Emulating 6502

Last year, I noticed that routine programming no longer brought me the same joy it did decades ago. So, my New Year’s resolution was to engage in more “useless” programming – coding small, fun projects without any specific end goal in mind. Of all the possible topics, the one that captivated me throughout the year was retrocomputing.

I didn’t have a computer until I was 14, but I remember seeing grey 8-bit machines at school or friends' houses. I saw BASIC and played blocky games on monochrome TVs. So, I felt the need to revisit those times and learn more about how things worked back then.

Over the year I visited some retrocomputing festivals and museums, built a plywood arcade cabinet with a kid, and worked with a friend to design a small handheld monochrome gaming console, complete with schematics, PCB, and firmware!

MOS6502 is a brilliant little CPU that every geek should try emulating or programming. It’s at the core of nearly every 8-bit retro computer: Atari 2600, Apple I, Apple II, NES, Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari Lynx, BBC Micro – the list is endless.

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