Core development methodology for porting games and engines to Apple platforms. Defines porting goals, milestone lifecycle, debugging escalation, and conventions. Preloaded by the porting agent.
apple-game-porting-methodology/SKILL.md
---
name: porting-methodology
description: Core development methodology for porting games and engines to Apple platforms. Defines porting goals, milestone lifecycle, debugging escalation, and conventions. Preloaded by the porting agent.
---
# Platform Porting Methodology
## Overview
This skill defines **how** to approach an Apple platform port — the workflow, phases, conventions, and discipline. Domain-specific knowledge (Metal 4 API patterns, platform skills, anti-patterns, debugging strategies) lives in companion skills loaded alongside this one.
The methodology operates at two levels:
- **Porting goal** — a persistent objective spanning multiple sessions (e.g., "get the simplest sample running on Metal 4")
- **Milestone** — a bounded unit of work within a goal, completed in one session
**Core principle: collaboration.** This is a collaborative process between the agent and the user. The agent should surface decisions, trade-offs, and uncertainties to the user rather than making unilateral choices. When in doubt — ask. When deviating from convention — discuss. When stuck — escalate. The user has context the agent doesn't (reference implementations, project constraints, team preferences).
## References
- Engine-specific discovery report (produced by `porting-discover`, read at session start)
- Goal document and handoff notes (produced by this methodology, persist across sessions)
## Artifact Storage
**`<project-root>`** — the agent's current working directory, which is the root of the project being ported unless the user defines it otherwise.