Robert Hill, also known as Bob, is a secondary character in Rusty Lake who appears as the protagonist of The White Door after brief appearances in the Cube Escape series. He is the ex-boyfriend of Laura Vanderboom.
Cube Escape: Case 23[]
He is seen outside of the window in Dale Vandermeer's office in 1972, being a prime suspect of Laura's murder. Hunched over and in handcuffs, he is under the watch of a Policeman. If the player inputs the code 171 into the television to the right of the window, the screen will show Bob's mugshot. After inputting the code 247 into the TV, he appears on the screen, corrupted.
When Dale returns to the window, Bob will be missing from the handcuffs, with the Policeman hanging from the neck. Bob's Soul will then rush at the window, causing it to shatter. After this he will fade away, leaving a black cube.
Cube Escape: Theatre[]
He sits on the lone stool at the bar in 1971. He has no interest in chatting with Dale, only taking the drinks that he is served. In his jacket pocket, he keeps a postcard from Laura. This letter reveals that they had some sort of past relationship that did not work out, and that perhaps they will meet in another life.
During the fifth play, "Remember the Seasons", Laura appears with five empty picture frames. Dale must serve him a Bloody Mary, causing him to shoot himself in the head with his pistol. This allows Dale to enter his mind and collect four white cubes and one black cube to place on the frames. The black cube shows Laura's face when placed on the frame. When her face is touched, her throat is slit and she collapses, dead.
Once the play is finished, Bob disappears to the bathroom. If Dale attempts to interact with him there, he turns corrupted and locks the door. Back at the empty bar, the player can check the coasters left on the counter. On the middle coaster Bob has written, "I feel dead inside, why did you take my memory?". Once Dale finishes the final play and enters the elevator, Bob's Soul comes out towards him. He watches silently as the elevator continues upwards.
The White Door[]
In 1972, Bob wakes up in a mental health facility known as The White Door, supposedly suffering memory loss from an accident. He stays in his secluded room for a week, following a strict regime of activities and having regular, but infrequent, checkups by his nurse Sarah.
For the first three days he follows the schedule as written; eating prepared meals, maintaining hygiene, performing exercises designed to improve his mental state and finally returning to bed. However, on the third night, he awakens mid-dream to find the doctors have him hooked up to various equipment to extract his memories. The next day he attempts to escape by sabotaging parts of the room, gaining access to the facility's computer network, and viewing his own memories on the television. This rebellion results in him being tranquilized and given a one-day seclusion in a protected room. During seclusion he faces his Corrupted Soul and switches places with it, but he is allowed back into his original room for the final two days. On the seventh day after almost regaining all of his memories, he switches places with the Corrupted Soul once more.
Each night he remembers certain memories in his dreams. In the first dream he goes to the Owl Nest café to meet his girlfriend Laura, who breaks up with him and tells him that she is going away for a while. In the second dream, he arrives late to his job at Johnsson Bird Food and accidentally triggers an emergency shutdown, resulting in his boss firing him. In the third dream, Bob learns of Laura's death and meets Sarah, who gives him a plant and a card to The White Door in case he ever needed any help. In the fourth dream, he drowns his sorrows at the bar in the Rusty Lake Theatre. After showing the barman the photo of Laura, he suggests a solution and gives him a pistol. Although he hesitates at first, hearing the Lady in Blue's song spurs him to pull the trigger. In the fifth dream, he journeys to The Lost Soul nightclub, having lost his memory after shooting himself in the head. He meets deer-headed Dale, who prompts him to put his finger into the hole in his head from the bullet wound which causes him to gain his memories back. He realizes he lost it all, causing his soul to become corrupted. In the sixth dream, he wakes up in the street and calls the White Door to admit himself as a patient. After meeting the Manager, Sarah lets him into his room to bring colour back to his life. In the seventh dream, he walks through a park and meets Laura for the first time, while she sketches a bird in a nearby tree.
On the seventh day, while Bob is stuck as a Corrupted Soul, Sarah re-enters his room. Against the instructions of the Manager, she accesses Bob's memories through the television and removes all traces of Laura from his mind, and puts his Corrupted Soul back to sleep. However, instead of Bob dreaming about his first meeting with Laura, she is no longer there and he instead goes through a white door. Opening the door, Sarah is standing with Bob in his room, who is no longer corrupted.
Trivia[]
- He is voiced by Bob Rafferty.
- He shares his name with Robert "Bobby" Briggs, the boyfriend of the original victim in Twin Peaks and also the primary suspect of her death.
- When he is served drinks in Cube Escape: Theatre, he performs these actions:
- Screwdriver Cocktail - He produces an actual screwdriver from his mouth.
- Harvey Wallbanger - He bashes his head against the bar.
- Bloody Mary - He shoots himself in the head.
- If given a Gin Tonic, Bob will leave two more messages on the coasters. On the left coaster, "Thanks for the gin tonic!" is written, and on the right, "Play B-A-D-E-G-G on the piano".
- He'll say various things when the player tries to talk to him, depending on how many drinks he has been served:
- Before being given anything, he'll say, "Leave me alone, I just want a drink."
- After being given a Screwdriver Cocktail, he'll say, "What do you want, detective?"
- After being given a Harvey Wallbanger, he'll say, "I don't remember what happened."
- After being given a Bloody Mary, he'll say, "It's all my fault."
- If the player serves him a drink that he was given before, he'll say, "I already had this cocktail".
- In Cube Escape: Paradox, it is revealed he was born in the Summer of 1931. This is confirmed as July 6, 1931 in The White Door.
- He is the author of the book "False Accusations", which he is shown to have written in 1972 after finishing his treatment in The White Door.
- In The White Door, Bob's status changes day by day. He goes from confused to sleepy, insecure, rebellious, corrupted, dreaming, and finally "?".
Gallery[]
See also: Robert Hill/Gallery