ChipDaddy

the first of the Daddy Series (retro game emulators)

A CHIP-8 emulator/interpreter built using C++. Lightweight and simple. Uses the COSMAC VIP specifications along with modern tweaks. Trying out a few optimizations along the way.

demo (ROM taken from here)

what it does

Loads and runs basic, classic CHIP-8 ROMs (like Pong, Breakout, Space Invaders, etc). This allows you to build and play your favorite classic games. The emulator handles input, rendering, timers, and sound.

NOTE: Customizing the ipf value allows you to change how fast the ROM runs. Different programs have different preferred values. For a full guide on tuning this value, refer to this guide.

how to use

To use this emulator, you have two options.

1. Download one of the release binaries we have built for each platform (Windows, Linux, MacOS). Refer to our release links here to download. After your download, you can use CLI command ./chip_8_emulator <ROM_path> <ipf> to run the emulator.

2. Clone this repository and build the binaries yourself. Refer to guide below.

how to build

Any C/C++ compiler should work fine with support of C++20 or above.

Libraries

• SDL2
• SDL2_image

# Example: Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install libsdl2-2.0-0

Build from this repository:

git clone https://github.com/Waterfountain10/chip-8-emulator.git
cd chip-8-emulator
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make

# Run your favorite ROM using the format: ./chip_8_emulator <ROM_path> <ipf>
./chip_8_emulator ../chip8-roms/pong.ch8 12

what’s different

Some personal tweaks and optimizations:

• computed go-to table for mapping instructions in O(alpha) rather than switch-case's O(logn)
• custom instruction-per-frame (IPF) control (make your game speedy if you want)
• async key handling so input doesn’t block the whole system
• fonts can be loaded from a custom hex address
• some debug-friendly logging for draw calls and memory
• flexible architecture split between platform / chip / gui

why

Mostly to get more comfortable with C++, memory management, and SDL.

Next step is emulating a Gameboy...