| “ | And no worm ridden son of a bitch is going to stop us.
— Howard Robert Hoffman |
„ |
Howard Robert Hoffman is one of the twelve playable Cleaners in Back 4 Blood. He is a well-organized and conscientious doomsday prepper who seeks to prove his worth and be accepted as a member of the team.
Official description[]
A meticulous individual, enthusiastic prepper, and conspiracy theorist. When the infection hit, he and his mother hunkered down and rode out the storm as the rest of the world fell into chaos. After his mother passed away in her sleep and his supplies ran out, he left his boarded-up house to face the world of the Devil Worm. Howard Robert Hoffman is genuinely skilled and good hearted, with an earnest desire to be a useful part of the team. As part of the Cleaners, he's finally come across the family that he's always wanted—he just had to wade through the zombie apocalypse to find it.[2]
Traits[]
The following traits are being granted to Hoffman with his Cleaners card:
ALWAYS PREPARED
Hoffman has a chance to find ammo or Offensive Accessoiries when killing Ridden.
CARGO POCKETS 
+ 15% Max Team Ammo Capacity
READY TO ROCK
+ 1 Offensive Inventory
NEVER WITHOUT
Start with an Ammo Pouch
Appearance[]
Howard Robert Hoffman showcases his preparedness as a dedicated prepper through his outfit's distinctive details.
Hoffman's hairstyle is characterized by grayish hair parted down the middle. He wears black, thick-rimmed, rectangular glasses with a distinctive white band around the bridge, giving them a nerdy appearance. Notably, the left lens of his glasses is cracked.
Proceeding to his upper body, Hoffman dons a red shirt with yellow buttons, neatly rolled up. A khaki-colored cargo vest, adorned with the US flag on the right breast pocket, completes his attire. Carrying a green camouflage backpack with a bowie knife attached to the side, he sports a black "Prepped" patch displaying pictograms of a knife, a flashlight, and a drinks bottle sewn onto the back. A gas mask with a filter dangles from one of the MOLLE system loops.
On the right shoulder strap of the backpack, a "GOBI" brand walkie-talkie is secured—an Easter egg referencing the deceased pet of Turtle Rock Studios' co-founder/creative director, Phil Robb. The walkie-talkie's display shows frequencies 417.28061 and 221.56894. An LED flashlight is pragmatically attached to the left shoulder strap.
Around his waist, Hoffman wears two multifunctional belt straps, hosting several ammunition pouches. Additionally, a large black thermos flask, bearing the company logo, is attached—a nod to a Christmas gift for the development studio's employees.
Transitioning to his lower body, he opts for green cargo pants featuring a pistol holster on the right side. Completing his ensemble, Hoffman wears black knee pads and sturdy brown boots.
Developer comments[]
In the video "Back 4 Blood - Breakdown of All 8 Playable Characters (Meet the Cleaners)"[3] by media news outlet IGN lead writer Simon Mackenzie and co-founder and creative director Phil Robb at Turtle Rock Studios did a breakdown of all eight playable Cleaners in Back 4 Blood.
The following quotes are shortened versions of the comments they've made about Hoffman's character:
| “ | I kinda love Hoffman. The more I drilled into him the more kind of like sort of like neuroses I gave him.
He kind of started off: He is prepared. He has been kind of almost waiting for the apocalypse his whole life. The only thing he want is he wants his parents to be proud of him. So he kind of has these kind of like as a middle-aged man goes back to kind of this wanting acceptance by everybody. Hoffman is one of my favorites and he's voiced by the incredible William Salyers as well. And just...yeah I mean...what is not to love about Hoffman, really? — Simon Mackenzie, Lead Writer at Turtle Rock Studios |
„ |
| “ | As far as like him being a prepper his special ability is he can carry more stuff.
He's the guy that you can sort of build almost like a mule type of character. He has extra utility slots and things like that. — Phil Robb, Co-Founder/Creative Director at Turtle Rock Studios |
„ |
| “ | My partner's father is actually a prepper in Ohio so I kind of knew a lot of the stories and stuff like that.
I actually didn't base Hoffman on that, I based Hoffman's dad [on that] and what the type of that kind of upbringing does to him. So it's like "Hey, you know how to strip and clean the gun." and stuff like that and just wanting kind of like that kind of acceptance and Hoffman was never the type of guy that his dad wanted him to be. You know so he ended up being like an accountant and stuff but it's always comes from real people. And it's more of a gestalt entity rather than one person so like take a little bit of this, a little bit of that and kind of blend them together. And then you kind of have this unique individual that comes out. — Simon Mackenzie, Lead Writer at Turtle Rock Studios |
„ |
In the recent "Turtle Rock Studios Back 4 Blood Art Blast"[4] on artstation.com character concept artist Gue Yang shared information about the design of Hoffman's appeareance.
| “ | Hoffman was fun and another simple concept past for his archetype :)
— Gue Yang, Character Concept Artist |
„ |
Journal entry[]
Hoffman's journal entry has been shared on the Back 4 Blood 𝕏 account on July 30th, 2021.[5]
| “ | Nobody laughs at H.R. Hoffman anymore. True it took most of humanity being wiped out to prove my point, but who's laughing now? Very few people, if truth be told, but it doesn't make me any less right.
Just a shame my mother never lived to seethe day her boy would be standing proud, fighting for humanity. God rest her soul, honestly I'm glad she never saw the world like this. She always saw the best in people. If I have one thing to live up to it's her integrity and faith in me...okay that's two, but my point remains and I'd like to believe that's what Phillips sees in me too. I'm a Cleaner now and damn proud of it. The others, well once they know what I know, they'll come around...the truth is out there my friends and I will get to the bottom of this. But in the meantime, I'll take down every Ridden that sticks its worm infested face in front of me. — Hoffman's journal |
„ |
Notes[]
Howard Robert Hoffman was the first Cleaner to be revealed by name.
On October 2nd, 2019, over a year before the game's official unveiling during The Game Awards 2020, Hoffman was unofficially announced as the first Cleaner in a livestream by Turtle Rock Studios. During the livestream, titled "TRS Legacy Chat"[6], Co-Founder and Creative Director Phil Robb and President and General Manager Steve Goldstein were interviewed by Community Manager Alissa Ginny Barry-Toth.
When asked what the team would think of crossovers, Phil asked for an example, and Alissa came up with a Cleaner skin idea, e.g. a Cleaner could wear a shirt with a Batman logo on it.
| “ | What if if it's as simple as like a skin as somebody who could wear a shirt with a Batman logo on it.
— Alissa Ginny Barry-Toth, Community Manager |
„ |
| “ | A survivor (Cleaner) wearing a shirt with a Batman logo. That's cool, right. Because lots of people wear Batman shirts, right. I mean I love Batman. But actually having Batman in the game...that's goofy. That's silly.
— Phil Robb, Co-Founder/Creative Director |
„ |
| “ | It works in some games.
— Steve Goldstein, President and General Manager |
„ |
| “ | If it's like Hoffman dressed up as Batman. That's cool.
— Phil Robb, Co-Founder/Creative Director |
„ |
| “ | Yeah. That would be really cool. By the way don't...
— Steve Goldstein, President and General Manager |
„ |
After Phil Robb had mentioned Howard Robert Hoffman by name, Steve Goldstein intervened by indirectly pointing out to Phil not to give details and he shifted the focus to an employee who now and then shows up for work wearing a Batman suit and has the title "The Batman" at the office.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- ↑ William Salyers on IMDb.
- ↑ Official description from the official Back 4 Blood website.
- ↑ "Back 4 Blood - Breakdown of All 8 Playable Characters (Meet the Cleaners)" by IGN article and YouTube video.
- ↑ "Turtle Rock Studios Back 4 Blood Art Blast" on artstation.[1]
- ↑ Howard Robert Hoffman's journal entry release (𝕏)
- ↑ "Howard Robert Hoffman reveal" during the TRS Legacy Chat livestream (Twitch)
| ||||||||||||||
