building-conference-agenda

name	building-conference-agenda
description	Orchestrates building a live conference agenda display from scratch using Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and animated backgrounds. Guides through 5 phases referencing specialized sub-skills. Use when starting a new conference agenda project or replicating the RoboCon 2026 display.

Building a Conference Agenda Display

Master orchestration skill for building a TV-optimized, live conference agenda display.

Architecture Overview

Tech Stack:
- Next.js 16 (App Router, "use client" components)
- React 19
- Tailwind CSS v4 (@theme inline tokens)
- TypeScript 5
- matter.js (2D physics for animations)
- qrcode.react (QR code for mobile access)

src/
├── app/
│   ├── layout.tsx          # Root layout, font imports
│   ├── page.tsx            # Main orchestrator page
│   ├── globals.css         # @theme tokens, font-faces, animation CSS
│   ├── aurora.css          # Aurora background keyframes
│   └── shooting-stars.css  # Character/projectile CSS
├── components/
│   ├── Header.tsx          # Clock, date, day tabs, logo
│   ├── CurrentTalk.tsx     # Active talk with speaker avatars
│   ├── BreakCard.tsx       # Break display with countdown
│   ├── UpNext.tsx          # Upcoming talks list
│   ├── PastTalks.tsx       # Completed talks
│   ├── ProgressBar.tsx     # Animated progress bar
│   ├── AuroraBackground.tsx # CSS aurora + twinkling stars
│   └── ShootingStars.tsx   # Physics animations + characters
├── data/
│   ├── schedule.ts         # Conference schedule data
│   └── speakers.ts         # Speaker lookup table
├── hooks/
│   └── useCurrentTime.ts   # Live clock with time simulation
└── lib/
    └── schedule-utils.ts   # Schedule state engine

Phase 1: Foundation

Step 1.1: Project Setup

Skill: setting-up-nextjs-tv-app

Create Next.js 16 project with Tailwind CSS v4, TypeScript, and dependencies. Configure for TV display (no cursor, no scroll on desktop).

Step 1.2: Data Modeling

Skill: modeling-conference-data

Define ScheduleItem interface, speaker lookup, and populate with conference data. All times in UTC, displayed in event timezone.

Step 1.3: Branding

Skill: applying-conference-branding

Custom fonts (OCR-style heading + monospace body), color palette as Tailwind v4 @theme inline tokens.

Phase 2: Core Schedule Engine

Step 2.1: Live Clock

Skill: building-live-schedule-engine

useCurrentTime hook with URL-based time simulation, and getScheduleState that computes current/past/upcoming items.

Step 2.2: Layout

Skill: designing-tv-display-layout

Fixed-viewport TV layout (75% width, centered, no scroll) with responsive mobile fallback.

Step 2.3: Components

Skill: building-schedule-components

Header, CurrentTalk, BreakCard, UpNext, PastTalks, ProgressBar. Wire together in page.tsx.

Phase 3: Visual Atmosphere

Step 3.1: Aurora Background

Skill: creating-aurora-background

Multi-layer CSS aurora gradients with twinkling stars and pulse on talk transitions.

Step 3.2: UI Animations

Skill: animating-ui-elements

Shimmer sweep, glow breathe, border shift, golden shimmer for special events.

Phase 4: Interactive Animations

Step 4.1: Physics System

Skill: integrating-physics-animations

Flying objects with matter.js physics, wall bouncing, spark effects, pile accumulation.

Step 4.2: Walking Characters

Skill: creating-walking-characters

SVG characters walking along bottom, speech bubbles, interactions, power-ups.

Phase 5: Polish & Deploy

Step 5.1: QR Code

Desktop-only QR code (top-right) linking to mobile URL using qrcode.react.

Step 5.2: Deploy

Skill: deploying-to-netlify

Key Design Principles

1. All components are client components — "use client" since everything depends on live time
2. State flows down — useCurrentTime → getScheduleState → components receive props
3. CSS animations where possible — JS only for physics and interactive elements
4. Direct DOM manipulation for 60fps — bypass React state for high-frequency updates
5. TV-first, mobile-second — optimize for TV, then make scrollable on mobile
6. Time simulation via URL — ?time=ISO&speed=N for development testing

Testing Strategy

Use time simulation URL params for visual testing:

• ?time=2026-02-12T07:00:00Z — before Day 1
• ?time=2026-02-12T09:00:00Z — during a talk
• ?time=2026-02-12T08:10:00Z — during a break
• ?time=2026-02-12T16:00:00Z — after Day 1
• ?speed=60 — 60x speed for full day cycle