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The Rifle as seen in the Alpha 2 Shed
The Rifle is a key item in Hello Neighbor that first appeared in Alpha 1.
Appearance[]
The rifle is a toy gun with a gray muzzle and brown stock, which has the words "Bang! Bang!" etched onto it. The bullets it shoots are yellow cone-shaped pellets, which are about the size of apples and presumably made out of styrofoam.
Gameplay[]
The rifle has the ability to hit switches from afar, as well as break windows and slow down the Neighbor. The rifle is a useful item in this regard and thus should not be dropped until the player is ready to enter the basement. It is advised the player only use it while the Neighbor is chasing them, as if the player shoots him when sneaking around his house, he'll immediately notice them and will know where they are, even if they hide around a corner. When the Neighbor is shot during a chase, he'll yelp in pain, while covering his face and slowing down. During this state, he cannot capture the player, giving them a window of opportunity to slip past him and escape, even if there's only a small amount of room between him and the walls. If the player is on their own property and they shoot him, he'll be seemingly unaffected and instead just react as if the player escaped him during a chase, by inhaling sharply and then shaking his head disapprovingly at them while muttering to himself.
In Alpha 1, the rifle could be obtained by finishing the classroom's puzzle. Its only function in Alpha 1 was being used in the Rifle Range room to obtain a key, as the ability to slow down the Neighbor was not yet in the game. In Alpha 2, it was inside the tool shed openable via a lockpick. While it was not required for any puzzles, it was still useful for slowing the Neighbor down. In Alpha 3, it was hung on a wall in the room behind the golden lock. Alpha 3 also re-introduced the puzzle-solving element of the rifle, but instead of a shooting range, the player was required to shoot into a hole in the wall and hit a switch behind it. Between Alpha 4 and Beta 2, it could be found in a room near the top of the house that was filled with apple-shooters. The fire-rate of the rifle was also sped up in Alpha 4. In Beta 3, it is obtained in the birthday room, though the player needs to find the three remaining slices of cake and four mannequins, and place them on the table and rug, respectively. The rifle falls out of a present fixed to the ceiling, and onto the table, along with some confetti. In Beta 3, the rifle is also required in order to obtain the red key.
Trivia[]
- Up until the final build, the Rifle's model clipped through the player's hand. A new animation was made for the final build, in which it is held properly.
- From Alpha 1, up to and including Beta 3, the bullets shot from the rifle were very small, about the size of a grape. The size increase in the final build was likely an attempt to make the bullets easier to pick up.
Gallery[]
The inventory icon for the rifle used in Alpha 1.
The rifle being held in Alpha 2.
