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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 P's of Poppy. Who is Poppy? Who is the prototype? And who is the player?
I'm sure Yossi 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 5 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. The prototype we flipped and flopped over the next few years, although technically I was more right than I realized in my first episode as host. So long as you ignore the part where I also suggested it might be rich. Well, 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. But you worked here. I can't say I remember seeing your face before. 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 three hallucinations and the message we hear from Poppy when we're dumped into the vat of Poppy gel at the
end of chapter five. Your conscience finally getting the better of you. Hence why they return 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 PW, 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 five ARG dropped just before the release of the game and Now I can be with you. Always. Yep, PW was turned into a toy by the prototype. This was supposedly a blessing because Preston 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 12 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 mold. First up, Stella Greyber. 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 five, 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 Lovegraves once we saw that Preston got turned into a toy. The line she gave in the trailer, We're going to have so much fun. it just sounded like the OG Stella we heard back in chapter one, the one who was so excited about the concept of living forever. Playing with toys when I was young was so magical. I could go
straight from my bedroom floor to anywhere in the world. 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, "Mommies, you work here" line absolutely tracks. The VHS tape in chapter four also shows us that she had knowledge of the experiments. I felt so badly. I still do for the ones that go through the um testing. But the big thing is that she really did care for the orphans and the staff. In the chapter three ARG, there's a project report that shows Stella expressing displeasure at the use of
catnip in the Playcare. And in chapter three itself, we see she's really saddened when a child isn't getting adopted, but instead experimented on. All this came to a head in the most recent ARG for chapter five. 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. I just couldn't stand by and watch it happen anymore. 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 motivation or 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 four, he says very distinctly that he doesn't recognize the player. But in that same chapter, we hear this line from Leith. You know, the project lead, Dr. Sawyer, wasn't sure about giving you that information in the first place. 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 five. Much like Preston, her story is over. Okay, maybe figuring out who the right character is going to be a little trickier than I first thought.
Thankfully, finding a doctor doesn't have to be, thanks to our partner, Zocdoc. 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 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/thegametheorists or use the QR code on screen to find and instantly book an appointment today for whatever you need. 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 two. We heard his voice in the chapter four ARG, and then we saw more of his personality in that same chapter.
I get paid to see that things get done. And this, like everything else, will get done. 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 five. And the park renovations are underway. I'll be inspecting the premises next week, severance to the 12th. 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 Mommy 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 Leith 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 five, 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 lower 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 experiments. 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 going to rule out Leith Pierre as our playable
character, but I wanted to give him an honorable 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 that aren't many characters left to choose from. So, bear with me with some of these next options. Doctor Arkin's daughter. Now, I know what you're thinking. Who on earth is Doctor Arkin's, let alone her daughter? And you'd be completely justified in wondering that. We've never heard of this person before chapter five, but the reason I and a few online have pointed them out is because in this chapter we received not one, not two, but three letters addressed to this character.
They're all written by Doctor Arkin's 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 Doctor 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, Mommy just thinks she used to work here based on that. But, one, that's really speculative, and two, during chapter
three, 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 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 five, you can find this note that is a little different from our usual suspects. Rather than a journal entry or 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 are 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 three 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. Say, 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. 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. But, you, you worked here. So, if anyone deserves to die alone, it's you. It's only after the prototype takes over that he turns some of the former employees
into toys. Mommy 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 five, he says this. You were a pain to 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 hear you. 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. 5 4 3 2 1. Ooh, 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 Lovett. 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 five. He was a disgruntled employee that got demoted for badmouthing Playtime Co. 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.
There are smarter ways to go about what you 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. experiments. 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 that was unrelated to everything. That was until chapter five. In chapter five, 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. I think Mr. Lovett is due for a promotion. You're serious? Oh, he can't be the people's champion if he's one of us. 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 ChatGPT 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 going to 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 Leith thinks about Eddie's idea for a bit, but then eventually heads over to Rich 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? Leith 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 that, 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 Leith, 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, he begins his tour of the real Playtime Co. He is informed of everything Leith, 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 all that, friend. But, 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 Leith 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 Rich as 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 Leith, 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. And you, the outsider. The child they call you. 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 Boss will fast one on us and bring 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. The Prototype has been revealed at
