Tech Stack: C, SDL2

A complete CHIP-8 emulator implementation that accurately emulates the original system architecture and runs classic CHIP-8 games and programs.

Resource	Link
Source Code	github.com/zachbroad/chip8
Download	Latest Release

Motivation#

With my first language being C++, I’ve always had a love for low-level programming… but I’ve spent most of my career in web development recently.

I wanted to explore low-level programming again and building an emulator seemed like the perfect project to deepen my understanding of computer architecture, memory management, and hardware emulation.

I chose CHIP-8 as it’s a simple yet complete system that provides an excellent introduction to emulator development.

I plan on building a Game Boy emulator next.

Implementation#

I decided to use C as it is the closest language to the hardware without being too low-level like assembly.

I had used SDL briefly over 10 years ago when exploring graphics programming in C++ with OpenGL, DirectX, and SFML when trying to make a game.

I knew that SDL was a solid low-level graphics library that also handled input and sound, so I decided to use it for this project.

Core Components#

CHIP-8 is a simple system that consists of a CPU, memory, graphics, sound, and input.

CPU Emulation: Complete implementation of the CHIP-8 instruction set
Memory Management: Accurate emulation of 4KB memory space
Graphics System: SDL2-based display handling at 64x32 resolution
Input Handler: Support for 16-key hexadecimal keypad input
Timer System: Precise delay and sound timer implementation

Key Features#

Full CPU emulation with accurate instruction execution
Complete memory and stack management system
Real-time graphics rendering using SDL2
Support for most CHIP-8 ROMs

Technical Details#

The emulator accurately implements the CHIP-8’s hardware specifications:

4KB (4,096 bytes) of memory
16 8-bit general purpose registers (V0-VF)
16-level stack for subroutine calls
64x32 pixel monochrome display
16-key hexadecimal keypad
Two timer registers counting at 60Hz
35 unique instructions

Tech Stack#

The project is built with:

C for core emulation
SDL2 for graphics and input handling
CMake for build system