| Iris |
Sprite Gallery |
- "You stupid, insensitive FOOL! I don't know, all right? I DON'T KNOW. And YOU are the one who should be telling ME what's going on!"
- — Iris to Kyle about Grace
Iris is a major character in Hotel Dusk: Room 215. She was staying in Room 216 (Success), directly across from Kyle Hyde's room.
Her conflict is centered around the disappearance of her older half-sister Grace Woodward, and her own inner feelings of inadequacy. Iris is also the half-aunt of Melissa Woodward, although neither of them know this information. Iris is also known as Cecily Lee.
Appearance[]
Iris is a slender woman. While she may be interpreted as tall, it could just simply be her high heels as her sprite depicts them. She has blonde shoulder-length hair with sunglasses on the top of her head and brown eyes. She wears a light violet turtleneck sweater, white jeans and heels with light yellow hoop earrings.
She appears in the front page of one of the items Kyle has to collect, the magazine, wearing a red bikini.
Kyle has commented on Iris's looks, describing her as pretty but isn't interested in her. Louis DeNonno otherwise is smitten with her.
Personality[]
Iris may be interpreted as being egotistical, entitled and overly judgmental. She is described as "obnoxious" as well when Kyle first meets her, instructing Dunning Smith to keep the rooms in front and to the side of her own empty room, and treating both Kyle and Louis badly as if they were below her status. While Louis doesn't mind and is instantly smitten with her, Kyle can't stand her and nicknames her "princess". She also refers to the hotel as a dump multiple times.
As the game progresses, her attitude towards Kyle changes, confiding in him that she was distraught after Melissa threw her doll at her (which Kyle thinks it's an exaggerated reaction) and even inviting him to drink with her at the bar, which he refuses to do.
After the tape her sister gave her goes missing (the reason she came to the hotel in the first place), she asks Kyle for help, but then immediately changes her mind and throws him out of her room. It is only after Kyle finds the tape and confronts her about its content that she explains how she has had a troubled upbringing and is determined to be a success in life, but she is really insecure, using her snobbishness as a façade. She seems to act nicer afterwards, especially when Kyle eventually leaves.
Background[]
Iris was born in 1949. Her last name is never mentioned throughout the game. She has a half-sister named Grace who is four years older than her, and mother whom she described as "beautiful but weak", always needing a man by her side. It is possible that she doesn't know who her biological father is, and she doesn't know who the father of Grace is either.
Her infancy was spent in a car, traveling from one place to the other with her sister and mother. Her mother's boyfriends were greedy because they would usually take the little money the family had and then leave, forcing them to move frequently. She was practically raised by her sister, who she resulting in her forming a very close relationship with Grace.
Iris's life took a turn for the worse when her mother died in a plane crash in Las Vegas in 1960. Her mother's boyfriend at the time collected the payment that she gave the girls from the airline for himself and separated them, putting them in different orphanages. Iris would end up being adopted, but never felt any connection to her adoptive parents and ran away at age 15.
At the age of 20, she found work at a run-down diner in Santa Monica. One day, she encountered Grace again by chance. She knew her instantly, but it took Grace some time. They talked about their situations, with Grace telling her she had gone to college, was working at a gallery and was engaged to a doctor (Kevin Woodward). They promised to meet again soon, but Iris ran away in shame for her sister's success in life, contrasted to her own situation.
Eventually, Iris decided to follow her dream of being an actress; she quit working at the diner and took small roles in soap operas, modeling gigs, and whatever came her way. She spent the next years furthering her career as a model and actress going by the name "Cecily Lee". It was through her pictures in a magazine that Grace found her again years later and they were reunited once more, although now the tables had turned. Iris had a promising future and Grace looked desperate and sad. She explained that her family needed money desperately and asked Iris for it, but she refused, since it was an enormous amount and Grace wouldn't tell her the reason why she needed it. After that, Grace broke down in tears, apologizing to Iris for asking her such an impossible favor and reassuring her that she would get the money elsewhere. She told her all that really wanted was to see her again, and then left running. Iris tried to follow but lost her.
Six months before the events on Hotel Dusk, Grace sent her a letter and a tape, telling her to bring the tape to the hotel in the exact date the game takes place on and to give it to "the man who paints angels" (later revealed to be Dunning Smith/Osterzone).
According to Martin Summer, Cecily Lee is scheduled to make her debut on the silver screen in 1980.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215[]
Kyle speaking with Iris.
Iris is introduced in the first chapter of the game, before entering Room 215. She emerges from her room (216) when Kyle Hyde approaches the end of the corridor. While chatting with Kyle, she mentions that she had asked Dunning Smith not to put guests in the rooms opposite to her (215) or next to her (217) and expresses her disappointment in the face.
Later, Kyle interrogates Iris about what she knows about Grace.
Interrogation answers[]
Iris interrogation.
- Let's talk about the plan.
- Grace is here.
- The tape is insurance. (correct)
- Let's talk about the doll.
- You wanted to steal it!
- You recognized it. (correct)
- Let's talk about Grace.
- It's about Kevin.
- It's because she vanished. (correct)
Trivia[]
.png){kind=link}
Iris featured in the front cover of the December issue of Va-Voom! magazine
- The magazine with Iris on it can be shown to various characters for different reactions. Being on the cover, Iris will have a positive reaction to the magazine and be flattered. Others, such as Helen Parker, will order Kyle to put such smut away.
- Iris could be arguably be interpreted as Kyle's female counterpart or foil due to her role. There are a lot of similarities between them; Kyle lost his father and Iris lost her mother. They are both searching for someone (Bradley and Grace), are both in their early thirties, and both get treated poorly by Melissa at certain points in the game. They also both seem to enjoy being on the hotel's roof as a place to relax.
- Iris will accept the lipstick from the vending machine (only available in a starred game) if offered. She will turn down any other gifts.
- After Hotel Dusk, it is mentioned in Martin Summer's article that she became a star actress and received an Oscar.
- Iris appears to have a bit of a crush on Kyle to a degree, suggested by a lot her behavior throughout the game. She acts very annoyed whenever Kyle shows little to no interest in her, such as when he says he has better things to do than take a photo of her.
- The developers appear to have goofed up a bit with Iris' age. The Japanese website lists her age as 30, making her year of birth 1949.[1] However, in the game, Iris mentions she was nine years old when her mother died in the 1960 plane crash, making her year of birth about 1951, which would make her about 28 in Hotel Dusk. It can be assumed that the website is canon, due to the website being clear-cut about Iris' exact age. It also coincides more with Summer claiming Cecily Lee is "not as young as the other new starlets."
- There are visible differences with Iris' in-game artwork and her colorized portrait.
- In-game: Iris' hair is bright blonde. Iris' sweater appear to be colored gray. She appears with pale skin. She has grayish colored lips. Her sunglasses have a orangey color. Her earrings are colored black. She has no visible fingernails.
- Colorized portrait: Iris' sweater appears to be light violet. Her hair is a darker blonde. Her earrings are light yellow. Her sunglasses are salmon colored. She has fingernails with dark pink coloring.
| Characters in Kyle Hyde Saga |
|---|
|
Major characters Major characters |