Notes

This 8-bit Processor that is Built into Minecraft can Run its Own Games

Computer chips are so small and intricate that it can be difficult to recall the physical principles they are based on. They're not just a collection or numbers. For a concrete (well virtual) example, look up the most recent version of a processor for computers that was developed exclusively for the Minecraft game engine.



Minecraft builder "Sammyuri" spent seven months creating what they call the Chungus 2, an enormously complex computer processor that exists virtually inside the Minecraft game engine. This isn't even the first time a computer processor has been rebuilt inside Minecraft, but the Chungus 2 (Computation Humongous Unconventional Number and Graphics Unit) might very well be the largest and the most complex, as it simulates an 8-bit processor with one hertz of clock speed and the capacity of 256 bytes of RAM.



Minecraft processors use the physics engine used in the game to recreate the architecture of real processors on a large scale using materials such as redstone dust, torches pistons, repeaters, levers and other machines. To provide a sense of the size of the block, each one in Minecraft is a virtual millimeter in size. This means it's about the same size as a cruise ship or skyscraper if this build was to be replicated in the real world.



When connected to an in-game 32x32 "screen" and "controller" (manipulated by an avatar of a Minecraft avatar player jumping around on block-sized buttons), the Chungus 2 can play interchangeable 2D games like Tetris, Snake, or even a graphing calculator. Some programs need the Minecraft server to be artificially accelerated to make the 1Hz processor fast enough to use. Every program is developed virtually in Minecraft connecting to the computer like an arcade game cartridge that is the size of a freight train.



The project is an amazing application of computer science in action, developed in a way that makes its principles immediate and clear. The video showcasing the Chungus 2 is impressive enough. If you'd like to see the project in action, you can download it and run it on your server at mc.openredstone.org. If we put off a few years, we may get a Minecraft CPU that's capable enough to run Minecraft, at which the universe could implode.
Beago

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