Tom Colvin
Android GDE, freelancer, co-founder of Apptaura
I'm a Google Developer Expert in Android, available either as a freelancer or through Apptaura, the mobile app development agency I co-founded. I build great apps for people, helping them to build great app businesses. I have a commercial focus and a wide knowledge of many technologies (both back- and front-end).
I'm a regular conference speaker on topics related to Android, and app startups more generally. I also provide mentorship to those looking to start app businesses.
I have a proven entrepreneurial capability and enjoy the energy of startup culture.
Recreating 80s Amiga chiptunes in modern Android
Remember the magic of turning on your console to hear the electronic chiptune melodies of Tetris, Super Mario, or Pac-Man? Long before MP3s, games didn't just play back audio files, they synthesised music on the fly, crafting sound waves out of thin air.
In Android, reconstructing this vintage environment is a fun dive into low-level media pipelines and precise concurrency. Working with OS audio architecture, we’ll generate real-time sound from scratch, maintain jitter-free timing using coroutines, and build a playback loop to survive Android 17’s strict background audio hardening.
Learn how to:
- Use android.media.AudioTrack to stream raw audio directly to hardware.
- Generate retro square waves and use bitwise math to create a gritty 80s chiptune sound.
- Use Coroutines to feed the audio buffer asynchronously without causing audio stuttering or frame drops.
- Use foreground services to work under Android 17's strict background rules