| “ | I'm not a terribly religious man, but if there is an afterlife, I know what's waiting for me when my time is up. I accept it and I deserve it. Just give me one last chance to right my biggest wrong before I go. I'm not sure that's even possible, but I'd pay any price to find out. | ” |
– Doug Houser | ||
Doug Houser is the main protagonist of Dark Deception and a playable mortal in Monsters & Mortals.
He is a former criminal defense attorney who, through unknown circumstances, enters a purgatory-like realm known as the Dark Dimension. He is greeted by an elegantly dressed woman named Bierce, who offers him a second chance at life if he assists her in obtaining pieces of a powerful ring known as the Riddle of Heaven. Accepting the task, Doug is dispatched into a series of labyrinthine nightmare realms, evading numerous monstrous entities as Bierce observes from the safety of her ballroom. As Doug continues to work for Bierce, he becomes entangled with the demon lord Malak, the owner of the ring and an age-old adversary of Bierce. He warns Doug not to trust Bierce, threatening to make him suffer if he assists her further. Doug nonetheless pushes on, determined to rectify his past deeds.
As the story progresses, details about Doug’s identity, motivations, and past life surface through secret notes and flashbacks.
Appearance[]
Doug is a Caucasian male with blue eyes, dark hair, fair skin, and a sturdy build. He sports a slate-colored shirt, a neat, dark grey suit, dark grey pants, black dress shoes, and a red tie, befitting his past profession as a lawyer. In his vision of the hospital in Chapter 4, he is shown to be malnourished and bald, indicating that he was subject to chemotherapy, which commonly results in baldness, further confirming that he has cancer.
History[]
Doug was born on February 11, 1955, as an only child. His father’s frequent neglect and absence left him in the custody of his mother, who was unable to attend his fifth birthday party due to her work. Years of exhaustion, regret, and envy toward her husband gradually transformed his mother from a loving guardian to an abusive monster. By his eighth birthday, he was severely and routinely abused, at one point being locked in the closet for merely breaking a glass. His mother would gleefully recount his torment in her journals, believing he deserved to suffer as much as she did. After leaving the household, Doug severed all ties with his mother.
By 1979, Doug moved to New York City, where he married a woman named Elise and had a daughter named Tammy. By 1981, Doug worked at a prestigious law firm in Manhattan, eventually becoming a partner. Much like his parents, Doug had a strained relationship with his wife and daughter, viewing them as burdens to his life and career due to their mental issues and emotional needs. Doug would grow further detached from his family as the years went by, prioritizing his career, personal pleasures, and affairs with his secretaries.
Doug’s resentment toward his family would eventually reach a breaking point when, on one fateful night, Doug created a scheme to replace Elise’s medication with sleeping pills, almost certainly to kill her. He would then use his money to start over with his mistress, anticipating that Tammy would side with him and be less burdensome. Doug’s plan takes an unforeseen and tragic turn as it is revealed that Tammy was in a vehicle with Elise when she succumbed to the sleeping pills, resulting in a catastrophic car accident on the McKees Rock Bridge in Pittsburgh. The crash not only resulted in the deaths of two other individuals but also sent Elise and Tammy plunging into the river below.
Haunted by guilt over the crash that killed both his wife and daughter, Doug spent the remainder of his life tormented by their hallucinations. Attempting to numb the guilt, Doug participated in various activities, including group meetings, therapy sessions, charitable endeavors, community work, and even religious gatherings, yet none helped. Doug's life continued to spiral after he was arrested for numerous sexual abuse charges involving five separate women, becoming a disgraced figure in the legal community. He was subsequently released on $100,000 cash bail.
At some point, Doug was diagnosed with terminal cancer and admitted to the hospital. Faced with his own mortality, Doug resigned himself to whatever afterlife lay before him and pleaded for another opportunity to amend his mistakes. Drawing from a design he purportedly found on the internet, Doug sketched Malak's insignia beneath his head on the hospital bed. His consciousness would eventually awaken in an ethereal realm known as the Dark Dimension.
Personality[]
Up until this point, Doug has survived eight nightmares and exhibited a number of qualities throughout them, his experience within these ordeals may also shed a bit of light on his personality.
Doug seems to be calm and collected at most times, as seen in his performance in surviving in the nightmares, where he managed to collect all the soul shards while evading dreadful and hostile monsters which were almost in constant pursuit. With this, one could assume Doug can keep his cool under pressure.
Moreover, Doug's intelligence can also be observed throughout their trials, since he is able to identify each monster's characteristic and devise counter-tactics for them in amidst of danger, for example:
- Listening for Murder Monkeys' footsteps to determine their proximity and avoid being cut off by their potential routes,
- Using Agatha's superb hearing against her by luring her to a shard-deprived area before moving to a new area,
- Using Teleportation to get past the Gold Watchers surrounding and blocking the path.
- Using Telepathy to know when the Dread Duckies are blending in the environment.
- Waiting for a large group of Clown Gremlins and using Primal Fear against them.
- Stunning and using the Reaper Nurses to defeat the Matron.
- Identifying and nullifying each Joy Joy Gang member's abilities.
- Using his abilities to destroy the Trigger Teddies and avoid Mama Bear.
In addition to that, Doug is also perfectly aware of the abilities he has acquired from the Riddle of Heaven and is able to use them competently and timely in different sections of the mazes, to an extent in which he uses two abilities simultaneously to produce an even more remarkable effect, giving him a significant edge over the monsters, which usually outnumber Doug. Doug is also keen on using the special shards, which are placed at random spots in the mazes, to grant themselves a temporal advantage over their pursuers. With the power to stun and reveal enemies, Doug can traverse the more complex areas of the maze with relative ease.
Despite not being able to fight against the monsters head-on and mostly rely on his wits to outsmart and outmaneuver them, there are times when he actually fought them off. In the boss battle of the "Crazy Carnevil", he takes on hordes of Clown Gremlins and the four Goliath Clowns with a hammer. Later on, in the boss battle of the "Torment Therapy", he stuns the Reaper Nurses using Primal Fear or collecting a Stun Orb, before knocking them away from the ambulance with their giant medical syringes to defeat the Matron.
Outside of the nightmares, Doug is seen to be quite reserved, for he never participated in any of Bierce's and Malak's quarrels, nor does he give a response when teased by Bierce or berated by Malak. The only occasion where he gives his opinion happens after the completion of "Elementary Evil", "Mascot Mayhem" , "Bearly Buried", and at the start of the game, where he expresses himself through a typewriter and one of the notes that can be found in the secret rooms.
Powers[]
- Main article: Powers
Doug can obtain powers from Bierce after he has successfully completed "Monkey Business", powers can grant different advantages over the various monsters in Dark Deception.
Typewriter Entries[]
As Doug is somewhat reserved, he is only seen expressing his emotions and thoughts in a typewriter, the entries are produced occasionally when he has completed a nightmare.
At the Beginning of Dark Deception[]
"It is done. Now my faith lies in darkness."
After the events of Elementary Evil[]
"She was almost the same age. Memories betray me here. I need to keep going. I just need to survive a bit longer."
During Doug's past cutscene in Mascot Mayhem[]
"I'm still alive?"
"Where am I?"
"Horrors? He can't mean...
"No... It can't be..."
"Tammy... I'm sorry I could never love you unconditionally."
"I'm sorry those were the last words you heard me speak."
"That's not who I am anymore."
"He's reading my memories. I have to escape before he finds out too much."
"No! He found me already!?"
"Stop it! Get out-"
"LET ME GO!!!"
"Not that place! Please! Not that place! Please! Not that place! Please! Not-"
"No! Don't bring me here!"
Tammy! I didn't want this!"
"I didn't know she would drive! You were never su-"
During many events in Bearly Buried[]
When Malak asked him about the location[]
"W-What is this place ?"
Being held by Trigger Teddies[]
"No! Let go of me!"
Approaching the portal[]
"Bierce! Open the portal!"
"BIERCE!!!"
Notes[]
 The pills aren't helping her at all. Her behavior keeps getting more extreme and irrational. It's a never-ending nightmare. I can hope for the best, but I know that she'll probably never be normal. She's going to be a mental mess just like her mother. It feels like my world is going dark. A man can only take so much. I really don't care what people think of me. Those two don't know how to be happy and they're sucking the joy out of my life. Whatever her mother and I had is dead. I need to break free while I still can. I've got plenty of money and a great career. I can start over. I can do it right this time. I still need to do something about them though. No way I'm letting her take me for half. She'll use that defective kid to bleed money out of me forever. I want to be free of them and I want to forget they exist as soon as possible. Thankfully, she's not very bright. There might be a way. |
 I see them more often now. More clearly and more often than before. They dominate my dreams now in a way that never happened previously. Sometimes, when I am out doing my walk, I feel them watching me and I almost convince myself that I see them, their faces, hidden in the crowd of people. For a moment, I find myself wishing so much for it to be true. I doubt they'd be as happy to see me though. I spent another Friday night with the group. It went about as well as it usually does. They are good people, all of them, but I don't think they will ever be able to help me. Faith and the power of the holy spirit have a profound impact on some, but for me they are just words that ring hollow. I've taken pills to forget. I've prayed to forget. I've gone to group meetings and therapy. I've done countless amounts of charity & community work, but it never feels like enough. I still feel so.....empty. Maybe I'm just wasting my time or maybe I'm slowly going mad? I just wish there was a way to see them one more time. I'm not a terribly religious man, but if there is an afterlife, I know what's waiting for me when my time is up. I accept it and I deserve it. Just give me one last chance to right my biggest wrong before I go. I'm not sure that's even possible, but I'd pay any price to find out. |
 She had another violent episode last night. We were arguing about Tammy's behavior problems at school again. I was in the middle of prepping defense for the trial of my life with a key client. I really had no time for another round of parenting ideas from her, but she just wouldn't let it go. She knows how to press all of my buttons and I'm pretty sure that she enjoys doing it. I lost it. I pushed her out of my office and I gave her a piece of mind. She just stood there for a minute and then that was the moment I saw it again - the rage in her eyes. She left the room and came back with a pair of scissors. That crazy bitch tried to stab me! I was able to wrestle the scissors from her and then packed up my work and left. She was screaming out the door at me - telling me to run off to my secretaries and not come back or something like that. I could care less. Just more proof that all that therapy & medication isn't helping her. I don't think they have a pill strong enough for her level of psycho. |
 I keep finding her empty prescription bottles hidden around the bedroom. She tells me it's her normal prescription fill. but I know she's lying. Somehow she's getting more medication than she should have. Now I'm finding new meds with names so long. I don't even know what they are. No surprise I suppose. She thinks she can solve all of her problems with therapy & pills. It's pathetic. She was sheltered her entire life by her family and never learned how to deal with her issues. Now she's got me paying for everything and when things get too hard, she just runs to her parents in Pittsburgh. Not that I mind that or anything. It's the perfect time to go out and meet up with some friends. It just kills me - of all the women in the world, why did I pick her? Just a sucker for a pretty face I guess. Now she's got me in her hooks. Financially speaking, it's cheaper to keep her. If it's not money, why does she stay? It just annoys me that she's so dependent on those pills. She's going to embarrass me publicly with her addiction at some point, which could hurt my partner status at the firm. She mindlessly shoves those pills into her mouth like candy. Honestly, I think you could put anything in those capsules and she wouldn't even notice. She'd still take them. |
Monsters & Mortals[]
 "Are you not aware that she offers only lies?" This article contains information on a subject that isn't considered canon in Dark Deception franchise.
|
Doug Houser appears as a playable mortal in Monsters & Mortals.
As a Mortal of the Balanced class Doug Houser is average and performs equally in soul shard collecting, movement speed, attacking, and has an average amount of HP. Making him a great character to play as to learn the game's "ropes". He attacks with the tablet he received from Bierce.
His Ultimate Ability, "Escape Plan", allows Doug to teleport to a random spot on the current map, allowing him to be more slippery against Enemies. Because of this, Doug specializes mostly on collecting the most soul shards without getting into the most amount of conflict. However, it has another use if the exit is opened in Maze Escape. If used when it's opened Doug will instantly escape without ever going near the portal which can be used as a distraction while his teammates escape. It is best to use this for emergencies when the player cannot run away, fight back, or needs to escape.
| Team | Mortals |
| Class | Balanced |
| Weapon | Tablet |
| Health | 180 |
| Speed | Average |
| Light Attack Damage | 15 |
| Heavy Attack Damage | 30 |
| Ultimate Ability |  Escape Plan
|
| UA Description | Doug opens a portal and jumps away to a random part of the map as a quick escape. |
| UA Duration | Instantaneous |
Skins[]
| Image | Name | Rarity | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Rotten One |  Common
|
In the Rotten One skin, Doug's outfit is replaced by a black buttoned shirt, and a red and purple striped vest and pants. Referenced from the character Robbie Rotten. |
 |
Groom | Common
|
In the Groom skin, Doug's entire outfit is now white, and he also wears white gloves. |
 |
Batty | Common
|
Halloween Collection
In the Batty skin, Doug now has a green tie, green dyed hair, and his outfit is purple with black bats on it. This outfit somewhat resembles The Joker from Batman (which could be a reference to Christopher Corey Smith's roles in the Lego Batman franchise). |
 |
Golden Chocolate | Common
|
Sweet Collection
In the Golden Chocolate skin, Doug is now entirely made out of chocolate, with all of his clothing and hair being various shades of brown. |
Trivia[]
- Doug's name is first mentioned in a newspaper in a secret room in Crazy Carnevil. This was later confirmed by Vince Livings to be the protagonist's name.
- In the ballroom cutscene between Mascot Mayhem and Bearly Buried, Doug can be physically seen laying on the ground. This is the only time (outside of flashbacks) his character model is visible during gameplay.
- In the pre-Alpha demo, Doug was originally a police officer, as indicated by the police badge on his belt and his extra lives appearing as badges. In the final game, he is a former criminal defense attorney.
- Doug's pre-Alpha character model was later repurposed for Detective Evans in Monsters and Mortals.
- In the 18th Q&A with Vince, Vince states that Doug has very deep pockets, which he jokingly explains is how Doug can hold so many soul shards.
- In Monsters & Mortals, Doug holds the tablet in his right hand. In his reveal teaser, however, he holds the Tablet with his left hand.
- His plushie counterpart is among the first that failed to reach the goal fund in the Makeship campaign.
- In the Tokyo Gameshow QNA with Vince, Vince stated that Doug will have a final form. However, the TGS QNA was deleted for unexplained reasons.
- In Dark Dimension, Doug appears much younger than he is, the same appearance from the time of his wife's and daughter's death. That would mean Doug is 37.
Voicelines[]
Doug Houser is voiced by Christopher Corey Smith in Dark Deception and Anthony Ingruber in Monsters & Mortals.
Dark Deception[]
| Voiceline | Used | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| ""I am getting sick of her public meltdowns. Why am I always being called out of work to deal with her, huh? From now on, you deal with her!" | Arguing with Elise about their daughter. | |
| "We both know she got it from you. You're the bipolar mess and you passed it on to our kid. Are you happy? If I'd have known how messed up you were I would have never married you. Jokes on me I guess!" | ||
| "What is wrong with the two of you? Why can't you just be NORMAL?!" | ||
| "All I know is, you two are sucking the joy out of my life. I'm sick of it! I don't need this garbage every single day. Yeah, I know. You don't wanna hear it, you just wanna hear that nothing is wrong with you and it's all my fault, right?!" | ||
| "Look, I said I'd take care of it. She's an idiot. I will get her out of the picture one way or the other. Just trust me and be patient, okay? Don't do anything stupid." | Talking to his mistress about his daughter. | |
| "Tammy is not the problem. Yeah, she's a messed-up kid, but she won't get in the way. She's at that age where she doesn't like her mother all that much either. She'll side with me." | ||
| "Oh yeah? Well, how's that new car treating ya? Just like I promised, right? So, I'll meet you at 8 tonight. Elise thinks I'm going out of town for a conference for three days." |
Monsters & Mortals[]
| Voiceline | Used | Audio File |
|---|---|---|
| *Grunts* | When taking damage. |
|
| *Exhausting noise* | When stunned. | |
| *Death Screams* | When killed. |
|
| *Growls* | When using a light attack. |
|
| *Growls* | When using a heavy attack. |
|
| "I'm out of here!" | While using ultimate ability. | |
| "Catch me if you can!" |
Gallery[]
In-game[]
Dark Deception[]
Monsters & Mortals[]
Super Dark Deception[]
Models[]
(All of them are now used for Detective Evans's skins).
.png "Player Arms (Alpha).png (3.66 MB)")
(Along with the Tablet).
.png "Doug (Memory).png (3.93 MB)")
.png "Doug (Hospital).png (6.52 MB)")
.png "Doug (Hospital Portrait).png (8.85 MB)")
Miscellaneous[]
