HACKER Q&A
📣 aaroninsf

Graphics/sound intensive iPadOS application dev?


I have a personal project I'd like to pick back up again. It's a music composition environment, which is defined by UX: a multi-touch-gestural, game-like interface, controlling precisely-timed audio events.

It's similar in mechanics and demands to a isometric game, that can scroll in any direction, with hundreds of elements and a good bit of eye-candy.

My problem (and blocker) has been that while I've built prototypes, including in iOS for iPad using Core libraries,

the performance requirements mean I really need to go "down" a layer (or two). Not use frameworks made for conventional UX.

And I haven't had the time/energy to learn e.g. OpenGS or Vulcan or... or for that matter Unity or Unreal.

But! With AI copilots to help, maybe I do have time?

So—if I want to build from scratch, are there any game/app engines I should be looking at?

Or should I focus on Swift/ObjC (as I did last time), but, leverage new frameworks I don't know about?

I'm _hoping_ it is feasible for a solitary dev to take on a project which requires very performant graphics, multitouch gestures, and (especially) tightly-scheduled audio events...

...if I pick the right tools. Both for heavy graphic/audio lifting...

...and as an AI-powered copilot.

(I was looking at the question of, "can I use Cursor.ai to help with Swift/ObjC development for iPadOS, and if so how do to integrate this with xcode... but that seems like a lot of scaffolding, that is in active flight, that would take time away from the actual project.)

If I'm not asking the right question or thinking about this the right way, all ears. :)


  👤 listenfaster Accepted Answer ✓
I’m a composer and engineer, my email is in my profile - Sounds like you could use a sounding board. I would decide _what_ you want to build before deciding _how_ you build it, for starters.