Thinking in three dimensions

First of all, normal Windows 10 applications are flat. It does not matter whether you write console applications, desktop applications, store applications, or mobile apps--all the action the users see is within a screen in front of them. Even if you write for the Xbox, which is a Windows 10 device with excellent graphics capabilities, you are still limited to the screen. The setup is always the same--the user looks at a screen in front of him.

In HoloLens, this is not the case. The user is placed in the middle of the scene. Sure, we can create two-dimensional apps and run them in the device but that is not what the device is made for. Most apps will have objects placed around the user and the user will navigate through the app by literally walking around, moving their head and looking in all directions. We need to ensure that we accommodate that. To do this, we need to do a couple of things:

• Ensure that objects are in a logical place
• Ensure that objects can be reached
• Ensure that objects can be found

Let's delve into these.