Nick Nack

"You must suffer in the arts!" -Nick Nack''  "And just a little blush for you... There! Good as new... No! No! FATHER! Father, what did I do?!" - Midnight Show''

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Bio
Nick Nack was one of the central puppets in the 1980's children's show, "Mortimer's Handeemen." He is described as being the artistic member of the group, enjoying music, poetry, and helping put shows together. Nick does not appear in-story, however, his poster can be seen on the wall with the others at the beginning of the game.

Appearance
Nick Nack is a wooden, humanoid ventriloquist dummy designed to look like a stereotypical artist. He has dark brown hair brushed into a quiff style, with a goatee and mustache. He has purple/maroon eyes, long, pointed eyelashes, high, rosy cheekbones, and an elongated chin.

Nick wears a white, paint-splattered tuxedo jacket with blue lapel and red-orange cuffs. Underneath, he wears a black sweater with a red-orange and yellow flower pinned to his lapel.

Personality
"Don't let his little 'artist' thing fool you, he's a cold-blooded maniac!" -Scout, upon entering Nick's room in the Soundstage.

Within Mortimer's Handeemen, Nick Nack was meant to be the artsy one. According to his poster in the hall at the beginning of the game, Nick would put on shows, as well as enjoy theatre, music, poetry, and so on. It is also stated that Nick was always at odds with Riley Ruckus, the scientist of the group, most likely implying a conflict of ideals; Riley being scientific and Nick most likely being artsy and emotional.

Nick is not present in-game aside from one instance, where his model is seen in the Soundstage. But according to Scout, Nick is a "cold-blooded maniac," implying he shares Mortimer and Riley's sadistic behavior and characteristics. However, since he is never seen, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes him a threat to Scout and the Host.

That being said, Nick is the main antagonist in the "Hello Puppets 2: Midnight Show" demo, where he stalks the player. As Scout stated, Nick is much like the other puppets, being egotistical, selfish and deadly. For example, in the demo, Nick demands Owen Gubberson, the show's creator, find him an audience to witness his performances and will stalk and attack Owen as he goes about the task.

However, amongst all the puppets, Nick himself, keeping with the "tortured artist" archetype, appears to be the most emotionally unstable as opposed to being simply evil like Mortimer or Riley. In cutscenes when he attacks Owen, Nick will experience mood swings, such as yelling at Owen for dying before he got to sing or putting makeup/paint on Owen and claiming him to be "good as new" before Nick breaks down yelling and sobbing and chastising himself, asking "What did I do?!" This implies Nick is either insecure about his art, did not want Owen dead for whatever reason, or some combination of the two.

In a third cutscene, after Nick attacks Owen, Nick believes he "broke" Owen before asking Riley what she did off-screen. This further implies some kind of rivalry between Riley and Nick, as Nick was willing to blame Owen's death on Riley, while also implying that either Nick or one of the other puppets (Possibly Mortimer) didn't want Owen dead at the time and/or do not want to be blamed for his death.

Relationships
Due to not being present in-game and not interacting much with other characters in the prequel demo, Nick Nack's relationships are very scarcely show.

Scout seems to hate/fear Nick, outright calling him cold-blooded when she and the Host enter his room in the Soundstage. It is unknown how Nick feels about Scout, however, the hatred could be mutual on his end.

In-show, Nick most likely had a good relationship with Mortimer Handee. However, their relationship is never touched on outside of that. It could be assumed that, like Riley, Nick respects/fears Mortimer and doesn't want to get on his bad side.

It is stated that Nick and Riley Ruckus were at constant odds with one another in the show, most likely due to the differences in their professions and ideals. It is possible that he and Riley are still rivals outside the show. However, given that Nick is never seen in the game proper (Not even in his own room) and Riley is described as being a sadistic scientist who likes to experiment on her own kind, this could imply that Riley had something to do with Nick's absence.

In Midnight Show, he appears to both hate and have a crush Riley as he claims that if she "tries me once more, there'll be nothing left of her but gore" while searching for Owen. But in a love poem he performs, he speaks of longing to see her face and even calling her "beloved." However, he cuts himself off before he finishes saying her name and claims to have said "lady" instead of "Riley." Also, in a poster for an episode of Mortimer's Handeemen called, "The Handeemen's Haunted Hayride" Riley and Nick appear to be having a warm conversation.

It is unknown what type of relationship Nick has with Daisy Danger, as she also is not present within the game. However, in the music video “Show Everyone” done in collaboration with Otherworld, Daisy makes it a point to mention that Riley forces Nick to help her with her experiments, while Nick prefers to hang up his art (possibly hosts) “in defiance” in a harsh tone. This implies Daisy views Nick as a defiant trouble-maker and further implies that he does not get along with Daisy.

It is also unknown how Nick feels about Riley's dog, Rosco, although due to his relationship with Riley and Rosco’s violent behavior, it is likely he does not like him.

In the demo for Hello Puppets 2, Nick is shown to follow the player, Owen Gubberson, the show's creator. Nick refers to Owen as "father," and seems to have moments of both wanting to kill Owen as well as feeling guilt or sadness over Owen's death, such as getting upset that Owen died before Nick could sing even though Nick is the one who attacked/killed him, and trying to blame Owen's death on Riley. This heavily implies that Nick has some respect for Owen, but is too mentally and/or emotionally unstable to control himself.

Gameplay
Nick makes no physical appearance in the original "Hello Puppets". The player and Scout explore his room at one point, but Nick Nack himself makes no physical appearance.

Nick Nack makes his first real debut in "Midnight Show," and is the only puppet present within the demo. He has possessed the puppeteer, Jacobs, and is using him as his host.

During the demo, Nick Nack will demand the player, who plays as Owen, procure an "audience" for him, though the exact appearance of said audience will vary during each playthrough. While the player is carrying out this task, Nick Nack will roam the map searching for them. Once Nick Nack has the player in his sights, he will yell and begin to sprint at them in an attempt to grab and kill them.

Should Nick Nack come into contact with the player, he will kill them. Nick Nack can be avoided either by outrunning him to make him lose sight of the player, or by hiding in a locker. In Nick Nack is near the player's hiding spot, he will attempt to search it, which will trigger a mini game the player must complete in order to keep themselves hidden. If they fail, Nick Nack will pounce on them. If they succeed, Nick Nack will assume they are in a different room and leave.

Occasionally, Nick Nack will hide behind the posters of the puppet cast (He will most often hide behind posters of himself) littered around the map. Most of these posters possess hollowed-out eyes, which Nick Nack will take advantage of to look through. The player is able to tell which posters Nick Nack is behind based on which ones have eyes and which do not. Should the player walk in front of a poster Nick Nack is using to hide behind he will attack.

Nick Nack will sometimes host a performance in a random room. When this happens, the player will have one minute to arrive. If they fail to do so, an alarm accompanied by flashing lights will occur and Nick Nack will come running. If they player does make it to the show, Nick Nack will either dance, share a poem, or tell a joke. Afterwards, the player must give the proper response to please Nick Nack. If he is pleased, he will give them a head-start to escape the room. On rare occasions, Nick Nack will stop and give the player ten seconds to get away. If they fail, Nick Nack will try to attack them.

Nick Nack's Performances

Performance of Dance

One two three, one two three, two two three, AND STICK THE LANDING! Thank you! Thank you! (Demo version and Beta Version)

Performance of Comedy

Is this on? What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back four seconds! Thank you! Thank you! You're a wonderful audience! Tip your waitress. (Demo)

What does a drummer name his twin daughters? Anna one! Anna two! Thank you! Thank you very much! I write my own material! (Beta version)

Why don't they play poker in the jungle? Too many cheetahs! Thank you! Thank you! See, "cheetahs" sounds like, "cheaters." It's a pun. (Beta version)

Why did the coffee file a police report? He got mugged! Thank you! Thank you! Something for you coffee drinkers out there! I'm more of a tea man myself. (Beta version)

Ooh! This is a good one! Ahem! What does one ocean say to the other? Nothing! They just wave! Aha! Thank you! Thank you dearly! (Beta version)

A local man was killed by a falling piano. His funeral will be a “low key affair.” Aha ha ha ha ha! Thank you! Thank you! Keys! Keys are on a piano! Very clever stuff! (Beta version)

Performance of Poetry

Bang! Bang! The sound of a gun? Or the sound of my soul, draining out through the hole. Down...down...America. Thank you, thank you. (Demo version)

Window sill, dead, mother, a grief unresolved, a heart, cleft. Thank you! Thank you! Tissues are available if you need them. (Beta version)

Shhh! That's the sound, of how handsome I am. Thank you. Thank you. (Beta Version)

Can anyone understand, the heart of a puppet man? Who yearns to look and see, the face of his beloved Ril...LADY! I said lady! Uh, Thank you, thank you. (Beta Version)

Ahem. Blow. Blow you winds of yon storm! Blow me away from all harm! Eh, does "harm" rhyme with "storm?" It doesn't does it? Curses! Poem over! Thank you! Thank you! (Beta version)

How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him...a puppet? Thank you. Thank you. Tweet the ending there. (Beta version)

Shakespeare Monologue

"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio.  A fellow of infinite jest,"  Uh, that's all I remember. Don't look at me like that! What? Do you have Hamlet off book?...Thank you. Thank you. (Beta version)

Once the player has found enough wall puppets for Nick Nack's "audience," they must arrange them in an order where each one in each row is unique. If they play succeeds, they are able to leave the area no problem and that's the end of the demo. If they take too long, they are leaving themselves out in the open, thus allowing Nick Nack the opportunity to find them.

Trivia

 * Nick Nack is a play on the words, "knick-knack."
 * Despite being a member of the cast of the TV show, Nick does not make a physical appearance in-game or in-story, only being mentioned once by Scout and seen within a few show posters.
 * However, Nick's character model can be seen in between the boards of the Soundstage when the player looks through the boards using Scout.
 * In Midnight Show, Nick Nack will sometimes hum, "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" while searching for Owen.
 * After referencing, "Blowin' in the Wind" in Midnight Show, Nick tells the audience to "tweet the ending." This is an anachronism as Midnight Show is supposed to take place in the 1980s, but Twitter did not exist until 2006.
 * Nick, along with Daisy, was not added in the final game due to time constraints and restrictions placed upon the Otherworld team by their oculus contract deal. The game originally would have been much longer but due to these limitations they had to cut it short.
 * When passing Nick Nack's room for the first time, if you look in the boarded up door, you can see Nick Nack's sillouette. When you enter Nick Nack's room, it is swapped out for a mannequin shadow.
 * Nick is the main antagonist of the Hello Puppets 2: Midnight Show Demo, where he stalks the creator, Owen Gubberson.
 * Nick Nack will hide in eyeless portraits within the studio and will attack the player when there near them, the player will easily avoid them if they see a portrait with moving eyes and hear Nick laughing.
 * In Hello Puppets 2: Midnight Show, you can actually see Nick's puppeteer running towards you.
 * Coincidentally, Nick Nack shares the same name as a character from another puppet-based show from the late 80s, Nick Knack (or Mr. Knack) from Nick Jr.’s “Eureeka’s Castle.” Perhaps this is where the inspiration for Nick Nack's name came from.
 * Nick Nack is voiced by video game voice actor, Rama Rodriguez. You can see his other credentials here:
 * Home | Rama Rodriguez
 * https://youtu.be/axlO5bL-oME