetris, and more!

📂 Project Structure

chip8-emulator/
├── .git/                  # Git version control directory
├── src/                   # Source code (.cpp and .h files)
│   └── chip8.cpp           # Main code
├── roms/                  # Place your .ch8 ROM files here
├── build/                 # Build output (created by CMake)
├── .gitignore            # Git ignore file for C++
├── CMakeLists.txt        # CMake build configuration
├── LICENSE               # MIT License
└── README.md            # Project documentation

🔧 Dependencies

Linux (Arch Linux)

sudo pacman -Syu base-devel cmake sdl2 pulseaudio

🚀 Building

Quick Start

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Pratyush-gg/chip8-emulator.git
cd chip8-emulator

# 2. Create and enter build directory
mkdir build && cd build

# 3. Configure with CMake
cmake ..

# 4. Build the project
make

This will create the executable: build/chip8_emu

ROM files from roms/ will automatically be copied to build/roms/ during the build process.

▶️ Usage

Running Games

# Basic usage
./chip8_emu roms/Pong.ch8

🎮 Controls

The CHIP-8 system has a 16-key hexadecimal keypad. The mapping is:

CHIP-8 Key	Keyboard Key		CHIP-8 Key	Keyboard Key
1	1		2	2
3	3		C	4
4	Q		5	W
6	E		D	R
7	A		8	S
9	D		E	F
A	Z		0	X
B	C		F	V

🎲 ROM Collection

Popular CHIP-8 games you can find online:

• Pong - Classic two-player paddle game
• Space Invaders - Shoot the descending aliens
• Tetris - Falling block puzzle game etc.

🔍 Technical Details

CHIP-8 Specifications

• Memory: 4KB RAM (0x000-0xFFF)
• Display: 64x32 monochrome pixels
• Registers: 16 8-bit general purpose (V0-VF)
• Stack: 16 levels for subroutines
• Timers: 60Hz delay and sound timers
• Input: 16-key hexadecimal keypad
• Font Set: Built-in 16 character font (0-F)

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Build fails with SDL2 not found

# Make sure SDL2 development libraries are installed
sudo apt install libsdl2-dev  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo pacman -S sdl2           # Arch Linux

📚 Resources

• CHIP-8 Wikipedia
• Cowgod's CHIP-8 Technical Reference
• A high-level guide to making a CHIP-8 emulator
• Building a CHIP-8 Emulator [C++]
• SDL2 Documentation

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If you enjoy this emulator, please give it a ⭐ on GitHub!