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A JavaScript Gameboy Emulator, Detailed In 8 Parts

Posted by timothy on from the behind-the-scenes dept.

Two9A writes "JavaScript has shed its image of being a limited language, tied to DOM manipulation in a browser; in recent years, new engines and frameworks have given JS a reputation as a language capable of bigger things. Mix this in with the new elements of HTML5, and you have the capacity to emulate a game console or other system, with full graphical output. This series of articles looks in detail at how an emulator is written in JavaScript, using the example of the Gameboy handheld: starting at the CPU, and (as of part 8) running a copy of Tetris."

6 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. There are already tons of Game Boy emulators... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...but whenever I use one, I can't help but think "I sure wish this was written in Javascript, so there wouldn't be any way to save my game. Saved games are for pussies. And sure, it wouldn't support sound, but who needs that when you've got the beautiful noise of your computer fans running on full blast, thanks to its excessive CPU usage!"

  2. Javascript? by Tr3vin · · Score: 3, Funny

    Real men write their GB emulators in Minecraft.

    1. Re:Javascript? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, *real* men write their emulators by arranging stones in the desert.

    2. Re:Javascript? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, *real* men write their emulators by arranging grains of sand into brainfuck on the beach.

      Excuse me, but real men use butterflies.
      They open their hands and let the delicate wings flap once.
      The disturbance ripples outward, changing the flow of the eddy currents in the upper atmosphere.
      These cause momentary pockets of higher-pressure air to form, which act as lenses that deflect incoming cosmic rays, focusing them to strike the drive platter and flip the desired bit...

      ...or something like that

    3. Re:Javascript? by RevWaldo · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, damn, now what am I gonna do with this infinitely long spool of magnetic tape?

      --
      Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  3. Re:Ode to JavaScript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's the geek form of religion.