Luka VanHorn

* Sweater
* Pajama

“
EVERY TIME SOMETHING CHANGES, EVERYTHING GETS WORSE!
”

— Luka VanHorn

**Luka VanHorn** is the main protagonist and player character of Beacon Pines. 6 years after his father's death and 7 months after the disappearance of his mother, he begins a search for the whereabouts of the latter but instead happens upon various strange happenings in Beacon Pines.

## Profile

### Appearance

#### Development

As he was originally planned to be the protagonist of an RPG called "Luka" (which had a medieval fantasy setting), Luka was initially depicted as older and wielded a trident for combat. For clothing, he wore a thick gray coat with a bronze trim and brown inside, a brown belt possessing a large bronze button keeping it fastened around his waist. He also had a gray and white headpiece decorated with bronze at the front, blue-gray shorts and a backpack. Unlike the rest of his designs, this one lacks footwear.

A design similar to this can be found in the artbook, though it instead depicts the younger Luka used in Beacon Pines. This suggests that his previous incarnation's clothing was considered for the final game.

#### Final Designs

Luka is a young deer with white fur, small brown antlers and fluffy ears. He lacks a clear hairstyle, with tufts of fur at the top of his head and around his horns. He does, however, have eyebrows which are (like his eyelids) dark brown. His eyes are chestnut brown.

Normally, he wears a maroon Christmas sweater adorned with red and white patterns and an orange neckline, cuffs and hem, alongside black shorts, white socks and brown sandals.

At night he wears a green and white sweater with a print of a night sky behind pine trees, plaid green shorts, teal slippers and white socks.

In every Charm he’s depicted in (save for Lavish), he wears a plain red sweater with an orange neckline, cuffs and hem, brown shorts and white socks under brown sandals.

### Personality

Luka is a child who, despite having lost much growing up, is nevertheless trying to move on. He is social and talkative. He is smart and creative, especially for his age, and attentive to the strange events in Beacon Pines, many of which have gone unnoticed by the adults of the town. In critical moments, he always tries to think of a solution, avoiding freezing up, though he can be prone to fear and stress in scary situations.

He is adventurous, even when the place he wishes to explore could be dangerous. Luka tries to be good friends anyone who respects him, but he can lose his patience with anyone who breaks that respect. He is sensitive about his family, often getting sad or outright crying at the mention of his mom or dad, and being furious at those who speak ill of them.

### Background

Born in Beacon Pines, Luka lived a happy childhood until the age of 6. He had a best friend in the form of Rolo Cotter, often went fishing with his father, and his father’s bond with Joseph Nuncreed was strong enough for Luka to think of him as his uncle. He was also (and still is) a big fan of the Hank Atomic comic series, which is something he and Rolo bonded over (the latter even asking Luka to keep his copy of “The Adventures of Hank Atomic: The Complete First Volume” at his house). Despite this, there were some negative parts known, such as the “Flaming Chicken Coop” incident, where Luka took the blame for a fire that started in the Cotter family’s chicken coop so that Rolo wouldn’t get into trouble, and the death of his grandmother (Juniper Hartford) 8 years before the game’s events.

Shortly before his father’s death, Walter and Joseph had a falling out, causing his “uncle” to no longer visit the VanHorn household. Around this time, his father spent much more time at work than usual, getting home some nights after Luka went to sleep. Luka also assisted his mother at the Last Chance Diner within this timescale (including Mr. Nuncreed, who he questioned about his absence), cooking for everyone there without Eleanor’s knowing until they were all served.

The day he saw his father for the final time, Luka overheard his parents arguing whilst listening to things with one of his father’s old stethoscopes (something he spent many hours doing at the time). Walter told Eleanor about the sickness spreading across Beacon Pines, as well as his intentions to stop Sharper continuing this. Eleanor begged him not to, eventually raising her voice enough to cause Luka (who was at the top of the stairs at this point) to flinch, dropping the stethoscope down the stairs. Noticing his son’s presence, he calls out to him and the child rushes down to talk about what he heard. Trying to convince Luka that he and Eleanor just got overexcited, Walter tells his son that he’ll be heading out to take care of something, but promising to be back to tuck him in. After the two embrace, Luka’s father exits the house and is later reported to have died from an accident at the fertilizer plant, leaving both Luka and his mother with grief lasting even to present day.

Shortly after his father’s passing, Rolo tried to keep Luka’s mind occupied by building Mission Control (a treehouse based on a Hank Atomic “StarScraper”). Despite this, he still frequented his father’s grave. 2 years later, Perennial Harvest came to Beacon Pines and put him and put everyone who lived there in hotels one town over under the guise of decontaminating the groundwater, though their actual aim was to build a duplicate town in order to have free access to The Source without the townsfolk being suspicious. Due to this, Luka spent the next four years visiting a grave that didn’t occupy his father.

7 months before the game begins, Eleanor is reported as missing, though Luka refuses to believe she’s dead. Soon after her disappearance, “Juniper Hartford” (who Luka believes is his grandmother) became Luka’s guardian, though the two tended to stay out of each other’s way (which Luka excuses due to his assumption she’s trying make ends meet).

## Story

*Note: Due to his presence in almost all of the game's events, see Story for a recount of Beacon Pines' plot.*

## Trivia

* Both of Luka's sweaters have winter and Christmas theming, because deers (or *reindeers*) often related to this holiday.
* Luka's surname **VanHorn** suggests his father's side of the family has Dutch roots.
* During development of the game, Luka could work at Rolo's farm, but this idea and location were both scrapped.
* It is said in the game that Luka goes to school, but it can't be seen in the game, though it was planned and then scrapped in the final release.
* There were plans for Luka to have a diary with his own notes and drawings, but this idea was abandoned.
* Luka was originally planned to be in his pajamas whilst investigating around the house with Rolo and Beck.
	+ Early footage of Chapter 3: Everything's Fine also suggests that he was going wear his pajamas whilst delivering jam.
* During development, some actions Luka could perform were cut:
	+ Early gameplay shows Luka using a flashlight in Old Beacon Pines.
	+ During the jam delivery segment of the game, Luka could throw the basket (as well as any any item he could pick up). This was removed as players could easily throw items out of the map (as only certain parts of the map were designed for throwable items), making progression impossible.

## Gallery

### Portraits

NeutralNeutral SeriousNeutral Serious TalkMesmerizedAngryOh ShitPonderingSardonicSmugAwkwardSpookedSpooked TalkSmall Cry

## References

2. ↑ https://discord.com/channels/616982269667704844/1026475182501666877/1026589364819591178
3. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141050/Beacon\_Pines\_Artbook/ Beacon Pines Artbook, page 152
4. ↑ "I was 6 years old when you died, and it's been 6 years now." - Luka, Chapter 1: Normal Isn't What It Used to Be
5. ↑ "7 Months Ago:" Storyteller, Chapter 9: The Devil You Know
6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/lb1wzw/the\_absurd\_journey\_designing\_beacon\_pines/
7. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141050/Beacon\_Pines\_Artbook/ Beacon Pines Artbook, page 139
8. ↑ “Luka had spent countless hours listening to anything and everything with it. Not for years, though.” - Storyteller, Chapter 1: Normal Isn't What it Used To Be
9. ↑ “After Luka’s father had passed, Rolo became obsessed with them building their own Hank Atomic StarScraper. It was some time before Luka realized it was Rolo’s way of keeping him occupied.”  - Storyteller, Chapter 1: Normal Isn't What It Used to Be
10. ↑ “It’s hard for me to believe that it was only four years ago when fate brought me here.” - William Kerr, Chapter 9: A Speech to End All Speeches.
11. ↑ “They even put us up in hotels, one town over for a week, while they decontaminated the groundwater” - Luka, Chapter 5: What Big Ears You Have
12. ↑ “She moved in, like, half a year ago…” - Luka, Chapter 1: Normal Isn't What it Used To Be
13. ↑ https://discord.com/channels/616982269667704844/616983232214335509/1104962693049368658
14. ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2103234672/beacon-pines/posts/3487856
15. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAX8YBGje80
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2103234672/beacon-pines/posts/3197063
17. ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2103234672/beacon-pines