Project for #Hack20 Global Flutter Hackathon

This past weekend, I participated in the #Hack20 Global Flutter Hackathon. This hackathon was completely remote due to COVID-19, and it focused entirely on development with the Flutter framework. I spent part of the weekend working on a solo hack to submit.

Based on the hackathon’s theme of “Retro/Cyberpunk,” I decided to build the Flutter Dartman - a recreation of the classic Sony Walkman.

The App

Demo of the Flutter Dartman

This Android mobile app allows users to select from “casette tapes” present in their local storage and listen just like they did way back in 1979.

The original Sony Walkman, for reference!

Features

• Automatically finds and displays your local music library as “cassette tapes”
• Sound effects create an authentic experience
• Animations implemented with Flare provide realistic motion

What I Learned

I had a lot of fun making this solo hack, and I learned a lot as well.

I created vector art with the awesome Flare app by 2Dimensions. This animation was pretty simple, but I can’t wait to try out some more complicated UI designs using it.

I also learned a lot about Flutter layouts while creating the interface. The Dartman is unlike any app interface I’ve made before, so getting to experiement with different fonts, Widgets, and colors was neat.

Finally, I learned a lot about the power of Dart packages and how to use them effectively. A large part of the research I did was finding packages that could play music and discover local audio files on the phone.

More Info

If you want to see the code of the app, and more information about it, check it out on GitHub!

Thanks for reading, and a big thank you to the #Hack20 organizers for a great event!