---
name: hacker-flip-3d
description: Character-level 3D rotation with random glyph substitution for a decryption reveal effect.
metadata:
  tags: text, 3d, reveal, decode, hacker, randomization, perspective
---

# Hacker Flip 3D Reveal

Characters flip down from 90° in 3D while cycling through pseudo-random glyphs, then settle on the target character — a "decryption" / airport flap-display reveal. Resolves to a short target word (typically a brand or label).

## How It Works

Each character gets its own per-char tween from `rotateX: 90deg` (hidden, hinged at the bottom edge) to `0deg` (upright), staggered across the word. Below `REVEAL_THRESHOLD` progress the char displays a seeded pseudo-random glyph that reshuffles every few frames; past it, the real target character clicks into place — so the eye catches the right letter just as the flip settles. A hidden ghost copy of the full word reserves layout width so narrow flicker glyphs never shift the line.

## Recipe

```html
<!-- inside a standard scene clip (hyperframes-core) -->
<div class="hacker-text-wrap" id="hacker-text" data-target="{phrase}">
  <!-- ghost row + per-char spans injected by the setup script -->
</div>
```

```css
/* the scene root (or nearest 3D ancestor) MUST set perspective: 1500px */
.hacker-text-wrap {
  font-family: {monoFont}; /* monospace so flicker glyphs hold width */
  font-weight: 900;
  font-size: HACKER_FONT_SIZE;
  position: relative; /* ghost stacks absolutely behind the live row */
}
.hacker-char {
  display: inline-block;
  transform-origin: bottom; /* flap-display hinge */
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
}
.hacker-ghost {
  opacity: 0;
  pointer-events: none;
  position: absolute;
  inset: 0 auto auto 0;
}
```

```js
const wrap = document.getElementById("hacker-text");
const targetWord = wrap.dataset.target;
const GLYPHS = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789!@#$%&*";

// Ghost row (reserves width) + live per-char spans
const ghost = document.createElement("div");
ghost.className = "hacker-ghost";
ghost.textContent = targetWord;
wrap.appendChild(ghost);
const charEls = [...targetWord].map((ch) => {
  const span = document.createElement("span");
  span.className = "hacker-char";
  span.textContent = ch === " " ? " " : ch;
  span.dataset.target = ch;
  wrap.appendChild(span);
  return span;
});

// Index-seeded hash — same frame always yields the same glyph
function pseudoGlyph(seed) {
  const h = ((seed * 9301 + 49297) % 233280) / 233280;
  return GLYPHS[Math.floor(h * GLYPHS.length)];
}

charEls.forEach((el, i) => {
  const state = { p: 0 };
  tl.to(
    state,
    {
      p: 1,
      duration: FLIP_DURATION,
      ease: "power3.out",
      onUpdate: () => {
        if (state.p < REVEAL_THRESHOLD) {
          el.textContent = pseudoGlyph(i * 1000 + Math.floor(state.p * 100));
        } else {
          el.textContent = el.dataset.target === " " ? " " : el.dataset.target;
        }
        el.style.transform = `rotateX(${90 - state.p * 90}deg)`;
        el.style.opacity = Math.min(1, state.p * 2);
      },
    },
    i * CHAR_STAGGER,
  );
});
```

## Variations

- **Top-down hinge** — `transform-origin: top` for a falling-flap look.
- **Center spin** — `transform-origin: center` reads as a barrel roll, not a flap.
- **Number-only pool** — restrict `GLYPHS` to digits for a price / countdown decode.
- **Two-pass decode** — chain two `FLIP_DURATION` tweens with different glyph pools (symbols → letters → real) for a longer reveal.

## Values

| token            | range                           | notes                                                                              |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| HACKER_FONT_SIZE | 6–10% of viewport min-dimension | the flip IS the focal beat; ghost must use the identical size                      |
| FLIP_DURATION    | 0.4–1.0s                        | under 0.4s the flicker phase has no time; over 1.0s drags                          |
| CHAR_STAGGER     | 0.03–0.08s                      | total decode = `CHAR_STAGGER × (chars − 1) + FLIP_DURATION` — fit the phase budget |
| REVEAL_THRESHOLD | 0.5–0.7                         | lower reveals too early (no tension); higher reads as a hard end-reveal            |
| FLICKER_RATE     | 3–6 frames per glyph swap       | <3 looks like noise; >6 looks like discrete typing                                 |

Reference: `../../examples/proof-logo-chain.html` (163px, 0.55s, 0.033s, 0.6).

## Critical Constraints

- **`perspective` on the scene root REQUIRED** — without parent perspective, `rotateX` renders as a 2D squash, not a 3D flip; `transform-style: preserve-3d` on each char.
- **Ghost placeholder** with identical content + font must back the live chars — without it, narrow glyphs shift the layout mid-flicker (monospace preferred; the ghost makes a proportional face recoverable).
- **Flicker seed = char index + quantized progress** — the same frame must show the same glyph.
- **Flicker rate ≥ ~3 frames per swap**; `onUpdate` work stays O(1) per char per frame.
- **Center the flip dead-center and add NO decorative chrome** (timestamp lines, "// AUTH" tags, status dots) — the flip is the beat. A necessary secondary label is BIG typography (56–72px caps + tracking) in the same stack, never a tiny corner annotation.

## See also

`card-morph-anchor` (flip reveals a phrase, card morphs into the next shot) · `counting-dynamic-scale` (the numeric counterpart).
