HN Showcase
Back to browse
Chaos Studies – attractors and spatial audio (iOS/Mac/Playdate)

Chaos Studies – attractors and spatial audio (iOS/Mac/Playdate)

by jlong·Feb 15, 2026·6 points·2 comments
Visit ProjectView on HN

AI Analysis

●●●BangerEye CandyWizardryCozy

Strange attractors + spatial audio that rotates with the form you're touching.

Strengths
  • •Spatial audio generated from motion itself, not a static soundtrack—genuinely novel sensory pairing.
  • •Multi-platform execution (iOS, macOS, Playdate) with thoughtful constraint-driven design for each.
  • •Thousands of particles tracing chaotic paths in real-time with responsive touch/trackpad controls.
Weaknesses
  • •Niche appeal—meditative visual app without gamification or social hooks may struggle for retention.
  • •Currently in development with no firm release date; early stage limits immediate impact assessment.
Category
Design
Target Audience

People seeking meditative/contemplative digital experiences; visual enthusiasts; Playdate owners

Similar To

Meditation/focus apps (Calm, Headspace visual modes) · Mathematical visualization tools (Processing sketches, Shadertoy) · Playdate experimental titles (Casual Birder, Whitewater Wipeout)

Post Description

My friend built this and I'm blown away with how much fun it is and the high level of polish. It renders 9 different strange attractors (Lorenz, Rössler, Aizawa, Chen, etc.) as particle systems — thousands of particles tracing chaotic paths in real time. You can rotate and zoom with touch/trackpad in 3D.

The sound is the part that surprised me. It's not a soundtrack — the audio is generated from the motion itself using spatial audio, so tones shift as the attractor's behavior changes and the sound moves around you as you rotate the form. Put on headphones.

The Playdate version uses the crank to rotate the attractor. Pure black and white. It's a completely different vibe.

My 9-year-old loves it too, which I wasn't expecting. Would love to hear what HN thinks — especially if anyone has suggestions for other attractor systems worth adding.

Similar Projects

Productivity●●Solid

Built and shipped an iOS app from my phone while traveling Japan

The real stunt here isn't the phrasebook — it's the developer workflow: a never-sleeping Mac + SSH + persistent shells to trigger remote TestFlight builds while living out of a backpack. The app is practical (offline, pre-generated ElevenLabs audio, dynamic-number phrases, JLPT kanji and one‑time IAP), so the demo isn't vaporware — it's a neat example of shipping under extreme constraints rather than a novel product idea.

WizardryNiche GemShip It
lordokami
203mo ago
Open Source●●Solid

AudioNimbus – Safe Rust Wrapper for Steam Audio

The project solves the usual pain of linking a C audio SDK by offering an auto-download/link feature and wraps Steam Audio in safe Rust types while explicitly hunting down thread-safety and segfault issues. If you're building spatial audio in Rust the ergonomic API, HRTF support and focused safety fixes make this a practical, low-friction choice — not revolutionary, but professionally executed for its niche.

Niche GemWizardry
mxncmr
103mo ago