There’s still time to enter Octojam 10, a competition to write a new program for a rather old (and virtual) machine: the CHIP-8. This interpreted language on a virtual machine was used in the 1970s and 1980s to write games that could run on several consoles, such as the COSMAC VIP. Since then, a community of tinkerers has grown up around CHIP-8 and figuring out how to get the most out of the minimal resources the machine gives you.
The CHIP-8 offers 4096 bytes of memory, but 512 Bytes is taken up by the CHIP-8 interpreter and another 96 bytes by the display. So, it’s an exercise in carefully packing as much as possible into a small space. If you prefer, entries for Octojam 10 can also run on SuperChip, a CHIP-8 version for the HP-48 graphing calculator, or XO-Chip. This extension makes some of the routine tasks of programming a primitive platform more accessible, like drawing on the screen and playing annoying buzzing music.
The competition is open until 1st November, so you’d better get a wiggle on. If you want inspiration, check out the CHIP-8 archive, which contains entries to previous Octojam competitions and other programs.
If you are looking for the ultimate hacker street cred, you could try writing a CHIP-8 game on a Nintendo Switch running a Playstation Vita emulator, which is running VITA-8, a CHIP-8 emulator for the PS Vita. Alternatively, you can use Emma_02, an emulator that creates a virtual COSMAC VIP or a range of related consoles on several platforms.
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
- PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
- PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
- Source: https://hackaday.com/2023/10/24/retro-computing-coding-competition-still-open/
- :has
- :is
- $UP
- 10
- 1st
- a
- accessible
- also
- an
- and
- Another
- ARE
- around
- AS
- Better
- but
- Buzzing
- by
- CAN
- carefully
- check
- Coding
- community
- competition
- Competitions
- computing
- consoles
- contains
- could
- creates
- Cred
- Display
- drawing
- Enter
- Exercise
- extension
- For
- game
- Games
- get
- gif
- gives
- grown
- hacker
- How
- How To
- HTTPS
- if
- in
- Inspiration
- into
- language
- like
- looking
- machine
- MAKES
- Memory
- minimal
- more
- most
- much
- Music
- New
- November
- of
- Offers
- Old
- on
- open
- or
- Other
- out
- platform
- Platforms
- plato
- Plato Data Intelligence
- PlatoData
- playing
- playstation
- possible
- prefer
- previous
- primitive
- Program
- Programming
- Programs
- range
- rather
- related
- Resources
- Retro
- routine
- Run
- running
- Screen
- several
- since
- small
- So
- some
- Space
- Still
- street
- such
- Switch
- taken
- tasks
- that
- The
- then
- this
- time
- to
- try
- ultimate
- until
- use
- used
- VIP
- Virtual
- virtual machine
- want
- was
- which
- write
- writing
- you
- zephyrnet