Ok, and if I had to program the microcontroller, is it hard and how would I go about doing that ?? Thank you !!
There are lots of different choices you can make on which microcontroller you want to program.
Take a gander at 'Arduino', the programs tend to be a little more bloated due to how they are programmed, but it seems to be easier for a beginner to get into. Many of the microcontrollers can be plugged into the computer with a standard USB cable.
If you want to dive in a little deeper, take a look at PIC or ATTiny. They offer a more professional approach in my opinion, and are a tad more difficult to get set up for.
Either approach will work for you, and both will allow you to change your program and test your lights.
If you only want 1 specific pattern, you could get by without the use of a microcontroller with some parts such as a 555 timer, and a shift register. Your flexibility diminishes, as you will need to construct a circuit for a specific pattern, but you will not need a computer
fyi. programming is not as hard as people make it...
In a simple form, you are writing instructions for someone who can't see or hear. You can ask questions but the answers are either yes and no. or a number from 1 - 10
If you can imagine being able to write a list of instructions to someone to control your lights, it will be easier than you can imagine. The tricky part is learning the keywords and some of the quarks.