added InGameUI.gd

attached InGameUI script to the InGameUI node
updated logic in NPC_base to run the dialog popup
moved NPC position in world for easier access

scenes/InGameUI.tscn

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-[gd_scene format=2]
+[gd_scene load_steps=2 format=2]
+
+[ext_resource path="res://scripts/InGameUI.gd" type="Script" id=1]
 
 [node name="InGameUI" type="CanvasLayer"]
 
@@ -8,6 +10,7 @@ offset = Vector2( 0, 0 )
 rotation = 0.0
 scale = Vector2( 1, 1 )
 transform = Transform2D( 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0 )
+script = ExtResource( 1 )
 
 [node name="Container" type="Container" parent="." index="0"]
 
@@ -38,4 +41,24 @@ size_flags_vertical = 1
 popup_exclusive = true
 _sections_unfolded = [ "Popup" ]
 
+[node name="Text" type="Label" parent="Container/DialogWindow" index="0"]
+
+anchor_left = 0.0
+anchor_top = 0.0
+anchor_right = 1.0
+anchor_bottom = 1.0
+margin_left = 45.0
+margin_top = 29.0
+margin_right = -44.0
+margin_bottom = -28.0
+rect_pivot_offset = Vector2( 0, 0 )
+rect_clip_content = false
+mouse_filter = 2
+mouse_default_cursor_shape = 0
+size_flags_horizontal = 1
+size_flags_vertical = 4
+percent_visible = 1.0
+lines_skipped = 0
+max_lines_visible = -1
+
 

scenes/World.tscn

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ _sections_unfolded = [ "Collision" ]
 
 [node name="NPC" parent="NPCs" index="0" instance=ExtResource( 2 )]
 
-position = Vector2( 544.265, 95.9369 )
+position = Vector2( -159.894, 95.4438 )
 
 [node name="Player" parent="." index="2" instance=ExtResource( 3 )]
 
@@ -64,4 +64,6 @@ Speed = 20
 
 [node name="InGameUI" parent="." index="3" instance=ExtResource( 4 )]
 
+_sections_unfolded = [ "Pause" ]
+
 

scripts/InGameUI.gd

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# having the UI be a canvaslayer means that it will always stay with the camera
+extends CanvasLayer
+
+onready var DialogWin = $Container/DialogWindow
+onready var DialogText = $Container/DialogWindow/Text
+
+# setget is a way to have functions called when setting or getting a variable
+# here i only want a getter so i use a comma before writing a function name
+#  so the interpreter reads it as null,<func name>
+var displaying setget ,is_dialog_displaying
+
+# if the game is paused, then we can bet that dialog is being shown
+#  so, if the player "interacts" again then we advance the text
+#  and if thats all the text, we hide the window and unpause the game!
+func _input(event):
+	var tree = get_tree()
+	
+	if tree.paused and event.is_action_pressed("interact"):
+		# unpause the game
+		pause(false)
+		
+		# this is stupid and complicated, sorry :|
+		#  so, we have a race condition when hitting interact to advance the text
+		#  we get around this by creating a timer, and setting it to go off after 
+		#  a very small amount (like, a little bit longer than the typical frame delta)
+		#  then we connect it's "timeout" signal to run the "hide" function of DialogWin
+		#
+		# this solves the issue, but I'm not totally happy with this, and it will
+		#  need some reworking as soon as the text that's being displayed is paginated
+		var timer = get_tree().create_timer(.02)
+		timer.connect("timeout", DialogWin, "hide")
+
+
+func prepare_dialog(text):
+	DialogText.text = text
+	DialogWin.popup()
+	
+	# pause the game so that the player can't just walk away while talking (rude)
+	pause()
+
+# a little function that makes it easier to pause/unpause the game
+func pause(t=true):
+	get_tree().paused = t
+
+# this is called when anything references displayed (see NPC_base.gd line 16)
+func is_dialog_displaying():
+	return DialogWin.visible

scripts/NPC_base.gd

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ extends Node2D
 #  happens *after* _ready() runs. 
 # the $"" notation is a shorthand for getting a node. 
 # a longer way would be to write get_node("/root")
-onready var DialogWindow = $"/root".find_node("InGameUI", true, false)
+onready var UI = $"/root".find_node("InGameUI", true, false)
 
 # start off not ready for interaction, gotta wait until the player is near us
 var interact_ready = false
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ var interact_ready = false
 func _process(delta):
 	
 	# if we're ready for interaction then we should check every frame if "interact" has been pressed
-	if interact_ready and Input.is_action_just_pressed("interact"):
-		print("INTERACTION")
+	if interact_ready and Input.is_action_just_pressed("interact") and not UI.displaying:
+		UI.prepare_dialog("Hello, Player!")
 
 
 # this function gets called when a physics body enters into the interact_area node's area