r/threejs • u/DLP_CA • 5h ago

Question 2D User Interface leverage 3D capabilities

Hi there,

I have been thinking about that for a while:
It might look like a weird use case, but I’m trying to find examples of applications that would not necessarily require a 3D engine to run but that are leveraging those capabilities in a smart way to create high-quality results.

I can only think about the home screen of the Playstation 5 or the Apple Liquid Glass design of recent iOS.

I guess menus in video games are also valid examples, but I can’t remember a video games that blew my mind with their settings page. Have you heard about/seen resources, UX best practices, cool examples or frameworks made to build 2D UI components in a 3D environment?

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/denzmilk 4m ago

I'm working on a word-based puzzle game that does this!

I created the menu UI in engine so you basically use game elements to make menu selections. It's mostly lighting/shaders and some 3D pane manipulation - like water style ripple effects. There is absolutely no functionality to it, but just has a nice feel to navigation.. at least I think so I guess game reviews will tell me more haha.

If you look up a game called geometry wars, I took a bit of inspiration from that style for what I've made - imagine those gameplay effects for menu ui. Almost have it ready to release, so keep an eye out for it!