console8

console8 is yet another chip8 emulator but works on your command line. console8 simply uses your command line to render the graphics and does not require any GUI.

installation

npm install -g console8

console8 uses iohook package to handle the keyboard events so you may have to install with sudo and --unsafe-perm=true for post installation and execute with sudo to get necessary permissions from your system.

how to use

You can simply use by passing --rom argument with the path of the rom file.

console8 --rom=./roms/wipeoff.rom

You can customize the display color and character by using this additional arguments;

--color=<rendering color of ON bits> (optional, default: white)
available colors: white, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan

--speed=<speed of cycle execution, 1000 / speed> (optional, default: 450)

--rendering_char=<ascii char that represents ON bits> (optional, default: █)

You can also see all available arguments by using --help argument;

console8 --help

wall

ufo

wipeoff with custom rendering character

a warning

console8 is an experimental learning project so some roms can be buggy.

compatibility

I have tested on Ubuntu 19.10 / Lubuntu 19.10 / Windows 10 x64. I am not sure about macOS compatibility.

for rom files

Rom files are not included with npm installation but you can find some of them in this github repository;

badlogic / chip8 https://github.com/badlogic/chip8/tree/master/roms

cool resources

I learned tons of things from these great resources. If you are interested in emulators and if you want to learn how they work, you may want to check them out;

Guides

BUILDING A CHIP-8 EMULATOR [C++] https://austinmorlan.com/posts/chip8_emulator/

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

CHIP-8 References

Cowgod's Chip-8 Technical Reference v1.0 http://devernay.free.fr/hacks/chip8/C8TECH10.HTM

Chip 8 instruction set http://devernay.free.fr/hacks/chip8/chip8def.htm

Source Reading

JamesGriffin / CHIP-8-Emulator https://github.com/JamesGriffin/CHIP-8-Emulator