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Ford Cruller

That part of my mind is running an under cover operation. While another part of my mind is projecting itself into your head here. Well, you could say my brain is... um, multifaceted.

–When using Bacon near one of Ford's alter egos

Ford Cruller is the leader and founder of the Psychic Six and a current Psychonaut agent. He used to be one of the most powerful psychics of his time, but because of his advanced age and shattered mind he was limited to the role of a dispatcher. As of Psychonauts 2, he has recovered from his shattered mind and now lives in Green Needle Gulch with his girlfriend, Lucrecia Mux.

Appearance[]

Ford has white hair, a mustache, and bushy eyebrows. He had black hair when he was younger. He has noticeable green eyebags and blue eyes. His ears and nose are orange and his skin is pale green. He walks with a slight hunch. His outfit changes periodically, unlike most other characters in the series. He has a bacon tattoo on his arm.

Personality[]

Ford Cruller is a tough old man who won't hesitate to bend the rules when he considers it the correct thing to do. He is not shy about voicing his annoyance when something irritates him either, occasionally biting back with angry threats even when talking to children. Even so, Ford wants to nurture talent and reward determination, and he is supportive of the campers at Whispering Rock, encouraging them to participate in challenges to grow their psychic abilities. While he is wise, Ford also likes to crack jokes from time to time.

Ford's core personality, that of a cranky but headstrong old man, typically stayed consistent across all of his personalities, even though the subject he was passionate about may vary from grilling burgers to sweeping floors. Most of his alter egos seemed to also be somewhat less considerate of other people. He is now one person and doesn't slip back into his alter-egos.

Story[]

Background[]

Ford was once a park ranger. He discovered a strange forest that experienced unnatural occurrences, such as a waterfall flowing upwards. Ford knew he needed to protect this section of land and used his psychic powers to hide it from the outside world. This area later became The Quarry, The Questionable Area, and Green Needle Gulch.

Ford then teamed up with a man named Otto Mentallis, and the two then began researching the land, discovering its oddities were caused by a massive Psitanium deposit. Years later, Otto introduced Ford to a fellow psychic named Lucrecia Mux, who joined their team in order to mine the psitanium with her Hydrokinesis. The two fell in love and eventually went on a date to a bowling alley, where they had their first kiss. The team then grew, with Ford personally recruiting Compton Boole, Cassie O'Pia, Bob Zanotto and Helmut Fullbear. Eventually, the group began experimenting with their psychic abilities using a device called the Astralathe, which was designed to alter a person's psyche in order to broaden their consciousness and knowledge of how their minds worked.

One day, war broke out in Lucrecia's home country, Grulovia. Ford warned her that their experimentation may have made her psychologically vulnerable, but she returned to the country anyway, feeling a duty to protect her homeland and her family. After Lucrecia left, the remaining six continued their experiments without her, eventually becoming known as the "Psychic Six".

Lucrecia and Ford kept in close contact during their time apart. The war eventually ended, but she stayed in Grulovia to deal with protests against the royal family. Ford worried more as time went on, as Lucrecia's words became darker with each letter. Ford tried sending one last letter to let her know that he loved her and was worried for her, but it was returned to him. The country had since collapsed, and Grulovia was no longer a valid address.

Ford and the others received word that Lucrecia had snapped, drowning numerous protesters and destroying the entire country in an act that transformed her into a genocidal monster named Maligula. The psychic six were summoned to deal with her in what would become the first mission for the organization later named the Psychonauts. However, they didn't want to hurt their former friend, leading them to make futile attempts to reason with her. After Helmut was lost in the frozen lake created by Otto's Hyperhyglaciator, Ford and Otto searched desperately for him, but he was so deep in the ice that they couldn't find him.

Eventually, Ford managed to subdue Maligula. As he was about to leave with her, Helmut's brain flew out of the lake and landed beside him. Ford then put it in a jar and took it and Maligula home. Ford then discovered that the reason Lucrecia snapped was because her sister was among the protesters she'd killed. He used the Astralathe to seal Maligula away and placed a construct in her mind to make her believe she was her sister, as well as giving her a fear of water to prevent her from remembering who she actually was. Ford then took Lucrecia's nephew from the orphanage he was in and used the Astralathe to make him forget his mother's death and implanted the idea that Lucrecia was his mother. He then left the two in their family's circus.

Cracked scrubbed

Ford using the Astralathe on himself.

Finally, Ford used the Astralathe on himself to shatter his mind to prevent anyone from learning that he hadn't killed Maligula. This event left Ford in a state where he would switch personas depending on where he was, although being around large amounts of psitanium could restore some of his stability. Unaware of what he'd done to himself, everyone assumed that his mind was damaged in his battle with Maligula, a story Ford himself assumed was true due to losing the memory of what actually happened.

Ford was present for the opening of the Motherlobe and served as the minister of Helmut's funeral, as he had forgotten about Helmut's brain in the jar. He was then written off as a "loon", despite his history, and was assigned to the Motherlobe's bowling alley, hair salon, and mailroom. Eventually, he was stripped of most of his authority and reassigned to Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp to keep him occupied as a psychic scoutmaster. While he is, for instance, still allowed to sign off on merit badges, he does not have the power to commission Psychonauts or to assign or take on official missions.

Due to the large Psitanium deposit beneath Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, he regained some sense of self while in his underground sanctuary, but relapsed into his erratic behavior when elsewhere. Almost no one at the camp knew he was a Psychonaut, sometimes including Ford himself, as he forgot who he was when not around Psitanium.

Ford still monitored the outside world from his underground sanctuary for situations that might require Psychonaut intervention and secretly passed assignments to Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello, the only agents who still respected him as a competent psychomaster. They kept the fact that their missions came from Ford a secret, knowing that the Psychonauts might stop approving their requests should they find out who actually came up with the assignments.

Psychonauts[]

Cruller first appears in Razputin's dream when he falls asleep in the bunk at the beginning of the game. He informs Raz about PSI Challenge Markers, PSI Cards, and PSI Cores before disappearing. Raz remarks that he "looked so familiar…", not immediately recognizing who he is.

Throughout the game, Ford and his alter egos can be found all throughout Whispering Rock.

His janitor persona first appears before Basic Braining, blocking the bridge from the Kids' Cabins to the Main Campgrounds. After completing Basic Braining, he can be found next to his trailer home in the Reception Area.

His ranger persona is first encountered when Raz first enters the Main Campgrounds. He gives Raz the Scavenger Hunt before disappearing. After that he can be found near the Geodesic Psychoisolation Chambers raking leaves, where Raz can redeem the Scavenger Hunt for PSI Cadet ranks.

His chef persona can be found in the Main Lodge, running the Camp Store while cooking burgers (which are not available, due to the charcoals being on "back order"). The store sells many useful items, such as the Cobweb Duster (necessary to traverse later levels) and PSI Cores (which are used to make PSI Challenge Markers). He also broadcasts advertisements for the store via the camp's intercom.

His "admiral" persona can be found in the boathouse in the Boathouse and Beach area. He oversees the camp's boats and tells Razputin that he cannot use a canoe without first receiving the Oarsman's Badge.

Upon reaching Ford's Sanctuary, Raz meets Ford's true self: the very first Psychonaut, Agent Ford Cruller. His purpose is to keep watch over Whispering Rock and all of its campers while also observing a global network for signs of psychic terrorism and dispatching other Psychonauts to the scene. When asked about his alter egos, he initially tells Raz that they are his "disguises" to hide the truth about his fractured mind.

Ford decides to stick with Raz through his training, astrally projecting into his head as a "psychic stow-away". Ford gives Raz a loose strip of bacon which he can use to summon him at any time, as bacon is absolutely irresistible to him. When summoned, Ford's head materializes out of Razputin's ear. He can then teleport Raz to his sanctuary (and back to the area he was in), tell him about enemies, and remind him of what he needs to be doing. When Raz earns certain Merit Badges (Pyrokinesis, Telekinesis, and Invisibility), Ford will appear to instruct him how to use them. Furthermore, if Raz has bought the PSI Energy Colorizer from the Camp Store, he can ask Ford to change his thought bubble's color for him.

After completing the Brain Tumbler Experiment and talking to Lili down at the docks, Ford calls Raz to his sanctuary to reveal that he's collected all of the brainless campers and gathered them in the observation room of his sanctuary. He then divulges the real reason he can't leave the Psitanium deposit and asks Raz to save the campers as he is unable to contact Milla or Sasha. Raz can then bring the camper's recovered brains to his sanctuary to "re-brain" them.

Raz eventually rescues Lili, Milla, and Sasha, and the latter two get into a psychic firefight with Oleander. At this point, Ford levitates in through the roof of Thorney Towers to provide backup, having strapped a large chunk of Psitanium to his back in order to retain control of his mind. He manages to catch Oleander off-guard with Doctor Loboto's brain sneezing powder, seemingly defeating him just as the entire asylum explodes due to Boyd burning it down. However, when Oleander's brain comes back, piloting his Brain Tank prototype, Ford and the others are incapacitated, leaving Raz to deal with the situation alone.

At the end of the game, Ford makes a passionate speech at the reception area declaring Razputin a Psychonaut, and hands him his own official uniform. Afterward, it's revealed that Truman Zanotto, Grand Head of the Psychonauts and father to Lili, has been kidnapped. Sasha asks Ford if he is able to teleport them all to headquarters, but the Psitanium shard's effect fades, and Ford relapses into his chef persona. Sasha, Raz, Milla, Oleander and Lili instead embark for headquarters via jet, leaving Ford at Whispering Rock.

Psychonauts 2[]

Ford Cruller first appears in Psychonauts 2 when Raz gets him to teleport to the Motherlobe cafeteria using a piece of bacon. He then entered his mind and discovered it to be shattered.

Raz proceeded to enter the minds of each of Ford's alter egos and managed to restore Ford's personality back to one person. In the process, Raz learns of Maligula's true whereabouts and that she's living amongst his family. Raz is initially furious with Ford for manipulating his family, but agrees to keep working with him to stop Maligula's return. With the help of the rest of the Psychic Six, they used the Astralathe to restore Lucrecia Mux's memories of her past and permanently seal away her Maligula persona. After the battle was over, Ford and Lucrecia settled down in Green Needle Gulch to live out the rest of their days.

Relationships[]

Razputin Aquato[]

Ford is a great-uncle figure to Razputin and also his teacher. Ford sees Raz as a future Psychonaut and actively helps him to achieve this goal, though he'll occasionally be irritated by the young boy's antics. Raz considers Ford to be, in his own words, the "greatest leader the Psychonauts have ever had". He is very grateful for Ford's help and always takes his mentor's advice to heart. However, he's unsure how to feel about Ford after he learned that Ford altered the memories of his father and great-aunt.

Milla Vodello[]

Milla is Ford's colleague and one of the few people who still respects Ford as an accomplished psychomaster. Milla, along with Sasha Nein, carry out Ford's personal missions without direct approval from the Psychonauts.

Sasha Nein[]

Sasha is Ford's colleague, and one of the few people who still respects Ford as an accomplished psychomaster. Sasha, along with Milla Vodello, carry out Ford's personal missions without direct approval from the Psychonauts.

Morceau Oleander[]

Morceau is Ford's colleague. He was Ford's enemy for a brief period in Psychonauts, but their friendship was repaired once Morceau was defeated.

Hollis Forsythe[]

While Hollis does respect Ford as a hero, she believes he's mentally unfit to hold authority among the Psychonauts. After Ford's mind is restored, she welcomes him back to the Motherlobe, although it's largely because Ford is the only barber she knows who knows how to work with her hair.

Lucrecia Mux[]

Ford loved Lucrecia so much that he could not let her be taken away to face punishment for her crimes as Maligula. This led to his actions that set up the circumstances for the events before and during Psychonauts 2. Ford remains with Lucrecia after Maligula is permanently suppressed thanks to Raz's intervention.

Augustus Aquato[]

Ford is regretful of the resulting harm he has done to Augustus and his current family members, even though he meant well by pairing him and Lucrecia together after the Deluge of Grulovia.

Gristol Malik[]

Gristol holds a deep hatred for Ford and the Psychonauts for defeating Maligula and, in his perspective, robbing him of his birthright as Gzar of Grulovia. While impersonating Truman, Gristol only had Raz repair Ford's mind to uncover Maligula's whereabouts.

Psychic Powers[]

  • Invisibility: Ford teaches Raz this ability.
  • Levitation: Ford is seen levitating while confronting Coach Oleander.
  • Marksmanship: Ford fires a PSI-Blast at Coach Oleander.
  • Pyrokinesis: Ford teaches Raz this ability.
  • Telekinesis: Ford teaches Raz this ability.
  • Teleportation: Ford can be observed teleporting throughout Whispering Rock. He can also teleport Raz to his sanctuary at any time upon request.
  • Telepathy: Ford can telepathically speak to Raz.
  • Mind reading: Ford is shown to be able to read Raz's mind in Psychonauts.
  • Astral Projection: Ford can astral project into minds without a psycho portal or a brain tumbler.
  • Time Bubble: Vision Quest, a mental representation of Ford Cruller, can use time bubble.
  • Hydrokinesis: In Psychonauts 2, Ford mentions that the Psychic Six used the Astralathe to enhance their cryokinesis and hydrokinesis abilities.
  • Cryokinesis: In Psychonauts 2, Ford mentions that the Psychic Six used the Astralathe to enhance their cryokinesis and hydrokinesis abilities.
  • Illusion creation: Ford created illusions placed in the Forgetful Forest to keep wanderers out of the Green Needle Gulch.

Ford Cruller's Mind[]

Main article: Ford's Fractured Mind

Quotes[]

  • "Oh, the brainy jub jub goes on up stairs."
  • "Hush, I'm looking for my contact lenses!"
  • "Now git!"
  • "Mmm, bacon!"
  • "Now don't be taking that out when I'm here in the room with you or I'm telling you I'm gonna eat it." —When Raz uses bacon while in Ford's sanctuary
  • "Okay that's funny, NOW PUT ME DOWN!" - If Raz tries to use telekinesis on Ford.
  • "Ooooh, is that honey-pepper boar bacon?"
  • "Listen Razputin, there are vaults that should never be opened. Not all minds are safe to read. Some brains are better off... broken."

Trivia[]

  • Ford is voiced by David Kaye, who also voices the Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata, Vision Quest, and some of the characters in Lungfishopolis.
  • In Psychonauts, Ford is one of the few adults whose mind cannot be entered via the Psycho-Portal, alongside Loboto, Crispin, and Sheegor. He is presumably the only one who resists using psychic abilities.
  • Using Clairvoyance on Ford shows he sees Razputin as an official member of the Psychonauts.
  • If Confusion is used on Ford in his Sanctuary, he will cycle through all of his different alter egos. He will then worry that the positive effects of the huge Psitanium deposit will soon wear off.
  • He is the only character in Psychonauts whose Clairvoyance perception changes depending on your location.
  • He has a large amount of one-liner quotes compared to other characters in the series.
  • He is the only character to wear different outfits throughout Psychonauts.
  • Ford is currently the only psychic to display the power to teleport in the real world, using it to pull Raz back to his hideout to regroup when asked to and to send him back to the general vicinity of where he was pulled from. His split personalities being everywhere in the camp without ever being seen walking to their posts is not due to this, being a more mundane hidden cart network instead.
  • Ford's identities can be found in all areas of the camp in Psychonauts, excluding the Kids' Cabins, which he leaves after Basic Braining is completed.
  • If Raz says "No. Not yet." when Ford asks if he's ready to save the campers, he smacks Raz across the face and asks the question again.
  • Ford has a tattoo of a piece of honey pepper bacon on his left arm.
  • The abandoned car that's been consumed by a tree in the reception area once belonged to Ford.
  • Ford's height varies across the game in Psychonauts. Normally, he stands just about a head taller than Raz. However Janitor Ford outside of his trailer (not in the Kids' cabins area before Basic Braining) and Ranger Ford (in both the main area and outside of the GPC) are scaled up to be 50%[2] larger. It's not clear why this decision was made.
  • In Psychonauts, Ford referred to his condition as "Multiple Personality Disorder", an outdated term for Dissociative Identity Disorder). However, this term has not been used to refer to his condition in the newer games: Rhombus of Ruin or Psychonauts 2.
  • Ford is a very experienced wood carver.
  • According to Compton's mind, Ford's favorite food is the Honey Pepper Pancake Stacker from the Lumberstack Diner in The Questionable Area.
  • One piece of concept art labelled "Top secret Psychonaut outfit" shows Ford in black ninja-esque attire. Interestingly, the generic sayline head where his body appears silhouetted is actually named "fordninja_sayline". It's possible that this sprite actually shows this outfit rather than simply being silhouetted and is a remnant of this concept.

See also[]

References/Notes[]

  1. https://twitter.com/cadoized/status/1447841792154431497
  2. CA/Characters/Ford.lua, line 495 in the game's Lua script sources
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