Game Theory: The TRUE Identity of the Player (Poppy Playtime)

Who do we play as in Poppy Playtime? It's a question we've had since day one of the franchise, but as the series slowly heads towards its inevitable end, we're running out of options. So let's take a look at our few remaining characters and solve this mystery once and

for all.

Hello, Internet!

Welcome to Game Theory, the show that knows that for every theory we get right, we often get one wrong. And Poppy Playtime is no exception. There have been three key mysteries plaguing us. I've actually been referring to them internally as the three Ps of Poppy. Who is Poppy? Who is the prototype? And who is the player? I'm sure Yoshi is profoundly pleased, perhaps even palpitating at the plentiful,

practically preposterous proliferation of punchy plosives I'm presently producing. Sorry, bud. Anyway, over the last five years I have tried desperately to answer these three questions. One of them we nailed pretty early on, that Poppy was the daughter of Elliot Ludwig, a prototype we flipped and flopped over the next few years. Although technically I was more right than I realised in my first episode as host, so long as you ignore the part where I also suggest it might be rich.

But that just leaves us with one mystery left. Who is the player character? This one has been the biggest enigma for me. Mostly because we know so little about them. We know that they worked in the factory at some point, but they weren't important enough to be known by Harley Sawyer. However, despite being an employee, they weren't present during the Hour of Joy. Hence, they're still alive 10 years later and able to receive the note from Poppy telling

them their colleagues had survived. Finally, they feel guilty about their involvement in what Playtime Co. did, as seen in their Chapter 3 hallucinations and the message we hear from Poppy when we're dumped into the vat of Poppy gel at the end of Chapter 5. Hence why they returned to Playtime Co when told that there is someone they can still save. But despite the lack of evidence, I did put together an answer. One that I was

convinced had to be the right one. My theory was that we were playing as P.W. Preston Willard, a scientist from Playtime Co and the owner of the orientation notebook. They fit everything pretty well. Obviously they worked for Playtime Co, they were involved in the experiment and felt very distressed at the concept, and while that means they may have known Harley, it doesn't necessarily mean he knew them. Harley was pretty up himself,

I could see him not paying attention to just another scientist with a lack of drive for what they did. But then the Chapter 5 ARG dropped just before the release of the game and…

Now I can be there for you. Always.

Yep, PW was turned into a toy by the prototype. This was supposedly a blessing because Breston was kind to him, but that does mean that PW is kind of out of commission. Even still, I refuse to believe that we are just a random character. Narratively that would just be so unsatisfying and disappointing. You hear that Bob? It would be so unsatisfying and disappointing. For our story, our dedication, our sacrifices to matter, we need to be someone that we as an audience have some kind of emotional attachment to. Plus, let's be honest, the list of available options is getting smaller and smaller by

the chapter. So, rather than wait around for the next chapter, or two, or twelve to tell us who we are, I wanted to go down the list of suspects, put them up against our criteria, and see who is the most likely to be our player character. Grab your shiny new pressure hands, theorists, because we're about to put the pressure on these characters to see which one fits that player-sized mould.

First up...

1.

Stella Graber Ah, Stella. One of the earliest characters we were introduced to in this franchise. In fact, she's been referenced in every chapter up until Chapter 5, which felt a little odd to me. Why has this character, who's been so prominent in Notes, VHS tapes and ARGs, suddenly not

been mentioned at all in this chapter? Like guys, we thought she was Poppy after the very first chapter, she was that prominent. Also I never mentioned this in a theory, but I was convinced that Stella was going to be Lily Lovebraids once we saw that Preston got turned into a toy. The line she gave in the trailer, it just sounded like the OG Stella we heard back in

Chapter 1, the one who was so excited about the concept of living forever.

But alas, it was Miss Gracie instead. Still a great character, but it means that we aren't sure of Stella's fate. Which could make her a viable candidate. Think about it, she's one of the major executives at the company, so Mummy's You Work Here line absolutely tracks. A VHS tape in Chapter 4 also shows us that she had knowledge of the experiments, but the big thing is that she really did care for the orphans and the staff. In the Chapter 3 ARG, there's a project report that shows Stella expressing displeasure

at the use of catnap in the playcare. And in Chapter 3 itself, we see she's really saddened when her child isn't getting adopted but instead experimented on. All this came to a head in the most recent ARG for Chapter 5. There's an email from Stella to Preston called End of My Rope, where she says she can't take it anymore. Later on we got video evidence that Preston was involved in the Hour of Joy, which added credence

to my theory that Stella was in fact a big part of making the Hour of Joy happen. So she not only would have felt guilty because of the experiments, but she'd also have felt guilty about what happened to the employees afterwards. She didn't want that to happen, she just wanted the toys and orphans to go free. Feels like pretty good motivational evidence. But motivational story evidence isn't the

be all and end all. And there are two things that make it so I don't think it can be Stella. Firstly, Harley. In Chapter 4 he says very distinctly that he doesn't recognise the player. But in that same chapter we hear this line from Leif. Harley knew who Stella was. I mean, they were both executives at the company, it would be weird for them not to know each other. At least somewhat. But on top of that, Stella would have been in the factory to help make the Hour of Joy happen. And one of two things

happened to the humans during that time. They were either killed and eaten, or they were turned into toys. Preston was quote unquote saved by the prototype for helping him, so Stella likely would have received that same fate. That's why there's no more audio of her in Chapter 5. Much like Preston, her story is over. Okay, maybe figuring out who the right character is is gonna be a little trickier than I first thought. Thankfully, finding a doctor doesn't have to be thanks to our partner, ZockDoc. I've brought this up in past episodes, but for the last 6 months I've been dealing with a mystery throat and voice issue, which has been a pain in and of itself, especially

when this is my job, but you add on top of that that I don't understand the medical system in the US because I didn't grow up here, it suddenly gets a whole lot more stressful and scary. Not knowing who's in my network, whether I should go in person or do it online, or what kind of doctor I should see. Definitely not that kind. Thankfully, ZocDoc has helped me not fall into that trap. ZocDoc is a free website that helps you find and book high quality in-network doctors so you can find one that works for you, not an evil toy company. They work with over 150,000 providers across all 50 states

and allow you to search for over 200 specialists, which is exactly what you need when you have a mystery ailment like me. Plus, you can view thousands of verified patient reviews so you can easily find the right doctor for you. It was so nice to finally sit down with someone who felt like they understood me.

And even though we still don't fully know what's going on, they were easy to talk to and it felt like they actually listened to me. They treated me like a human. Maybe you could learn a thing or two. So don't avoid taking that first positive step towards better health. Head on down to the description and click the link Zocdoc.com forward slash the game theorists or use the QR code on screen to find and instantly book an appointment today

for whatever you need. But while I'm thankful Zocdoc sponsored this episode to help us find a doctor, we need to find out who the player character is, so I guess we should move on to our next option. Eddie Ritterman Eddie has been much more of a slow burn as a character. We saw his name on a single piece of paper in Chapter 2, we heard his voice in the Chapter 4 ARG, and then we saw more of his personality in that same chapter. So he's clearly evil, but other than that we don't have much to go off of, which would

be perfect for our faceless protagonist. But what's more perfect is what we hear in this audio log between him and Leith from chapter 5. He's leaving for their theme park the day before the Hour of Joy. So Eddie Ritterman has survived, meaning he's able to return to the factory a decade later. He's also one of the executives, so an employee like Mummy said. Much like Stella though, Harley likely knew who Eddie was. There is a chance he didn't. In the Orientation Notebook, Preston writes

about how Eddie is a bit of a mystery. Some even question his existence. So it's technically possible that Eddie was so aloof with everyone besides Leif that Harley just never met him face to face. But that feels unlikely. He also doesn't feel guilty about the experiments or the employees, and that's for damn sure. Not only was he willing to kill that construction worker to make sure the job got done, but in Chapter 5 we get one of the biggest reveals that explains his motivations.

Eddie is sick. A medical note we can find tells us he has Kennedy's disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects low motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, causing limb weakness and speech issues. The symptoms are apparently getting worse, and so it makes sense that he would be all in on the experiment. They were seeing if they could live forever after all. Suddenly, Eddie's illness isn't so dire. He doesn't feel guilty, he is willing to sacrifice whoever he could to get what he needed. So a note

telling him other employees were still alive likely doesn't mean much to him. Especially when he's got access to the Tokyo factory which is likely carrying on with the experiments. I smell a sequel. For the same reasons I'm also gonna rule out Leif Pierre as our playable character but I wanted to give him an honourable mention anyway. That means we're out of executives so the Harley comment shouldn't be much of an issue going forward. But it also means there aren't many characters left to choose from so bear with me with some of these next options.

Dr. Arkin's Daughter Now I know what you're thinking. Who on earth is Dr. Arkin's, let alone her daughter? And you'd be completely justified in wondering that. We've never heard of this person before Chapter 5, but the reason I and a few online have pointed them out is because in this chapter we receive not one, not two, but three letters addressed to this character. They're all written by Dr. Arkins to her husband David and her daughter Julie. They talk about her experience working in the factory, the scientists she meets, like those from the Young Geniuses program, how she missed

her daughter's birthday, and how she was sold a vision of putting an end to death, which she then bought because she wanted that for her own daughter. But the final letter tells us that most of these letters never leave the factory, likely because Leith was paranoid that information about these experiments would get out. But that means Dr. Arkin's daughter would have been left completely in the dark about her mother. All she'd have known is one day a tragedy happened in the factory and all of the employees went missing, including her mother. So if she were to receive a note

telling her that employees were still alive, that might mean her mother was still alive. And that feels like pretty strong motivation to go and see. Alongside that, Harley would have literally no idea who she is. And she'd have also not been present for the hour of joy. But the reason she wasn't present or recognized

is because she's not an employee. There is a world where you could argue maybe she took a spare employee uniform and badge that her mom left behind. So, mummy just thinks she used to work here based on that, but 1. That's really speculative, and 2. During chapter 3, when we hallucinate thanks to the red smoke, we see a message that says,

Your presence was demanded 10 years ago and you didn't show up. 8.8.1995. You were supposed to be here. Why weren't you here? The player wasn't just an employee. They were supposed to be there for the Hour of Joy in some way, which only makes sense in a few cases. Either we were an employee that was just meant to be there that day, we were an employee involved in the Hour of Joy like Preston or Stella, or we were something else that was expected to be there. An Escaped Toy

If you thought the last one was a bit out of left field, oh boy, just wait till you hear this one. During chapter 5 you can find this note that is a little different from our usual suspect. Rather than a journal entry or a scientific report, this is a handwritten newspaper from The Better Press. This feels like a reference to The Better Place, a location we talked about last time where the prototype has taken all the orphans once he turned them into toys.

And the paper itself seems to align with this fact. It talks about a defecting group of 23 toys, the Joyless, who were being led by someone called Gentle John, and about how they were supposed to fight during the Hour of Joy but didn't and instead looked to escape the factory. According to the paper, that didn't happen, and they ended up burning. However, someone has written on the paper the words, how convenient. Like, it's convenient that those who went

up against the prototype and decided to leave the factory, after he told everyone they couldn't, suddenly were found dead. It's almost like the prototype was trying to control the narrative, that those toys DID escape, and now the prototype has to cover it up to stop anyone from getting any ideas of escaping. This fits really nicely into that chapter 3 quote I mentioned, your presence was demanded 10 years ago and you didn't show up. These toys were expected to be there but didn't, and were instead focused on escape, which they might now feel guilty about. They didn't want to kill any humans so to find out there may be some still alive, as well as all of the toys they left

behind, that might be good motivation to return to the factory. It would also explain something I've not yet really talked about, the player's ability to survive. We have survived falls, train crashes, explosions, pretty much anything you can think of. We've survived. If we're being honest, that doesn't feel like something a human should be able to do. But a living toy, yes, they still get injured, but as we've seen through characters like Huggy and Kissy, they are far more resilient. It does raise the question of the grab pack and

how much dexterity they'd physically have as a toy to be able to control it, but that would entirely depend on what toy they were made into. Maybe Playtime had a human-looking toy, who knows. But then, any toys made before the Hour of Joy weren't workers in the factory. I mean, technically, they were, most of them were given certain jobs in the factory, but they didn't deserve to die for their actions. It's only after the prototype takes over that he turns some of the former employees into toys. Mummy also says the toys are going

to eat you if you fail in the games, which yes, they could eat fellow toys, but there are plenty of other toys around. If you're human however, your meat would be fresh. It would be a good meal for them. One they'd be excited for. Finally, when we meet the prototype in Chapter 5, he says this.

You repay me by bringing in an outsider.

We are considered an outsider. Could this be because we abandoned the prototype for the outside world? Possibly. But realistically, it's more likely because we were never part of the mission a human an employee they were the enemy They were outsiders that didn't belong in their better place and with that We're kind of running out of options at this point those last two felt like scraping the bottom of the barrel for possible answers And even then they just don't fit the bill. Who am I missing? I know there's someone who fits the description, but I just can't remember you guys got any ideas

What can't a Amanda didn't give me her fourth wall breaking powers Maybe if you use your grab pack to power that subscribe button I'll be able to hear you through the speakers give it a try You've probably only got about five seconds before the algorithm gets annoyed at me for not talking about the theory five four three two one Phew, thanks for that. I can hear so much more now. So, who was it? Oh, of course! Rich! How could I forget about him? Richard Lovitz He has always been a fascinating character to me.

Much like Stella, we'd found VHS tapes of him in every single chapter up until Chapter 5. He was a disgruntled employee that got demoted for bad-mouthing playtime code to his colleague Avery. But after being taken under the wing of the head of shipping, he began to clean up his act, get control of his temper and eventually was promoted to the head of shipping himself. He became a real man of the people, looking after his employees, helping the younger ones who struggled with the same things he did. He even showed up again in the Fortnite collab, with notes between him and Avery burying the hatchet, with Avery trying to confirm that he didn't rat out Rich, and Rich continuing

to look out for his old colleague and friend. Frankly, his journey has been a nice ray of sunshine amidst the darkness that is the Playtime Co experiment. But the reason we're being shown this is wholly unclear. It doesn't really play a part in the lore. It's a side story about a random dude unrelated to everything that was. Until Chapter 5.

In Chapter 5 we don't get a VHS from Rich, it's actually the first time he's been absent in this entire franchise. But he is mentioned in an audio log between Leith and Eddie. Rich really was a man of the people and that was causing Playtime Co issues, so they decided to promote him to the executive level. This would cause people to abandon him thinking he was a sellout, but it would also have an unexpected consequence that ties in perfectly with our player character. This audio log is the same one where Eddie mentions he's heading to the theme park

next week. So this is early August 1995, which would mean Rich's promotion would have happened after Harley's transformation into a walking version of Chat GPT for the other scientists to use in 1993. Therefore, Harley wouldn't have had any executive meetings with Rich to know who he is. And given his greater than thou attitude, I also wouldn't be surprised if the two never interacted while Harley was still human, simply because Rich was just a lowly shipment worker. Even if Rich was the head of a department, anyone that wasn't working in the labs would have

been seen as beneath Harley. But that's not all the timing helps prove. It might explain how he could have missed the hour of joy. Now bear with me, this is gonna get a little more on the speculative side, but narratively I do think it really makes sense. This situation in my mind goes one of two ways. With this discussion being only a week before the hour of joy, maybe Leif thinks about Eddie's idea for a bit, but then eventually heads over to Ridge and offers him the job. It's a big deal, a new parking spot, a new car, big salary bump, but what would his subordinates think? Leaf would likely be able to see the

hesitancy but he needed Rich to take the deal so hey, look, take tomorrow off, think about it and let me know. Only for tomorrow to be the day everyone was killed. This would lead to Rich feeling incredibly guilty about his people. He should have been there for them, but he wasn't. And so when he hears there's some people left in the factory, he has to go and see. The only issue is, the player's guilt seems to be tied to the experiments in some way, which at this point Rich wouldn't know about. So this is my alternative suggestion.

Leith doesn't think too much about Eddie's suggestion. It's Eddie, he trusts him. And so Rich gets his promotion the week before the Hour of Joy. Rich is not as calculated as Leif and so doesn't see the downsides of getting all this extra stuff. He takes the job and as one of the new executives, is given top level access to everything, and so begins his tour of the real Playtime Co. He is informed of everything Leif, Eddie and Stella have been doing, how they've been experimenting on turning orphans into toys, just like their founder, Elliot Ludwig, did years ago, creating Poppy and the prototype. We know Rich has a big heart. He cares about the orphans.

I get it, it's a nice program and a lot of brand. Don't you think these kids deserve some real sunlight instead of floodlights and painted skies?

So when he realizes what's been going on, he can't stomach it. but he's already signed up. He's stuck. Maybe after learning all of this He takes a sick day Maybe he tries to quit or maybe leaf tells him to take the day to celebrate his promotion either way He misses the hour of joy This would mean he's not only feeling guilty about all the employees he left behind But for the children that suffered because of the company he'd been working for this entire time the prototype However wouldn't have seen riches any different from any of the others.

He was an executive, he was just as responsible for the experiments as anyone else. So with Stella on side, he ensured that the ones responsible for these atrocities got their comeuppance. Maybe the prototype called an executive meeting for Leif, Eddie, Stella and Rich. However, Rich never showed up. He missed the meeting and therefore the party that led to the death of his colleagues, only for a note to appear years later telling

him that the employees were still alive. And being the People's Champion that he was, he knew that if there was any chance they were still alive, he had to take it. He knew the factory inside and out. He'd practically worked in every department at this point. And he knew of the horrors that awaited him. Which is why we never seem to react, scared or shocked, whenever we come face to face with these monsters. Even our biggest hater. Based on what we have, I think Rich is our best possible option for who the player character is. Of course, there's always a chance Mob

pulls a fast one on us and brings some random character we've never heard of before. It wouldn't be the first time. But hey, that's just a theory. A game theory! Thanks for watching.

World Premiere on Game Theory. World Premiere on Game Theory. The prototype has been revealed and...