MAME (the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) has now been ported to Google Chrome – the popular internet browser. MAME acts as an emulator for classic arcade games, with a range of hardware options — everything from Pac-Man to Galaga can be run within the software. Google engineer Robert Muth has released a case study in which he tells us about the difficulties he faced in porting the Emulator to the browser, the case study is interesting and also acts like a build log. With all the effort and difficulties, this task only took four days.

This is the latest in a growing number of gaming apps powered by Native Client, including Mini Ninjas and Bastion. The work done to support MAME has also meant that the engineers have been able to port SDL (Software Directmedia Layer) to Native Client. If you want to give MAME a try, head to the Chrome Web Store to install the Robby Roto game.