Theodore Peterson
| Games | Books | Animated Series |
| "We all have our lot in life. I used to want to change the past, but you can't, can you? All you can do is build a new future. Can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, right?" | ||
Theodore Peterson
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Theodore Masters Peterson, also known by his nickname the Neighbor, is an unemployed and unhinged maniac. A former international amusement park designer, he started to slowly lose sanity after multiple people died on amusement rides designed by him. He did much for his family, and wanted to protect them. After the death of two of his family members, his son, Aaron, is the only person he has left.
Storyline of The Neighbor
Past
When Theodore was a child, he always played around in his house with his best friend Ike Gershowitz. Theodore's parents, Roger and Adelle Peterson, were popular meteorologists and built a weather station. Theodore used to sometimes go to the tunnels beneath the station with Ike. The town eventually became suspicious of Theodore's parents and what they were working on. Sometime in the late sixties to the late seventies, Roger and Adelle mysteriously disappeared.
The Secrets of Bosco Bay
In 1984, Theodore was working on a new park in Bosco Bay. He was testing a new attraction he was working on, The Pharaoh’s tomb, which was an egyptian-themed ride. A boy named Joe snuck in and was caught in the corner of a track in the boulder room while it was being tested, and was killed. The park manager at Bosco Enterprises claimed he was never satisfied with the ride’s design. Theodore tried to cover it up, since the manager did not accept liability and the blame would be put on Theodore instead. The park was later demolished after Ferry Farm Funzone, Theodore’s next park, was opened.
The Fernweh Welt and the Peterson family's Bad Blood
In 1991, Theodore's park in Germany was closed after an accident happened on a Flume Ride resulting in the death of four teenagers, who drowned. The Peterson family quickly left for the United States and moved to Raven Brooks, Missouri. The house they moved into, 910 Friendly Court, belonged to Theodore's parents. Theodore joked about taking his son's new room since it used to be his. Theodore set up an office in the basement and started working down there. He noticed his son's unique drawing talent which intrigued him. A little while later, the Golden Apple corporation asked Theodore to create an amusement park for them, which he agreed to. Theodore reunited with Ike Gershowitz and they ate pizza for dinner at the Peterson's house. However, Theodore and Ike got into an altercation, after which Ike was made to leave the property. Ike went missing after that. His wallet was found in a tunnel.
The Mystery of the Puzzle Master and the Grave Mistake
The Golden Apple Amusement Park opened, and a girl named Lucy Yi was in the front cart of the Rotten Core Roller Coaster. Due to the lack of safety features and the work of Gordon Cleave, she fell into a tree and died. Not long after, two detectives from Germany came over to the United States and attempted to apprehend Theodore for the accident in Germany, but they failed. After Ike's wallet was found, Theodore stole it and worked in the basement for weeks. The wallet contained pieces to a secret device in it, which Ike took from Theodore's parents. Theodore made his own device with it, and it worked just like any of the other devices. It was able to give the user good luck but gave the people without it bad luck. It was stolen by a society of humans in bird costumes called "Forest Protectors" before Theodore was able to give it to the puzzle master, who was going to keep it safe. The Forest Protectors used it in a ritual when a storm started and gave the town bad luck. However, it didn't seem to work, due to two of them, Gordon Cleave and Dale Tapps being arrested and one losing their job not more than a day later. During this ritual, the Lucy Yi ceremony was also going on, and the Golden Apple Amusement Park burned down, causing the forest around it to catch alight and the tunnels near where the rituals happened to fill with smoke and collapse.
The Missing Pieces
In 1995, Theodore's son befriended the kid across the street, Nicky Roth. One time Nicky came over for a sleepover and went into rooms he wasn't supposed go in while looking for a glass of water and Theodore spooked him back to Aaron's room. Later, Theodore and his wife left to go to a store in their car. On the way there, they collide with a pizza truck. Theodore climbs out of his overturned vehicle to seek help while Diane who is severely injured remains in the wreckage. Theodore later waits in the hospital until she eventually dies of cardiac arrest. In the weeks following Diane's death, Aaron becomes very depressed and accidentally pushes his sister off the roof of the house while playing a game. Mya is buried in the backyard by Theodore. At Diane's funeral, Theodore waited inside the house and had a nervous breakdown. He subsequently locks Aaron in the basement to keep him from harm's way, and becomes extra unhinged.
Nicky's Waking Nightmare and the Neighbor's Buried Secrets
Theodore was searching the remains of the Golden Apple Amusement Park for scrap parts for his basement. He told the town that Aaron and Mya were with an Aunt Lisa in Minnesota. One day, while chopping up meat, he realized Nicky was in his house, due to the piece of tape left on the front door that moved. He walked up to the closet he suspected Nicky was in but his doorbell rang and it distracted him. Diane's phone book was stolen by Nicky and Nicky's friend bribed a mailman to ring the doorbell to save him. Theodore angrily went back to his work. Later, he entered Nicky's house and took back his wife's phone book. Half a year later, Theodore tried to frame Nicky by setting up random scenarios, and it worked. People weren't sure if Nicky was innocent, causing him to lose many of his friends. One night, Nicky entered Aaron's window, but Theodore figured out how he entered, and the next morning he chopped down the tree Nicky climbed.
Hello Neighbor
After a long time of working, Theodore realized Nicky broke into his basement. He relocks the door, trapping Nicky in. Using another entrance, he looks for Nicky and then he finds out Nicky wandered into his underground amusement park and greeted him. The park resembled a prison, and Nicky was trapped. Two months later, Aaron let Nicky out of the basement, prompting him to escape the confines of Theodore's house. After Nicky successfully gets out of the property, he is nearly chased across the street by Theodore who is distrcted by the sound of broken glass.
Hello Neighbor 2
A journalist named Quentin spots Theodore taking Aaron into his house. Theodore notices Quentin taking photos of him and Aaron, and shortly after taking Aaron inside, he grabs a shovel and walks over to Quentin's van, smashing the window with the shovel. After being distracted by the Guest, Quentin crashes into a barn. After escaping it, Quentin is smacked on the head by Theodore, who steals the camera and later takes Aaron to the abandoned museum to hide from the authorities.
After Quentin manages to get inside the museum, Theodore starts to get angrier as Quentin gets closer and closer to finding Aaron. This goes on for a few nights, before Quentin finally gets into the attic and finds Aaron. But before the two can get out of the attic, Theodore finds them and throws Quentin into Aaron's cell, with Aaron hiding somewhere else.
Theodore locks the main entrance to keep anyone from getting out, and he becomes insanely unhinged. But Quentin manages to get out of the cell and unlock the main entrance and begins to lead Aaron out, but not before Theodore angrily stomps over to them, but a raven chandelier falls onto Theodore, crushing him. This causes a shocked Aaron to run to his father's aid, and an unknown figure knocks out Quentin from behind. As Quentin is dragged away, Theodore gives him a final cold stare
The Raven Brooks Disaster
Theodore is using the weather station to cause a flood so the town of Raven Brooks knows what its like to lose something they love. Two step-siblings, Regina and Pris, come across him after their car crashes. After being taken to a store, they say some stuff to each other, Regina gets mad, and runs away. she hides in the back of Theodore's truck and is taken to the Weather Station. She convinces Theodore to stop using the machine, but as he's going to turn it off, the Guest takes over Theodore. The machine explodes and the flood ends, the cops come, and the Guest still roams the town.
The Reset Day
In Hello Neighbor: Reset Day, the Guest has kidnapped Enzo Esposito. Enzo's sister, Maritza, is looking after Enzo's two kids. At the end of the book, the Guest kidnaps Piper Tillman’s Mother.
The Guest is well known in the town, as there are carvings of him.
It is unknown why the Guest kidnaps people, but he most likely causes the time loops happening in Raven Brooks.
At the end of the story, the Guest messages Piper telling her she has nowhere to run, and sends her an image of the one and only Theodore Peterson, ready to find her.
Roth's Trauma
19 years after Act 2, Theodore still haunts Nicky into his adulthood. Nicky moves back to the house across from his Neighbor. Theodore is long gone, yet Nicky can't seem to get him out of his head. In the warped reality known as Act 3, Nicky sees The Neighbor lock up Aaron yet again. Nicky gets in the basement and past the locked door after beating his 3 main fears, and faces and defeats the fear of Theodore. While Nicky defeats his fear of Ted, Peterson still couldn't get over the fear of his last remaining family member and had to live with it.
Appearance
Theodore Peterson is a man in his fifties. He has grown a stubble as compared to the first game, probably due to him living in isolation for months to escape the police. His scary-looking greasy black rubber gloves are on him at all times, with his sleeves rolled up. Theodore's brown but graying hair forms into a swirl at the top of his head, and his iconic mustache is always curled at the sides. His thick eyebrows are normally arched, and point down toward his red triangular nose. Theodore has green eyes, and seems to be sleep deprived. He has strong cheekbones and a round chin, and has wrinkles and creases on his forehead.
His shirt is a yellow collared shirt, with a stain on the left collar. The very small pattern on it resembles a rain-resistant material. The sweater vest he has over the shirt is blue, with a diamond argyle pattern on it. The edges of the vest are dark blue and ridged, while the diamonds are a lighter blue. There are white dotted lines crossing the vest as part of its pattern. Theodore's pants are an orange color with darker orange stripes, and his shoes are black and white sneakers.
Personality
Mr. Peterson starts off as an oddball of a man. His main passion was designing blueprints and ideas for theme parks. In 1977, he married Diane Peterson (maiden name unknown). At the time, he was 32, but Diane's age is unknown. The two had a good life, traveling the world. He wasn't in the best shape, and clearly did not have the time of his life.
From Theodore's perspective, the partners he worked with in the various amusement park sites were not very fond of him, and cared more about the money gained from the rides. While he faced all these issues, he still tried to make his family happy. He would dress as a clown, when his daughter Mya Peterson would set up a tea party, and it always made her smile.
Theodore's life really began to go downhill once he moved to Raven Brooks, the hometown he lived in as a child. He began his final park in 1991, the Golden Apple Amusement Park, after making a deal with the Golden Apple Corporation. He witnessed many on-site accidents, and had an office in his house where he investigated each accident, using various photos. He started to slightly detest his son, after assuming he was an Omen of some kind, due to him being at each site accident when they happened.
When the Golden Apple Amusement Park opens, Theodore starts to creep out Aaron's friends more and more, and then Lucy Yi's death happened. Theodore didn't go to her funeral with his family, nor did he rarely talk to them. He spent most of his time in the basement, working on various devices and gadgets. At this time, he is partnered with the new Puzzle Master, Norman Darby. Theodore is aware of what the devices he works on are capable of, and decides to leave them in Darby's safe hands, Norman clearly being one of the people Theodore trusts the most. He was also keeping secrets from his own son, by stealing a wallet Aaron found, and denying any sightings of Ike Gershowitz, who Theodore already seemed to know was dead at the time.
Theodore was becoming more and more secretive, and then one day he lost the person whom he loved the most, Diane. He seemed to have gotten stressed while driving and went 30 miles per hour at a street corner, resulting in a car collision. Theodore went into depression, and spent days not interacting with anyone, until he finally snapped at Aaron, who was bullying his sister.
Once Mya died, Theodore knew he had to keep his son safe from the authorities, so he locked Aaron in his basement, then his whole attitude completely changes. Theodore is now acting weirdly, pacing his house, seeming to have a schedule for where to go on certain days of the week, whether it was the Hall of Records, the Park, or the Basement in his own house. He knew he had to keep his son out of anyone's sight, but once his neighbor Nicky Roth became suspicious, he knew he had to lure Nicky into his basement too, using Aaron.
Theodore's car was a mess due to the crash, but once the Police began to surveil his house, he knew he had to move. He turned an abandoned museum into a living space, behaving weirder than he did before, except this time he would physically throw out anyone who entered his house, instead of intimidating them until they left. He would actively threaten people who confronted him, and try to scare them off if they got near.
Quotes
"The world can be such a scary place. I build fantasy lands that are supposed to make people forget that, or at least put a barrier between them and the fear, just for a little while. But what's the use if I can't protect my family from the worst of it?" ―Theodore to Aaron on the topic of his theme parks, and the reason he makes them.
"Now he’s gone and you’ve forgotten him. Moved on. It’s for the best honestly. It was getting embarrassing. You’re too old for imaginary friends… And a dead pet at that… How morbid, how childish." ―Theodore to Regina about her dog, Flan.
"I used to want to change the past, but you can't, can you? All you can do is build a new future." ―Theodore explaining why he's causing the flood on the town
Family
Mr. Peterson and his family moved from Germany to Raven Brooks in hope of escaping the past. They moved into the former home of Roger and Adelle Peterson (Ted's parents,) in 910 Friendly Court in 1991. Diane, his wife, is very outgoing. She easily made some friends in Raven Brooks and loves to cook for the family. Aaron, his son, was very introverted, being in middle school, liking to stay in the basement drawing what he felt like.
Besides being friends with Enzo, Trinity, and Maritza, Aaron was a loner, just like his sister Mya. Mya was in elementary school at the time. She became best friends with Maritza and Lucy Yi. However, when the storms and crows came back after they moved in, the Town thought the family was cursed. Aaron and Mya got bullied at school and Theodore lost some motivation in working on his park after people vandalized the rides.
In Hello Neighbor: Puzzle Master we learn that Theodore is helping Norman Darby hide the devices from the forest protectors to protect his family and prove his own innocence, like Aaron is also doing.
He found pieces of the devices in the wallet of the deceased Ike Gershowitz.
Artificial Intelligence
Theodore Peterson has one mission. Keeping you from discovering his secrets.
Hello Neighbor
In Pre-Alpha, Mr. Peterson is notably not as intelligent as most Hello Neighbor builds. In the first stage of the game, he mainly sits in random chairs or watches television constantly. After the Giant Neighbor nightmare sequence, the second stage of the game will begin and Mr. Peterson's behavior changes. He will become less repetitive. He starts each day by grabbing a box from outside to prevent the player from seeing through the living room window, camps the front lawn and the garage for some reason, and occasionally works on his car. In hunt mode, he places cameras on where he thinks the player went and then places bear traps in random spots in the grass for some reason. It's a good thing they changed it to doors and windows since those are more effective. He is faster than your walking speed, so sprinting helps.
In Alpha 1, Theodore is literally Superman. He can see through wardrobes and beds, occasionally walls, and places cameras randomly to predict where you're going. It's smart, but too smart and makes him seem like some kind of robot or alien. He no longer is brought to thrown objects. He is slower than the player at first but progressively gets faster the more you get caught.
In Alpha 2, Mr. Peterson becomes more human. Doing activities like drinking milk (which is called water in the files??), taking baths, peeing, taking a nap, and watching television. He could do most of these in earlier builds, but it wasn't as common and rarely happened. Good luck trying to escape, since he's faster than you even when you're sprinting!
Alpha 3's behavior is the same as Alpha 2, except he reacts to flashlights and is almost the same speed as Nicky.
Alpha 4 is the same as Alpha 3, but with more glitches and more chances to do idle activities, along with having less vision.
In the Betas, the AI was similar to Alpha 4, but it can climb ladders and other cool things.
In the Full Release, the AI was majorly improved. His walking animation was changed, giving him a limp on his right leg. He now sets traps and cameras near fallen objects, places traps at doors that weren't open before, uses a vacuum to capture Nicky from below, occasionally uses shortcuts, and is overall the most human version of his AI. In Act 1, he twitches his right leg while sleeping.
Hello Neighbor 2
Hello Neighbor 2 - AI Explained Trailer
For Hello Neighbor 2, Mr. Peterson was originally supposed to use a neural network AI to navigate. He is organized about his lifestyle and does not do things randomly. You must occasionally have close quarter encounters with his AI to beat the game.
The moments where you could run away to your house as soon as being seen are gone. It's easy to get in the house, but harder to get out. To solve this, you can experiment and find new ways to trick the AI and find out its rules. Now the AI actually has goals, and understands the environment and how to use it. The AI of Mr. Peterson can understand the geometry of rooms on its own.
You can influence Mr. Peterson's daily life, making him cold or hurt before he even starts chasing you. He will modify his daily routine to learn how to trick you, but don't worry! Along the way, you will find new tricks of your own.
Hello Neighbor 2 Beta
In the Hello Neighbor 2 Beta, the Neighbor seems to be the fastest-running AI. Like the other NPCs, he can hear you walk or sprint, so you'll need to crouch when near him. He can be tricked by placing a paint bucket on a door, which he will open and then get covered in paint. After this, he will go to the shower to wash off, giving you time to explore. He mainly watches TV or fixes his car when he's not looking for you, and sometimes even falls asleep watching TV.
Hello Neighbor 2 Alphas
In Hello Guest Alpha 1, Theodore as the Guest is sneaky. His goal is to catch the player from behind. He lurks the park waiting to attack. To defend yourself, look at him. Sometimes his animation changes. Usually he crouches, but sometimes he peeks from around corners when the player is looking at him. The Guest follows the paths of the player, jumping onto what they jump on, running to where they run.
In Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1, the Guest's AI majorly changed. Now he guards his house. His movement animations were changed and it now seems like the guest limps on his right leg. The Guest now catches and drags you to a certain point and then throws you, causing you to lose all your items. The Guest gets angry when you steal the key from the furnace, and he mainly guards the key, throwing trash into the furnace to keep it on. Occasionally, the Guest goes to make tea or sleep. While sleeping, the Guest's right leg twitches. In the open world, the Guest stalks the player but when he gets to the player he steals an item from them. The Guest uses a fire extinguisher to get to high places.
In Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1.5, the Guest's behavior is similar to Alpha 1, but he now has different states. He hears thrown items and goes to check them. He sometimes isn't sure whether the player is in his presence or gone. To avoid him, crouch and stand still. He will make a sad noise and walk away.
Hello Neighbor 2 Full Game
MORE INFORMATION NEEDED
Abilities/Skills
Hello Neighbor
- Inhuman sense of hearing. (Pre-Alpha)
- Inhuman Strength (Pre-Alpha, Alpha 1), can throw bear traps a long distance.
- Engineering. Can build cameras, amusement park rides, and hidden gates in his house (Act 1)
- Speed. He can catch up to Nicky, who usually is a really fast kid.
- Smarts. He can guess where Nicky has been.
- Stealth. He sneaks up to Nicky.
- Fearful. A dark aura blurs Nicky's vision when Theodore is near.
- Accuracy. He can hit Nicky with glue and tomatoes.
- Architecture. He can make roller coasters.
Hello Neighbor 2
- Learning what strategies the community uses.
- Replicating the Player's movement
- Surprising the Player.
- Changes each encounter.
Defending
Hello Neighbor
Ways to defend with the Neighbor also change, depending on the version of the game because it is endowed or deprived of certain functions and abilities.
Pre-Alpha & Alpha 1 (Hunt Mode)
- Hiding under a bed
- Hiding in a closet
Pre-Alpha & Alpha 1 (Attack Mode)
- Running back to your house and sleeping
- Running out of the Neighbor's sight
- Installing bear traps to stun the Neighbor
- Blocking the doors with chairs (He breaks them down in Alpha 1 and later only)
Note: In these versions, Theodore Peterson will not get stuck in a bear trap unless it has been installed by the Player.
After Alpha 2
- Hiding in closets (Unless he sees you)
- Propping up the doors with chairs (Only slows down the Neighbor. He will break it down in a few hits.)
- Climb into places inaccessible to the Neighbor. (In the full game, starting with version 1.3, the Neighbor will use a vacuum cleaner to catch Nicky in such situations)
- Lure him into the bear traps he supplied (you can also install it yourself). He will get stunned
- Throw useless objects (or shoot with the toy rifle). This slows down Theodore for a short period of time.
- Located in the dark (However, starting with Alpha 4, The Neighbor takes a flashlight in the evening and at night).
- Distract by smashing windows or turning off the power.
- After passing the Fear School, you can push the Neighbor. You have to press spacebar very quickly. (Starting with Alpha 4).
Hello Neighbor 2
- SOON
Hello Guest Alpha 1
- ALWAYS WATCH YOUR BACK
Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1/1.5
- Throw objects under his feet. This will make him stumble and fall.
- Tie a rope in a doorway.
- Hiding behind the curtains and in the closets.
- Distract by heating the kettle and turning on the alarm clock.
Full Release
- Placing buckets of paint above doorways, similar to how the Neighbor would place water buckets in doors in HN1
- Messing with his plumbing. This will cause him to exit the area to try and fix it.
- Make him cold. He will go to a heater and stay there.
Speed
Hello Neighbor
- The Neighbor in the Pre-Alpha is faster than the player, but the player can escape by using the shift key.
- In Alpha 1, the Neighbor is slower than the player even when the player is walking. The slowest version of the Neighbor. He gets faster the more you get caught, though.
- In Alpha 2, the Neighbor outruns the player even when the player is sprinting.
- After Alpha 2, the Neighbor is almost the exact same speed as the player's run speed.
- In the Full Game's Friendly Mode, the Neighbor is around the speed of the Pre-Alpha Neighbor.
Hello Neighbor 2
As Theodore
- SOON
As Guest
- In the Hello Guest Prototype and Hello Guest Alpha, it is difficult to tell how fast the guest is, since he is never running when you are looking at him. He is about as fast as Quentin.
- In Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1 and Alpha 1.5, the Guest moves slower, making it so Quentin can escape easily
Weaknesses
Hello Neighbor
- Getting hit with anything that Nicky throws at him. This causes him to be temporarily stunned, giving him time to escape.
- Getting shot with the rifle
- Getting stuck in his own traps.
- Getting pushed over by Nicky (Act 3)
Hello Neighbor 2
- Players finding new routes
Behind The Scenes
| Since Hello Neighbor is my first project, it taught me (and all of the team) a lot of cool stuff about life and game development, that's for sure. It's hard to explain, but Hello Neighbor is kind of ME. I put inside more of myself than I thought I did. | ||
Nikita Kolesnikov, Game Designer (July 27, 2017)
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Originally, the Neighbor started out as a sketch on a piece of paper with other neighbor concepts. Nikita got the idea of a game where you break in to your neighbor's house, and he was looking for a design for the antagonist. They remade said sketch into a clay sculpture, which they scanned into the game as a model. Eventually, the model was improved, and the one they stuck with was used until the Release of Hello Neighbor.
The transformation of the Neighbor, seen in the Art Book.
The many variants of the Neighbor.
Trivia
Theodore
- In Hello Neighbor 2, Theodore is yet again a main antagonist.
- The AI for Theodore in Hello Neighbor 2 was supposed to use a neural network.
- Theodore is referred to in the Hello Neighbor files as "neighbour_lowpoly" and in the Hello Neighbor 2 files he is "neighbor_head" and "neighbor_body".
- In Hello Neighbor Pre-Alpha, Theodore could catch the player in wardrobes.
- In Hello Neighbor Alpha 1, Theodore is stuck in an idle animation during the tutorial.
- Theodore had two 666 stickers on the bottom of his shoes until Alpha 3 (666 is the number of the beast). In Alpha 3 and onwards, the 666 stickers were replaced with "W" stickers.
- Alpha 2 is the only build where Theodore drinks milk.
- Theodore has designed amusement parks in six continents.
- The AI in Hello Neighbor 2 is more advanced than the AI in Hello Neighbor.
- The reason Theodore Locked Nicky in the basement was because He wanted Aaron to have a friend with him down there
The bottom of Theodore's shoes before Alpha 3.
Appearances (Media)
Hello Neighbor - December 8, 2017
Hello Neighbor: Missing Pieces - August 28, 2018
Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek - December 7, 2018
Hello Neighbor: Waking Nightmare - December 26, 2018
Hello Neighbor: Buried Secrets- July 30, 2019
Secret Neighbor - October 24, 2019
Hello Neighbor: Bad Blood - December 26, 2019
Hello Neighbor 2 (Alpha 1) - July 23, 2020
Hello Neighbor: Grave Mistakes - August 4, 2020
Hello Neighbor: The Secret of Bosco Bay - October 6, 2020
Hello Neighbor 2 (Alpha 1.5) - October 26, 2020
Hello Neighbor: Puzzle Master - December 29, 2020
Hello Neighbor: Reset Day - May 4, 2021
Hello Neighbor: The Raven Brooks Disaster - August 3, 2021
Hello Engineer - October 26, 2021
Hello Neighbor 2 Beta - April 7, 2022
Hello Neighbor 2 - December 6, 2022
Hello Neighbor: Welcome To Raven Brooks - December 11, 2022
Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue - May 25, 2023
Hello Neighbor: Nicky's Diaries - December 6, 2023