InkZen - Fluid ink focus timer with procedural audio and Metal
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Most focus apps use static timers or game engines. InkZen uses Metal Compute Shaders. We built a custom fluid dynamics engine to simulate real carbon ink drying on rice paper—a non-repeating visual anchor for flow.
Key Differentiators:
💧 Real-time Physics: Ink flow is calculated, not pre-rendered.
🔊 Procedural Audio: Rain & bells are generated stochastically, never looping.
🏝️ Native iOS: WidgetKit & Live Activities integration.
🌸 Divine Will: Physics-based decision making.
Replies
Hi Product Hunt! 👋
I'm Shallee, the creator of InkZen.
I've always struggled with traditional Pomodoro timers. The ticking clock gave me anxiety, and the gamified "forests" felt like a chore. I wanted something that felt more like a sanctuary and less like a tool.
As a calligraphy enthusiast, I noticed that watching ink dry on rice paper has a naturally calming effect. So, I spent the last few months writing a custom fluid dynamics engine in Metal to simulate this process on iOS.
Under the hood:
Rendering: We map capillary action (water moving through paper fibers) to compute shaders.
Audio: Instead of looping MP3s, we use a procedural audio graph to layer rain and bell sounds stochastically.
Tech: Built entirely in SwiftUI, with heavy use of WidgetKit and ActivityKit.
I'd love for you to try it out. It's especially effective if you have ADHD or just need a visual anchor to enter a flow state.
🎁 Promo Codes for the PH Community:
[
N99XJ6NW33AK
3AP7RF9NX7PL
74NWN3ENMKPN
EPFY36JLR9T7
96N4JW7337E9
YRNYNAHPHX6X
AWA3ALNERMH3
]
Let me know what you think about the ink physics! Does it feel real to you?
Start a session, Shallee