User Interfaces

Lesson Requirements

What are User Interfaces?

A user interface, or UI for short, is a way for players to interact with a game or application. In Roblox Studio, a UI can include things like buttons, menus, and other elements that a player can click or tap on to perform certain actions or navigate through the game. Think of it like the dashboard or control panel of a car - it helps you control and interact with different aspects of the game.

Buttons

In Roblox Studio, a button is an element of the user interface that players can click on or tap to trigger an action or perform a certain function. It’s like a virtual version of a button you might see in the real world, like a button on a remote control or a button on a video game controller. In Roblox Studio, you can customize the appearance and behavior of a button to make it look and work the way you want it to. Buttons can be used for all sorts of things in a game, like moving a character, opening a menu, or playing a sound effect.

To create a button in Roblox Studio and customize its appearance and behavior :

  1. Open Roblox Studio and create a new place.
  2. In the Explorer window, right-click the “Workspace” folder and select “Insert Object.”
  3. Choose “TextButton” from the list of objects and click “OK.”
  4. A new TextButton should appear in your Workspace. You can see and edit its properties in the Properties window.
  5. To customize the appearance of the button, you can edit its properties in the Properties window. For example, you can change its Text property to change the text on the button, or its BackgroundColor3 property to change the color of the button.
  6. To change the behavior of the button, you can edit its properties in the Properties window as well. For example, you can set the button’s Active property to false if you don’t want the button to be clickable, or its AutoButtonColor property to false if you don’t want the button’s color to change when it’s clicked.

Activity:

Text Boxes

In Roblox Studio, a text box is a user interface element that lets players type in text. You can use text boxes to allow players to enter their name, chat with each other, or enter a code.

To create a text box:

  1. Click on the “Insert” tab at the top of the screen.
  2. Select “Object” and then “Text Box”.
  3. A text box will appear in your game world.

To customize the appearance of your text box:

  1. Select the text box by clicking on it.
  2. Click on the “Properties” tab on the right-hand side of the screen.
  3. Here you can change the color, size, font, and other properties of your text box.

To customize the behavior of your text box:

  1. Click on the text box to select it.
  2. Click on the “View” tab at the top of the screen.
  3. Select “Properties” and then “Events”.
  4. Here you can set what happens when the player types into the text box or clicks on it.

Remember, when customizing the appearance and behavior of your text box, it’s important to make sure that it fits with the overall design of your game and is easy for players to understand and use.

Activity:

Menus in Roblox Studio are used to create navigational options for the players in a game. They provide a list of choices or actions that can be selected by the player to perform various actions in the game.

To create a menu in Roblox Studio, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the “Insert” tab in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  2. Select “Object” from the dropdown menu and then click on “ScreenGui”.
  3. A new ScreenGui object will appear in the Explorer window.
  4. With the ScreenGui object selected in the Explorer window, open the Properties window by clicking on the gear icon.
  5. In the Properties window, set the “Enabled” property to true to make the menu visible to the player.
  6. Add a Frame object to the ScreenGui object by clicking on “Object” and then “Frame” in the Insert menu.
  7. Customize the Frame object by adjusting its properties in the Properties window, such as its size, color, and position on the screen.
  8. To add buttons to the menu, click on “Object” and then “TextButton” in the Insert menu.
  9. Adjust the properties of the TextButton object in the Properties window, such as its text label and position on the screen.
  10. Repeat step 8 and 9 to create additional buttons in the menu.
  11. To add functionality to the buttons, you can use scripting or connect them to existing scripts in your game.

Examples of menus in Roblox Studio include a main menu screen that allows players to choose different game modes, or an options menu that lets players adjust game settings like sound and graphics quality.

Activity:

Putting It All Together

  1. Open Roblox Studio and create a new place.
  2. Create a new ScreenGui object by clicking on the “Insert Object” button in the “Explorer” window and selecting “ScreenGui” from the list.
  3. Customize the appearance of the ScreenGui object by changing its properties such as “Name”, “BackgroundColor3”, “BackgroundTransparency”, “Enabled”, etc.
  4. Add a TextLabel object to the ScreenGui by clicking on the “Insert Object” button and selecting “TextLabel” from the list.
  5. Customize the appearance of the TextLabel object by changing its properties such as “Name”, “Text”, “TextColor3”, “TextSize”, “TextWrapped”, etc.
  6. Add a TextButton object to the ScreenGui by clicking on the “Insert Object” button and selecting “TextButton” from the list.
  7. Customize the appearance of the TextButton object by changing its properties such as “Name”, “Text”, “TextColor3”, “TextSize”, “BackgroundTransparency”, etc.
  8. Add an ImageButton object to the ScreenGui by clicking on the “Insert Object” button and selecting “ImageButton” from the list.
  9. Customize the appearance of the ImageButton object by changing its properties such as “Name”, “Image”, “ImageColor3”, “BackgroundTransparency”, etc.
  10. Save the place and test the custom user interface by clicking on the “Play” button in the “Home” tab.

Requirements:

  • The ScreenGui object must be customized with at least three properties.
  • The TextLabel object must be customized with at least three properties.
  • The TextButton object must be customized with at least three properties.
  • The ImageButton object must be customized with at least three properties.
  • The custom user interface must be functional and able to be tested in the game.

Vocabulary Review

  • user interface
  • button
  • text box
  • menu