Missions

Open the workshop repo . It has four starter files for the creative segment:

• drawing.frothy
• life.frothy
• snake.frothy
• pong.frothy

Each file is a working sketch. Send one file to your board, run its command, then extend it. Pick the one you want to spend time with.

Mission 1: Drawing Toy

Use the joystick as a cursor and leave pixels behind.

Start

Send drawing.frothy to the board. Then run:

draw.run:

What It Does

The cursor starts near the center of the display. Each frame stores a pixel at the cursor position, then blinks the cursor. Movement wraps at the edges, so you can keep drawing without leaving the board.

Try First

Make the right knob control drawing speed:

to draw.frame [
  draw.update:;
  draw.draw:;
  ms: (math.map: knob.right:, 0, 100, 180, 20)
]

Re-send the file and run draw.run:. Turn the right knob. The cursor should move slower at one end and faster at the other.

More Ideas

• Add erase mode. Use joy.click?:, a draw.erase? value, and grid.set: with false. Change draw.run if click should no longer stop the sketch.
• Mirror every pixel across the center. Use grid.width, draw.x, and grid.set:.
• Define a draw.stamp: word that draws a small shape at the cursor. Use grid.set: or matrix.fillRect:.
• Add spray brush. Use random.below: to place nearby pixels around draw.x and draw.y.
• Animate the whole drawing. Try tm1629.shiftLeft:, tm1629.shiftRight:, or tm1629.invert:.

Mission 2: Life Garden

Paint cells with the joystick, then watch the pattern evolve.

Start

Send life.frothy to the board. Then run:

life.run:

What It Does

The sketch has two modes. In paint mode, the joystick moves a blinking cursor and click toggles a cell. In run mode, the board advances Conway’s Life with tm1629.lifeStep:.

Try First

Seed a random garden during setup:

to life.scatter with count [
  repeat count [
    grid.set:
      (random.below: grid.width),
      (random.below: grid.height),
      true
  ];
  grid.show:
]

to life.setup [
  matrix.init:;
  matrix.brightness!: 1;
  random.seedFromMillis!:;
  grid.clear:;
  life.scatter: 20
]

Re-send the file and run life.run:. The board should start with random live cells before you switch into run mode.

More Ideas

• Add a glider stamp. Define life.glider: and place a known Life pattern with grid.set: near life.x and life.y.
• Change the rules. Inspect show @tm1629._lifeRule, then redefine it with a different neighbor rule.
• Tie speed to population. Count live cells with tm1629.pixel@:, then choose the delay with math.map: or math.clamp:.
• Save interesting states. Use save after painting, then restore to replay a state with different timing.
• Make a hybrid mode. Keep reading the joystick while calling tm1629.lifeStep: so you can paint into a running garden.

Mission 3: Snake

Steer the snake, eat food, grow, and avoid your own body.

Start

Send snake.frothy to the board. Then run:

snake.run:

What It Does

The joystick controls direction. The snake wraps around the edges, grows when it eats food, and resets if it hits itself. The left knob controls frame speed in the starter file.

Try First

Make the snake speed up as it grows:

to snake.frame [
  snake.update:;
  snake.draw:;
  ms: (math.clamp: 300 - (snake.len * 12), 60, 300)
]

Re-send the file and run snake.run:. After several food pickups, movement should be faster than it was at the start.

More Ideas

• Add wall death. Replace math.wrap: in snake.update with a bounds check against grid.width and grid.height.
• Flash the score moment. When food is eaten, use grid.fill:, grid.show:, and a short ms: delay.
• Add obstacles. Store wall positions in cells, draw them with grid.set:, and check them during snake.update.
• Add a second food type that shrinks the snake. Use random.below: for its position and math.max: when reducing snake.len.
• Add AI mode. Define a word that compares snake.food to the head position with snake.x: and snake.y:, then chooses a direction.

Mission 4: Pong Hack

Inspect the built-in Pong program, then change selected parts of it.

Start

Send pong.frothy to the board. Then run:

pong.run:

What It Does

The board already has Pong in its base image. This file changes the paddle height, ball speed, and drawing word. It also adds a dotted center line, then uses the built-in setup and run loop.

Orient Yourself

Use show before you change more:

show @demo.pong.advanceBall
show @demo.pong.draw
show @demo.pong.update
show @demo.pong.readPaddles

This mission is about reading a larger program and changing one part at a time.

Try First

Make the paddles shorter and the ball faster:

set demo.pong.paddleHeight to 3
set demo.pong.maxPaddleTop to grid.height - demo.pong.paddleHeight
set demo.pong.ballStepMs to 60

Run pong.run: again. The paddles should be shorter, and the ball should move faster.

More Ideas

• Change ball physics. Redefine demo.pong.advanceBall so the ball accelerates or bounces at different angles.
• Add a second ball. Track another pair of ball coordinates and update both in demo.pong.advanceBall.
• Flash on score. Inspect show @demo.pong.update, then add a brief grid.fill: and grid.show: when a point is scored.
• Add a center obstacle. Draw it in demo.pong.draw, then include it in the bounce logic.
• Add an AI paddle. Redefine demo.pong.readPaddles so one paddle tracks demo.pong.ballY.