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Dev Blog #3: Flickering Flashlight

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Whoops! 🙂Looks like we may have accidentally triggered Gmail’s ‘You Shall Not Pass’ filter, and some of our emails got flagged as spam. If you’ve missed any updates, we apologise for the mix-up! We’re working on the automated system. 

But enough about that
 Howzit? Welcome back! If you’re not already questioning how three weeks have flown by, then please, share your secrets with us.

What We’ve Been Working On

Megan: Artwise

I kicked off this 3-week sprint with some quick asset designs. We textured our first weapons and whipped up some rudimentary mushrooms to bring a little life and colour to the dark, dead space that is Level 1. You can catch some snippets of that below:

My shroomies:

Once again, though, I veered off the map that is my trusty “To-Do List” and wandered into the dark, twisting woods known as UI Design. I’ll admit—I was hesitant. I’ve always been more of a “paint and see what happens” kind of artist. But UI? That’s boxes. Very specific, very readable, very aligned boxes. Ones that need to be part of a unified, cohesive visual identity.

So, no pressure at all.

But hey—I figured it out, and honestly? I’m pretty dang pleased 😎

Here is a nice close-up of the batteries:

Megan: Story and Writing

I spent an annoying amount of time converting my Word document dialogue into a dialogue tree
 I think I did it three times in three different programs. But we now have the majority of the in-demo dialogue ready to go.

Harvey: Animations & Weapon System Overhaul

The past few weeks have been intense. My plate’s been pretty full. We finally brought the player animations into the Godot Engine, and overall, I’m really happy with how they turned out. There were a few animation transition issues (no surprises there), but nothing too major — just part of the process.

This was my first time tackling character animation. I’ve modelled plenty of objects for Vanguard, but rigging and animating the player’s arms was a whole new challenge. It definitely stretched my skills, but I’m genuinely proud of the results. Better yet, I’ve already started spotting ways to improve the rigging and animation workflow for future iterations — faster, cleaner, and more efficient. 

Alongside that, I also had to rebuild our weapon system to work properly with the new animations. The original setup just wasn’t cutting it anymore. After the overhaul, it’s not only working better but is way easier to manage and expand. Adding new weapons down the line will be far smoother, and the overall workflow has improved dramatically.

Harvey: Inventory Overhaul

After wrapping up the FPS rig, we circled back to something that’s been looming on the horizon for a while now: the inventory menu. With the direction Vanguard is heading, it was only a matter of time before the old system had to be reworked. That day finally came, and wow, it was a big one.

I ended up tearing out the simple utility-style inventory I had built earlier and replacing it with a full-blown system that allows players to view and interact with their items more meaningfully. Now, you can see exactly what you’re carrying, and using an item will properly update both your toolbelt and your inventory. It’s a big step toward making the experience feel tighter and more intuitive.

There’s still work to be done — more features to add, more optimisations to make — but we’re aiming to keep the system as straightforward as possible. We don’t want it to become a chore or slow the player down. Just quick, clear, and functional.

What’s Next? 

Art (Megan):

Here’s my current “wish list” / “cross all your fingers and toes that I actually get it done” list:

  • Finish the character dialogue art
  • UI for inventory and audio logs
  • The loading page
  • And finally start working on the creature 3D assets—before the urge to procrastinate drags me into another unplanned side quest.

Story:

  • Just have some little bits of dialogue I need to add.

Mechanics/Development (Harvey):

  • PRIORITY TASKS
    • Enemy AI – This one’s been on the back burner for too long. I mentioned it in the last update, and it’s time to move it up the priority list. The game needs it to start feeling more alive (and dangerous).
    • Flare Particle System – I had started working on this to capture the intense glow of a road flare — that overwhelming brightness that can be as much a liability as it is a tool. But once the inventory overhaul began, it got pushed aside. Now that the system is in a better place, I’ll be picking this back up.
  • SMALL TASKS
    • Adding bullet hole decals when bullets hit enemies or the world.
    • Changing the footstep sounds to the improved audio.
    • Clean up unused code and assets.
    • Rebuild locked doors to use new inventory items for key storage.