| Dunning Smith |
Sprite Gallery |
- "I tell ya, I got a headache the size'a Texas. Do me a favor and keep yer eyes open, will ya? Ya see anyone actin' all suspicious, ya lemme know. I wanna nip this thing in the bud before it gets outta hand."
- — Dunning to Kyle Hyde
Dunning Smith is a major character in Hotel Dusk: Room 215. He is the current owner of Hotel Dusk in 1979, keeping check of the well-being of guests and priding himself in what he does for his hotel.
Dunning is generally a grumpy person with an aged physique and personality, as well as a Southern accent to complement his talkative behavior. Despite this, he has a capacity to show a soft and creative side in small acts that seem insignificant. He acts as the primary antagonist of the game, as he surveys the place when one less desires it, and will kick Kyle Hyde out of the hotel if he finds any suspicious activity or trouble related to his new guest, resulting in a Game Over.
Personality[]
Dunning has a low tolerance for people's shenanigans, despising those whose profession seems to interfere with business, such as reporters, cops and crooks. He believes in the principle of treating guests with respect as long as they treat him with respect, too.
Although he may seem a bit grumpy, Dunning also has a creative, whimsical side as well. Besides having a liking to paintings, he is shown to do things like give the rooms names instead of merely numbers, and make an entire addition/subtraction game found around the hotel. He wishes to make Hotel Dusk a positive and fond place to be remembered, rather than a typical forgettable hotel with no sense of identity.
When he's not busy working his creative side or surveying the hotel, Dunning is a big ice hockey fan. He reads the sports magazine, has a hockey stick in his room, and is always crazy about watching the games on TV, which in turn makes him slack off from being present at the front desk.
Dunning is secretly the famous painter Marcel Osterzone, yet he does not take pride in that name, as the rising popularity of the fake painter made him feel more miserable.
Background[]
Dunning, holding Jenny, reuniting with Evans at an airport
Robert Evans and Dunning Smith were friends at college, but went their separate ways. Evans inherited his family's art gallery, Gallery May in Santa Monica, while Dunning wanted to become a professional painter. Both married and each had a daughter: Mila and Jenny, respectively. In 1960, they reunited in an airport, after both of their wives died in a tragic plane crash, known as the Las Vegas crash.
A year later, Evans came up with the idea of creating "Osterzone", a dead painter from the 19th century whose works would be highly valued. Evans deeply admired Dunning's skill at painting, and offered him to paint works to be credited as Osterzone's, to which he agreed. While Dunning painted, Evans displayed the works in his art gallery and created the mythos of Osterzone. The scam was successful; the paintings sold for fortunes, including one called "Angel Opening a Door", and Evans and Dunning became rich. However, as Dunning kept on painting, he slowly became depressed as the fame of being Osterzone began to be a huge burden on him and he was exhausted in the process.
Dunning, exhausted from the constant painting
Their activities attracted the attention of a crime syndicate, called "Nile," that Evans worked with. Evans bought Hotel Dusk in 1969 to use as a front for his illicit meetings and to provide a secret workshop for Dunning to paint, despite Dunning's wishes to get out of the scam. During one meeting with Nile, Dunning refused to continue painting, resulting in one of the Nile agents to kidnap Jenny. During the skirmish, Mila, who was playing with Jenny, was knocked into a coma. Evans threatened Dunning to continue to paint as Osterzone in order to be able to see Jenny again. Evans, now in trouble with Nile, was forced to sell his art gallery, and gave Hotel Dusk to Dunning before keeping himself secluded. Dunning lost hope of seeing Jenny again after three years, and quit painting, but Evans convinced him to wait at the hotel and Jenny would be returned in time. Dunning became the hotel's owner and renovated it to hide the evidence of Nile and Osterzone, while creating the mythos of Room 215 so as to attract customers.
Dunning knew that Kyle's ex-partner, Brian Bradley came to Hotel Dusk.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215[]
Dunning meets Kyle in the beginning of the game. He tries to sell the suite to Kyle, but is not successful. Dunning and Rosa Fox act as a frequent presence in order to ensure Kyle has a decent stay at the hotel, especially when matters get out of hand with events caused by Jeff Angel.
Kyle finds one of Dunning's most famous paintings; Angel Opening a Door.
Kyle disrespects Dunning by sneaking into his office during his investigation, and learns about a girl named Jenny, along with her birthday.
During one of the final chapters, Dunning hits both Kyle and Louis DeNonno with an object, making them go unconscious. They explore the basement where Kyle uncovers Angel Opening a Door. Upon being found, Dunning reluctantly reveals the whole truth to Kyle, Louie and Mila.
On New Years Eve, 1980, Jenny revisits Hotel Dusk, presumably being let go by Nile as she was of no use to them anymore. She reunited with Dunning with tears in her eyes.
Pursuit's answers[]
- Kyle: "What do you mean?"
- You killed him here!
- You talked to him here. (correct)
- Kyle: "I think I know who left it here..."
- It was Robert Evans.
- It was Bradley. (correct)
If the player gets any of these incorrect, it is game over:
- What did you and Evans discuss?
- It was Evans himself.
- It was Nile. (correct)
- What did Bradley say?
- You told him the truth.
- You lied. (correct)
- Is Evans going to contact you?
- He told you about her.
- He didn't say a thing. (correct)
Trivia[]
Hotel Dusk Room 215 23 -- Dead Stare
Dead Stare.
- Rosa mentions she is "pretty sure" Dunning's birthday is on October 8th.
- Dunning's theme can be considered to be Dead Stare because it plays during his confession.
- Hangover Blues can be considered his theme as well because it is used throughout the game when Kyle came across him in the hotel.
Gallery[]
| Characters in Kyle Hyde Saga |
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Major characters Major characters |