randallagordon / fireworks

@nodeconf July 4th Fireworks

fireworks

The NodeConf July 4th Fireworks Show

Well, @mikeal said we can't blow shit up and light stuff on fire. Something about not burning down the entire forest, blah blah blah. So instead we're going to have a virtual fireworks show.

Special thanks to Kevin Decker for the canvas code powering the simulator.

Install

Start by installing the module and running the simulator:

git clone https://github.com/hueniverse/fireworks.git
cd fireworks
npm install
node sim/index.js

Now connect to the server using a browser and watch the animation.

Format

The fireworks show consists of a pre-define set of 1260 pixels split into three strands, and organized in a flower-like arrangement:

The animation uses a simple array format:

// Colors are expressed as 24 bit RGB values

var black = parseInt('000000', 16);
var white = parseInt('ffffff', 16);

// Each frame is an array of colors for each of
// the pixels on the strand

var frame0 = [white, black, black];
var frame1 = [black, white, black];
var frame2 = [black, black, white];

// Each sequence is an array of frames for a single
// strand in order of frames

var sequence = [frame1, frame2, frame3, frame4, frame5];

// The complete animation is an array with three
// sequences, one for each strand

var animation = [sequence, sequence, sequence];

An example animation compiler is included in lib/index.js. You can change it as you like (as long as you comply with the animation array format) and pipe its output to the sim/static/data.js file and refresh your browser.

How to participate

This is still a work in progress. For now, just fork this and create your own fireworks show. More information on how to share is coming!