The Dark Arrival

📍 Cary, NC (US)

🏷️ Video Games

Hi, I’m Vaishnavi Palleda, the founder of Vault team. The inspiration for The Dark Arrival – Shadows of the Pastcomes from my personal battle with sleep paralysis. Those moments of being awake but unable to move, surrounded by terrifying visions, left a deep impact on me. Instead of letting that fear consume me, I chose to confront it—and the way I knew best was through creating a game.

I lead a women-led indie team of five, where I take charge of the direction and design of the project. My role is to ensure the game captures both the psychological depth and the cinematic quality that horror deserves. From shaping the narrative to defining the visual mood and gameplay mechanics, I’ve poured my own story into the design of this game.

Our team has already built a demo, but with your support, we can:

Expand content with new story branches, puzzles, and immersive design.
Elevate the atmosphere with professional sound, music, and voice work.
Test and polish the game for smooth performance worldwide.
Prepare console builds so we can share the experience beyond PC.

What began as my personal fear has become a collective vision. With your help, I can lead my team through the final stretch of direction and design—transforming fear into art and delivering a horror game that leaves a lasting mark.