"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." — Wikipedia
This is a (as for now work in progress) CHIP-8 emulator written in .NET 9, designed for clarity, maintainability, and modular architecture. The emulator uses OpenTK for rendering and keyboard input. Keyboard keys 0–9, A–F maps to the corresponding CHIP-8 keys.
While the initial version of the codebase was generated using an AI-assisted tool (Anthropic Claude) just using the simple prompt: "Can you create a complete and functional implementation of a CHIP-8 emulator in C# .NET 9? You should use the OpenTK NuGet package for graphics handling.", significant effort was invested in refactoring the code, improving the project structure, and enhancing overall readability. The result is a cleaner, more modular emulator that aims to be educational as well as functional.
- Fully functional CHIP-8 emulator core
- Clean, organized project structure
- Emphasis on code clarity and maintainability
- Written in modern C# with .NET 9
- Provide a readable and well-structured implementation of a CHIP-8 emulator
- Serve as a learning resource for anyone interested in emulation or .NET development
- Demonstrate how AI-generated code can be improved and brought to production-level quality through human insight and architectural decisions
To run the emulator:
- Clone the repository
- Build the project using .NET 9 SDK
- Run the executable and load a CHIP-8 ROM
dotnet build
dotnet runCHIP-8 Emulator running on Windows 10 22H2 Visual Studio 2022 17.13.7
CHIP-8 Emulator running on Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.3 VS Code 1.100.8 C# Dev Kit Extension
Keyboard mapping:
D0 - D9 = 0 - 9
A = A
S = B
D = C
Z = D
X = E
C = F
- .NET 9 SDK
- A valid CHIP-8 ROM file to test