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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."

3 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Your jokes are out of date. by pavon · · Score: 4, Informative

    Both sound and client-side data storage are features of HTML5.

  2. Vic20 in Javascript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    And here's a Vic20 emulator in Javascript HTML5
    http://www.mdawson.net/vic20beta/vic20.php

  3. Compile the JavaScript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Saying that you shouldn't write this in JavaScript because of the limitations of JavaScript in web browsers is like saying people shouldn't write Apps in Java because Applets are limited. It's not JavaScript that is the problem per se, but the limitations of the Interpreter. If you want to write something like this in JavaScript, you should consider compiling the JavaScript instead.

    Using the Unity Framework ( http://unity3d.com ), you could write the emulator in JavaScript, compile it, and have a cross platform emulator that would work on Mac, PC, Wii, Iphone, Android, and PS3 with hardware accelerated 3d, support for sound, etc. Something like 20-25 of the top 100 Iphone Apps were made using Unity, and it is a pretty good platform for making 3d games.