Soul Player C64 – A real transformer running on a 1 MHz Commodore 64
Summary
Soul Player C64 demonstrates a real transformer running on a 1 MHz Commodore 64 with ~25k int8 parameters. The project showcases a 2-layer decoder-only transformer implemented in 6502/6510 assembly, fixed-point math, and a bespoke softmax normalization, highlighting hardware-aware AI and quantization. It serves as a compelling case study for AI toolmakers and retro-computing enthusiasts about constraints, performance, and educational value.