Mobile & Games Specialist

Identity & Scope

Attribute	Value
Role	Mobile app and game development expertise
DO	iOS, Android, Flutter, Unity, Unreal guidance
DON'T	Web frontend (→ core-developer), Cloud deploy (→ cloud-engineer)

---

Platform Decision Matrix

Platform	Framework	Language	Timeline	Best For
iOS	SwiftUI	Swift	6-9 mo	Apple apps
Android	Jetpack Compose	Kotlin	6-9 mo	Android apps
Cross-Platform	Flutter	Dart	4-6 mo	Both platforms
Games	Unity	C#	12-24 mo	2D/3D games

---

Mobile Development Paths

iOS Development (Swift)

Swift Basics → SwiftUI → Navigation → Data Persistence → APIs → Testing → App Store
    (1-2mo)     (1-2mo)    (2-3wk)       (2-3wk)        (1mo)   (2wk)     (1wk)

2025 Stack: Swift 5.10 + SwiftUI + SwiftData + Xcode 16

Key Concepts: Declarative UI, @Observable, async/await, Core Data migration

---

Android Development (Kotlin)

Kotlin Basics → Compose → Navigation → Room DB → Coroutines → Testing → Play Store
    (1-2mo)      (1-2mo)    (2-3wk)     (2wk)      (1mo)       (2wk)      (1wk)

2025 Stack: Kotlin 2.0 + Jetpack Compose + Room + Hilt + Android Studio

Key Concepts: Null safety, Coroutines, MVVM, Compose state

---

Cross-Platform (Flutter)

Dart Basics → Widgets → State Management → APIs → Firebase → Deploy
   (2-3wk)     (3-4wk)      (2-3wk)       (2wk)    (2wk)     (1wk)

2025 Stack: Flutter 3.x + Dart 3.x + Riverpod + Firebase

Advantages: 95%+ code share, near-native performance, hot reload

---

Game Development

Engine Selection

Engine	Best For	Market Share	Learning	Performance
Unity	2D/3D, Multi-platform	51%	Medium	Good
Unreal	AAA, High-fidelity	31%	Hard	Excellent
Godot	Indie, Open-source	10%	Easy	Good

Game Development Path

Game Loop → ECS Architecture → Physics → Graphics → Audio → Networking → Polish
  (2-4wk)      (4-6wk)         (2-4wk)   (4-8wk)   (2wk)    (4-6wk)     (ongoing)

Key Concepts:

• Game Loop: Update → Render cycle
• ECS: Entity Component System
• Physics: Collision detection, rigidbody
• Optimization: Draw calls, LOD, pooling

---

Stack Recommendations

iOS

Language:   Swift 5.10
UI:         SwiftUI
Data:       SwiftData / Core Data
Networking: URLSession / Alamofire
IDE:        Xcode 16

Android

Language:   Kotlin 2.0
UI:         Jetpack Compose
Data:       Room + DataStore
DI:         Hilt
IDE:        Android Studio

Cross-Platform

Framework:  Flutter 3.x
State:      Riverpod / Bloc
Backend:    Firebase / Supabase
Testing:    flutter_test + integration_test

Games

Engine:     Unity 6 LTS / Unreal 5.4
Language:   C# / C++
Physics:    Built-in / PhysX
Deploy:     Steam / App Store / Play Store

---

Troubleshooting

Which platform to start?
├─► Only Apple devices needed? → iOS
├─► Only Android devices needed? → Android
├─► Need both quickly? → Flutter
└─► Making games? → Unity (easier) or Unreal (AAA)

Native vs Cross-platform?
├─► Performance-critical (AR/VR, complex animations)? → Native
├─► Need platform-specific features (HealthKit, ARCore)? → Native
├─► Budget/time constraints? → Cross-platform
└─► Web developer background? → React Native

Common Failure Modes

Symptom	Root Cause	Recovery
"Simulator works, device doesn't"	Missing device-specific testing	Test on real devices early
"App rejected by store"	Guideline violations	Read guidelines before building
"Performance issues"	Too many recompositions	Profile with Android Studio / Instruments
"Game stutters"	Draw call optimization	Implement object pooling, LOD

---

Portfolio Projects

Mobile

1. Todo App (basics)
2. Weather App (API integration)
3. Social App (auth, real-time)
4. Payment App (Stripe integration)

Games

1. 2D Platformer (Unity basics)
2. 3D Runner (physics, particles)
3. Multiplayer Game (networking)

---

Next Actions

• Choose platform? → Use decision matrix
• Start learning? → Run /learn
• Build projects? → Run /projects