| “ | It's coming from the town. | ” |
John is one of the five main protagonists and a playable character in The Dark Pictures Anthology's second installment, Little Hope. He is the professor of a creative writing class who is chaperoning the group's field trip, though in actuality, he is a creation of Anthony's imagination. He was voiced and motion captured by Alex Ivanovici and was modelled on Sukesh Khosla. The motion capture performance was assisted by Ian Staples.
Appearance[]
John is a middle-aged man with tan and slightly wrinkled skin. His brown eyes are covered with a pair of oval-shaped glasses of the same color and his short dark hair is styled in a quiff.
John wears a brown three-piece suit consisting of a jacket, vest, and pants, complemented by a pair of leather brogue shoes. A white shirt and a maroon tie with white lines can be seen against the brown suit. He wears two gold rings on the fingers of his left hand.
John takes the bus wreck well, getting only a small scrape on his right cheek and several small dirt marks on his suit. As the game progresses, his appearance, especially his face, becomes heavily stained, most noticeably when John jumps off the road in Off Track. If Angela was shot in Low Point, or John has more than four locked traits by the time of Heavy Burden, blood will stain his hands.
Personality[]
John's profile at the start of the game.
John is a professional academic, well-read and intelligent, as evidenced by his knowledge of history, notably the witch trials. He tries to remain calm and cool-headed, though the supernatural events of the night leave John clearly tense, causing him to occasionally snap in situations where he doesn't know what to do. Despite such stress, John always thinks rationally, offering solutions to problems that seem logical to him, such as heading to town for help or stopping Mary to prevent witch trials.
As a class professor and initiator of a school trip, John feels responsible for the safety of his students. Despite such burdens, he tries his best to hold the group together and maintain optimism. However, his status as leader is often questioned by some of the protagonists, mainly Taylor and Angela, who sometimes act against John's ideas. Some of the dialogue reveals John in a bad light in college as well, showing him always keeping a low profile, being rude and pretentious to students and taking out his failed dream of becoming a writer on them. Still, despite his bad reputation, he cares for each in the class and will never abandon his students when they are in danger.
The events at Little Hope become a test of John's leadership skills. Faced with various difficulties and dangers, he can run away from responsibility, leaving his students behind and causing them to take a lead, or prove his status as head of the group, leading them through the town.
Biography[]
John is a creative writing professor. According to him, he has been sober for nearly three months and has a sobriety chip. Angela says that he has failed dreams of being a writer and is waiting for retirement, and he can tell Andrew that the college has considered firing him already. He is very knowledgeable about Little Hope for an unexplained reason.
On May 28, 2019, John was aboard a bus with his college students as they were going on a class field trip. That is until a detour towards Little Hope and a bus crash changes their trip into something paranormal. They are now trapped in the ghost town and must figure out the root of the evil before all their souls get dragged to hell. His fate would then be decided by the player, in which he would leave the town intact or forever be trapped with the other lost souls.
Little Hope[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| Diversion | Debut | Family | Absent |
| Darkest Dreaming | Appears | Lost | Appears |
| Reunion | Appears | Troubled History | Appears |
| No Escape | Appears | Pursued | Appears |
| Vince | Appears | Surrounded | Appears |
| Playing Tricks | Appears | Low Point | Appears |
| Confrontation | Appears | Reflections | Appears |
| Off Track | Appears | Ruined | Appears |
| Another Way | Mentioned | Heavy Burden | Appears (Possible Death) |
| The Crossing | Appears | Full Circle | Determinant (Possible Death) |
| The End | Determinant | ||
Prologue[]
He is first heard after the bus begins the detour towards Little Hope talking to Angela about his sobriety. When he responds that he's a few days short of 3 months, she congratulates him, saying that it's impressive as she's heard the first 90 days are the toughest and roughest. When Angela realizes that they're going the wrong way, she starts to complain with John trying to calm her down stating that it's fine and that it's just a quick detour. Angela, however, fires back that it is not fine, and when John tries again to tell her to calm down she tells him to stop patronizing her, before the bus driver asks them to keep it down just before he sees the little girl in the road.
Main Story[]
Act 1[]
After the bus crash, John, along with Andrew and Taylor, are stranded in the middle of the road as John tries to wake the unconscious Andrew. When they find Daniel and Angela, they decide to meet farther down the road. John offers to go to town and may have a fight with Taylor if she decides to stay by the bus. After reaching the Little Hope sign, John will tell the group about their courts and a little farther they will be reunited with the rest.
After the reunion, John observes Angela and Taylor's quarrel and then tries to stop the latter (alone or with Daniel) from returning to the bus. When they return and claim that the fog is bothering them, John and the others do not believe them and decide to go all together. Realizing that they cannot return because of the fog, Taylor begins to blame John for this, he tries to make excuses, saying that he could not have foreseen this. Andrew, in far more rage than before, manages to calm everyone down and the group decides to head into town.
John stumbles across the bar with the others and will go there after the dialogue between Andrew and Angela. At the bar, John, along with Andrew, will begin asking Vince about a phone in the city. He will offer them alcohol, John can refuse or drink. After asking Vince, John decides to play darts with Taylor and Daniel, after which the group will hear the ring of bells and go into town. John, Daniel, and Taylor walk ahead of Andrew and Angela. When they get reunited they are told that they saw a ghostly apparition of a young girl named Mary.
Reaching the intersection, the group will see a girl, John will decide to approach her (alone or with Angela), but will be captured by the woman. She will try to escape, but John grabs her hand and sees under the hood of Angela's double, who will claim that he is not her husband. In the present, John tells the group about this and splits up, deciding to go their separate ways.
John, along with Andrew and Angela (if she went with them) pass through the intersection. After they have passed, they hear sounds behind them. John is startled and jumps down onto the path. If Andrew carefully descended, then he will say that it was Vince, after which they will follow the trail. Andrew will be able to talk to John about responsibility for the group. Having reached the shack, the guys will hear a noise and John will run away. If Andrew was able to explore the hut, then he can tell that the noise was made by the cat and that he found the gun. Upon reaching the police station, John will offer to break the window with a stone, which Andrew denies. After Andrew (or John) breaks the window the group will make their way inside. At the police station, the group will start looking for a phone, but it turns out that the wires have been cut. John will get enraged and throw down a filing cabinet, but Andrew or Angela will calm him down and offer to find a spare. During the search, the phone starts ringing and Andrew or John can pick up the phone. After the call, they will be captured by Amy and brought to her trial. In the present, John will say that Mary is to blame, who faked a seizure and will notice that the two Puritans with the girl look like Daniel and Taylor.
Having heard a knock on the door and opened it, the group will reunite and continue walking, reaching the broken bridge. At the bridge, John can go first or suggest other options and Andrew will go first. Having reached the middle of the bridge, John or Andrew will again be captured by Amy, who must be executed. John tries to help her, but she is thrown into the river and she drowns. In the present, going down under the bridge, the Drowned Demon will attack the trio. John however will always survive the demon's attack.
Act 2[]
Having reached the cemetery to rest, John asks where Daniel and Taylor are and can assume that the demon is related to Amy. After leaving the cemetery, the group hides from Vince, who because of the fog, was mistaken for a monster, after which they investigate the nearest house. Having explored the house, the group notices the girl and start following her into the alley, where Angela is behind them. Hearing her screams, John and Andrew try to save her from the attacking demon, but she drags Angela into the sewers. If John decides to go down, he will find Angela's glasses and a demon crawling deep into the sewers. Following the girl further, the two enter the museum. Investigating it, John will find Mary's doll and offer to burn it. Having dealt with the doll, John and Andrew leave the museum and walk on the road.
John and Andrew spot Daniel and Taylor running away from the Hanged/Burned Demon, the group flees to hide in the church. If Andrew has a gun, then John will be angry with him if he doesn't say anything. They then talk to Vince and can ask him for help or chase him away. After learning from Daniel that he will be next, John and Taylor stay on the ground floor while the others climb the bell tower. Climbing upstairs, John learns that they could not save Daniel's double and begins to assume that after the demons begin to pursue them after each death of the double. After leaving the church (immediately or later), John and Daniel hide from David and run away into the forest.
Act 3[]
Hiding in the forest, John assumes that Mary is to blame and they must stop her. Hearing the noise, John hides with the others or can give an order to Andrew (if he has a gun). If Andrew fires the gun, John throws away the gun in a fit of rage as the shot figure is Angela.
Fleeing from the demons deep in the forest, John (alone or with Angela) loses the rest from view. He can help save Taylor, after which he will escape with the survivors. John is playable if Daniel dies. He and Andrew will be captured by Abraham and will hear his dialogue with Joseph. When Abraham notices them, John may offer to blame Mary or spare her. If Daniel is dead, John will try to save Taylor from her demon.
The remaining survivors will get to the factory where they will meet with Vince, after which John and Andrew will be grabbed by Abraham and must give him advice on who to blame. In the present, the group will begin to explore the factory and will try to get rid of the boxes blocking their way, which causes John to fall into the basement and reunite with the others in the forest if Daniel is dead.
John and the survivors get to the ruins of the house, where Mary grabs them and they end up at Joseph's execution. The heroes can try to save Joseph or take the doll, Joseph will die either way. In the present, the group will be attacked by the demons again. John decides to fight, armed with a sledgehammer, as he is tired of running away. John can either survive the fight or die getting crushed by his demon.
If John successfully escaped Joseph, he will block the door with the sledgehammer himself and may ask for help or tell him to be left. John will follow Andrew to the second floor, where he will be captured by Abraham. John can help Andrew decide on who to accuse. After the flashback, John either leaves the house, or is trapped due to not being heroic while fighting his demon, after which, he is crushed by his demon to death.
The End[]
If John survives, he will leave Little Hope alongside Andrew and the others.
- If Andrew has a good relationship with Vince, the group reaches the diner. Regardless of his fate, after Andrew apologizes, John will comfort him.
- If Andrew has a bad relationship with Vince, John will witness Andrew being arrested by the officer.
When it is revealed that Andrew is Anthony/the bus driver, John will disappear as he is a hallucination.
Possible Deaths[]
| Chapter | Mechanism of Kill | Caused by | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Burden | Crushed | Crushed Demon | John fails QTEs to fight the Crushed Demon; Angela, Daniel, or Taylor is alive. |
| John is fearful or says nothing; John fails the QTE to hold the door. | |||
| Full Circle | John failed to break his locked traits OR Mary was executed. |
Relationships[]
| |
|---|---|
| |
| |
|
Andrew[]
Andrew is John's student. In the game, they are together almost all the time. John is grateful to Andrew that he always supports him and is on his side. However, he is sometimes unhappy with him, for example when Andrew decided to take a gun, fearing that he would harm someone. Due to some common traits of character, they work well with each other to achieve a goal.
Angela[]
Angela is John's student. Most of the criticism he receives is from her. Despite this, John cares about Angela, worried about her because of her double and tries to save her from the demon. After her supposed death in the alley, John is saddened and overjoyed to learn that she survived. Towards the end of the game, John may risk his life to save Angela.
Taylor[]
Taylor is John's student. At the beginning of the game, he often argues with her, as she wanted to return to the bus and take a different path. Despite this, John cares for Taylor, for example at the start of Act 3 when he can save her several times.
Daniel[]
Daniel is John's student. He cares about him as much as the rest of the protagonists, although he doesn't always like Daniel on Taylor's side. Near the church, John can save Daniel if he is unable to escape the demon on his own.
Trivia[]
Playability[]
- John, along with Taylor is the second least playable protagonist, having 10 playable chapters in total.
- John has 6 official playable chapters in Theatrical Cut, that being one in Vince, The Crossing, Low Point, Reflections, Ruined, and Heavy Burden.
- John has 6 official playable chapters in Curator's Cut, that being one in Confrontation, Lost, Troubled History, Reflections, Heavy Burden, and Full Circle.
- John, along with Andrew, appears in all chapters except the prologue chapters and Another Way.
- John can replace Daniel in Reflections, Ruined, Heavy Burden and Full Circle if the latter is dead.
Pictures[]
See also: Category:Pictures found by John
- John is tied with Taylor for finding the second least pictures, with 5.
- John can find 2 white pictures, 2 black pictures and 1 gold picture.
- John appears in 2 pictures: Demon at the Door and Pressed into Silence.
Secrets[]
See also: Category:Secrets found by John
- John can find the third most secrets, with 28.
- John and Angela are the only protagonists in the game who don't have a secret only they can find.
- John is the only protagonist who cannot find the Visitor's Map.
Facts[]
- John's base relationship status with the rest of the protagonists are equal.
- Despite being a reincarnations of James, John and Joseph are one year older.
- John, along with other protagonist except Angela, has doubles outside of the 1692 and 1972 timelines. In John's case, he, Andrew and Daniel have doubles in 1917 as soldiers.
- John is struggling with alcoholism and has been sober for almost three months.
- According to Angela, John dreamed of becoming a writer.
Deaths[]
- John is the fourth protagonist who can die, starting with Heavy Burden.
- However, if John and Andrew are the only survivors until Heavy Burden, it is impossible for John to die as he is always saved by Andrew, making Full Circle the only chapter where he can die.
- John is tied with Andrew and Daniel for having the least deaths (with 1) and has the second least chapters to die in (with 2).
Other[]
- John shares the same face model as:
- James T. Clarke and Joseph Lambert from the same game.
- Dar Basri from House of Ashes.
- Granthem Du'Met and Henry Howard Holmes from The Devil in Me.
- Robert from Switchback VR.
- John is the only protagonist in the game whose name is not six letters.
Trophies[]
- John has 7 trophies associated with him:
- He shares with other protagonists the trophies "That Dream is Your Enemy" and "Salvation".
- He shares with Angela, Daniel, and Taylor the trophy "No Escaping Fate".
- He shares with Andrew the trophy "All Together Now".
- He shares with Angela the trophy "The Odd Couple".
- His personal trophies are "Rational Mind" and "Heavy Burden".
Quotes[]
| “ | Now, let's be logical. The fog is between us and the bus. There is no fog between us and town so let's head that way. | ” |
| “ | Come on, you fuck, I'm ready! | ” |
| “ | How's that feel, fucker?! | ” |
| “ | Don't get me too wrong, I'm so happy we all made it outta here... My ass is so getting fired tomorrow. | ” |
| “ | We've all been through hell. It was a tragic accident. | ” |
Gallery
[]
| Protagonists |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonists | |||||||||||
| Supporting Characters |
| ||||||||||