Game Theory - Poppy Is Pulling ALL The Strings! (Poppy Playtime)

Episode Date: June 27, 2024

Join Game Theory host Tom as he warns us against trusting Poppy in Chapter 3 of Poppy Playtime! *Credits:* Writers: Tom Robinson Editors: Dan "Cybert" Seibert, Jerika (NekoOnigiri), Pedro Freitas and Alex "Sedge" Sedgwick Sound Designer: Yosi Berman

When I say that I've read every book from every major indie horror franchise, I really do mean it. Bendy, been there. Hello neighbor, done that. Fnaf, forget about it. But with Fnaf not getting another book until September, I was excited to finally give my dyslexic brain a rest. But of course, there was one franchise that refused to let that happen. One that knew I wouldn't be able to resist the law hidden within its pages.

So let's see what Poppy Playtime's Orientation Notebook has to offer, shall we? Hello internet! Welcome to Game Theory of the show that always reads the manual. You never know what cool stuff you're going to find. Unless, of course, the company behind the book explicitly tells you over and over again. Then it's pretty obvious. Use the knowledge in these pages and maybe you can unravel the mystery of Playtime Co. I'm actually kind of surprised it took this long for Pobby to come out with a book, given that immediately after Chapter 1 they announced they'd already partnered with someone to make a movie.

Which seems to have fallen through and now we're back again with the new studio. But here we are. two and a half years later and we're just getting our first ever poppy book. However, this book isn't like your FNAF YA novels. Instead of unique stories with canonicity that the fan base can never agree on, this is an in-universe orientation book handed out by Playtime Code to its employees. So it's more like the Survival Logbook, because we can never truly escape the FNAF connection, can we? But there are some key differences.

Rather than having a bunch of puzzles and cryptic clues with multiple authors, the Poppy Orientation Notebook does keep things simple. We have one author who is leaving notes throughout the book to give us the inside scoop on some of the details we've been missing from the games. Like, why the water treatment facility acts like a puzzle to solve rather than an actual usable water treatment facility, because that was the law that we were so desperate to solve. There's actually a lot of details like that in this book, but that's not why you're here. You're here for the deep law. The stuff that will change your perspective on this franchise going forward, and don't worry, this book absolutely delivers on that.

Thanks to this book, I feel more confident than ever in not only who our player character is, but also what the deal is with one of this franchise's most confusing characters. See, I told you reading the manual would be fun, and it all begins with that first page. On it, we're introduced to another new character, PW. I tell you, this franchise really does love to name drop random human characters, doesn't it? The book even calls this out, questioning whether a character whose name we've only ever seen on one note is even real. So, at least they're self-aware, I guess. Anyway, PW is our guide throughout this book, and they have been hired for a very specific reason.

They are a biologist. And while they may not be immediately sure why they've been hired by a toy factory, we know exactly why they're there and why they are the perfect person to guide us through the mysteries of this factory. They've been hired to work on the bigger bodies initiative, orphans turned into giant biological toys. Now, you might think that a scientist's take on everything could be quite dry. I mean, we've heard their reports in previous chapters on the VHS tapes, but in this case, you could not be more wrong. The SaaS is absolutely dripping from these pages, and I am here for it. They talk about how shady Leith Pierre is, how Stella Greybur is weird, and they continuously mock the company for their spin on what are actually just complete failures, like the smiling critters.

Turns out, PW might be the most normal and sane character we've ever had in an indie horror game. However, as funny as it is, we've got a theory to craft, and for that, we actually need to skip past all of the sarcastic notes and instead go to the end of the book. In the back, PW has stuck their own personal calendar, full of little details about their schedule. And one of those details stood out to me immediately, because it's a date that we've seen in this franchise once before. On June 28th, we get a simple note that says, it's your birthday. Not only is this the same birthday as Markiplier, but it's also the date that we heard thrown out by a bunch of, Bunzo Bunny cut out during Chapter 2. I know when your birthday is.

June 28. You just, you just have a nap. I want to speak to the manager of this establishment. I'm gonna breach of privacy, we. At the time, we all just shrugged this off as a little joke to get exactly the reaction we saw from Mark. But then here it is again in this new book. And that's not all. In this book, we also get a breakdown of pretty much every character we've encountered so far,

from Playtime's perspective, of course. And Bunzo Bunny's entry has this interesting detail assigned to it. it. Quote, this toy is equipped with the ability to remember up to eight birthdays and deliver greetings on the day itself. Kids love to freak out their family and friends when Bunzo tells them when their birthday is. Bunzo's one and only purpose is to recite birthdays, which makes me think that June 28th wasn't just a random birthday thrown out for the memes, but instead was there to freak out the player character by reciting their actual birthday. The same birthday as P.W. We are playing as P.W. Now, that might seem like a bit of a stretch, but this isn't the only time

cutouts have hinted at our player's identity. In Chapter 3, we encountered cutouts of each of the smiling critters. To start with, they all seem relatively harmless, introducing their basic character traits, as well as some disturbing screams. But it's Bubba Bubba-Bubhafants that caught my attention, because it's the first one we encounter, and it's the most direct. I'm Bubba Bubba-Bubhafin. Hey, I remember you. An elephant always remember We're being told what I remember about you? We're being told the smiling critters remember us and that we did something horrible to them. This isn't anything especially new for our player character.

Both Mummy Longlegs and Mr. Light have recognized us and referenced the fact that we worked for Playtime Code. For a long time, we suspected that we, in some way, were involved in the experiments. But the orientation handbook not only seems to confirm that idea, but also puts PW in the exact. same position. In the book, PW notes that they are very careful about not letting employees outside the playcare and the game station talk to the orphans. So, it's not just any old employee that gets to go and talk to these orphans or have a meeting with Mummy Longlegs. You have to be involved in some way as a counselor or a shopkeep or a scientist, just like PW and just like we saw in the VHS take from Chapter 3.

This week, Dr. White here has selected our very own Samuel Lee. We even see a note in P.W.'s calendar on February 1st that says, New Orphans arrive at Playcare, being told to go and say hello to them. That would allow characters like Mr. Light and Mummy Longlegs to know exactly who P.W. is, just like they seem to know who the player character is. It doesn't end there, though, because the reports in the book specifically call out that P.W. was involved in the Smiling Critter's Experiments. There's reports about Bobby Bear Hug and Catnap, both included by P.W. themselves.

Notice the tape that's holding them into the book. That's why Bubba Bubba Buffa Buffan remembers the play. and associates them with those horrible, painful screams. Because the player is PW, one of the scientists that turned them into monsters. Now, if you've read the book for yourself, you might notice that PW's entries stop after the hour of joy, August 8, 1995. The time where the toys rebelled and took over the factory, killing everyone in sight. That should mean that PW died along with everyone else. However, clearly people escaped.

Leif Pierre, one of the big executives for Playtime Co., gives a speech to his newly formed reason. resource extraction team at the start of project playtime, a game that takes place after the hour of joy. But that means that P.W. also survived because they refer to the incident as well as the extraction team's creation. That incident was the hour of joy. And so P.W. wouldn't be able to write about it if they had died during it. Meaning P.W. isn't necessarily writing this book in a linear fashion. But more importantly, they are still alive and would be free to return to the factory years later. Oh, and speaking of executives like Leith Pierre, I should probably mention that executive slide that we've referenced a number of times from chapter 2.

The one with the names of all the executives on, except for that last one with a random assortment of letters on the floor. This handbook actually lists out all the executives for the company. But sadly, none of them match the name on the floor. Even Jimmy Roth, the guy that came up with the name for Huggy, is revealed to be an exec. And he would make so much more sense to be the final name on the end of that list. And yet, the letters still don't match. For a long time, we suspected that this might be used to reveal the player character's name. But with all this evidence from PW and the lack of an exec that fits those letters,

I'm just starting to think that this might have been a red herring or a clue that isn't going to pay off, which sucks. But we've got to work with the more solid evidence we have to hand right now. Like the insights that we get into PW's feelings towards the company that would seem to align them very closely with the player. Remember that case report I mentioned about catnap escaping containment? that was written by P.W. themselves. And in it, we see that they are horrified by the carelessness that led to the death of six colleagues. They tried to appeal to the company for improvement and leave us with these words. Quote, remember those names. They were people, not things, people. I won't

see another teammate die. P.W. cares about their teammates. They're co-workers. They don't want to see them die when they don't have to. So, what do you think they would do if they suddenly got a note telling them their colleagues were alive and hidden inside the factory. I have a feeling they would do anything they could to save them. P.W. knew of the monsters that were still there after all. They had some sins to atone for. And they do feel guilty over those experiments. In the calendar, we see May 15th booked for surgery.

But the day after, they book a full day in one of the porter lounges, which the orientation notebook tells us our four, quote, mental health breaks. And PW remarks that they used these things pretty regularly. They didn't like what they were doing and needed a whole whole, day to recover from the horrors they were part of. And so, given the chance to save some colleagues to write at least some of their wrongs, they didn't hesitate. They headed straight for Playtime Co. But why should we care? Why is knowing who we play as actually important to the law of this game?

Besides, you know, being a fun piece of trivia that we can go, I sold the law! Well, for that, we have to stop looking at our guide throughout the book and instead look at our guide throughout the factory. Poppy. Poppy has been helping us throughout this latest chapter, and she's made it very clear that she wants the prototype, the big bad of the series, dead. Prototype has to die for this, for everything. That is something I think we can all get behind. And at the very end of the chapter, we end up going down an elevator alongside her after she reveals the truth about our fellow employees.

Naturally, because of these actions, we as an audience have started to associate the idea of prototype bad, Poppy Good. However, there is something we need to remember. It's been a long time since Chapter 1 first release, Two and a half years, in fact. And given we've only had two chapters since then, it could be easy to forget certain details along the way. One of those details comes from that very first chapter.

Poppy is not to be trusted. I know, I know, I just did a Poppy theory about not trusting a friendly character, but honestly, hear me out. Surrounding her room alongside the giant flower and hanging toys, are messages to us, warning us to turn around and go back. We see the same messages inside the tunnel during the Huggy Chase sequence, But there are a few that I initially didn't see. Mainly because I was trying not to die.

But thankfully, Reddit user 1, 2, 3, uh, F this S was kind enough to post the actual texture files and in it, we find some crucial evidence. Stay away from her. Don't let her out. Leave her to die. She can't be trusted. If that's not an open and shut case,

I don't know what is. Yeah, I know. That one was bad. But if you think about it, ever since that moment, she has continued to be untrustworthy. In chapter 2, she tells us she's going to help us escape. There's a train station nearby.

It needs a coat. But I have you. Only to change the tracks at the last minute so we can help her with her own plans. You are perfect too. Perfect to lose. I'm sorry. I can't let you leave. In chapter 3, she lies to our faces once again. When we first meet her, she tells us...

Let me help you kill him. Let me help you save everyone. But when we get to the end of the chapter, she tells us something different. Then you deserve to have the truth. Came back because of your co-workers. We want to know what happened. And why this is your answer. Poppy knew the truth about what happened,

but didn't admit it right at the start, because if she did, we likely wouldn't have helped her. By the time you get to the end, you've forgotten what she said all those hours ago. Oh, Poppy's being honest with us. She must be trustworthy. But no, she's just manipulating us once again. But why is she doing it?

Well, we've believed that Poppy was created, using the adopted daughter of Elliot Ludwig, the founder of Playtime Co. Given all the adoption initiatives around the facility and that Elliot was considered a family man at heart, it would make sense that he would have adopted a daughter of his own. But then there was a tragic death in the family in the 1960s, and it wasn't his wife because she was out of the picture, divorcing him in the 1930s, which left only his daughter to be the one brought back to life as a Poppy doll. Now, thanks to the orientation notebook, it seems like we were on the right track.

PW talks about how toys at the factory were being created biologically for a long time, even before the Bigger Body's initiative. And if you did maintenance on a Poppy Dolce, she'd break, because they all used biological parts like we saw in that original VHS tape. But they also imply that there was one Poppy that was special, one that was locked inside a glass case in what looked like an ordinary family home, a family home that had a direct line to Elliot's office, so he could quote, visit her.

In another part of the book, it once again, brings up Elliot's divorce, how it happened because he devoted all of his time to his work, and so quote, it always felt like he wanted to have a family within the factory, so his whole life could be here. Elliot wouldn't want to lose his daughter. By using the technology they'd already been using to make poppy dolls, he was able to save her and turn her into the special poppy doll we know today. He put her inside a glass case to keep her safe and would visit her inside their family home, which means just like all the orphans that would come after her, she went through all that pain and suffering to be turned into a toy. Sure, she was dead when the process started,

but just like we saw with the rats in the poppy gel, they all have to be resuscitated at some point. And who could imagine the kind of pain you'd be in? Having your eyes, nervous system, digestive tract, all shoved into a tiny doll-like figure. It would be a hugely traumatic ordeal, and so I'm not sure she'd be a fan of anyone doing this to anyone else, especially orphans, which sounds an awful lot like another character we know. all those hallway messages about not trusting Poppy in Chapter 1, there's one message I've not mentioned. She's on their side. When we receive those warnings, there is only one side that isn't our own going on. The side of another creature who was forced to become a monster. The side of the one who was angered

by the treatment of the orphans. The side of the prototype, 1006. Both Poppy and the prototype have been forced to suffer through this horrific conversion process. Both of them know the pain that goes with it and neither wants to see it happen again. They are in cahoots and the clues have been right in front of us the whole time. We established last time that Ollie, the kid that talks to us in that clip, isn't actually a kid, but the prototype mimicking the voice of a child. In that video, I pointed out that any child that was around during the Hour of Joy wouldn't still be a child by this point in the timeline because 10 years have passed since that fateful day. Poppy knew about the Hour of Joy. She tells us about it at the Inner of Joy. She tells us about it at the end of joy.

of the chapter, so she'd have no reason to believe that Olli was a real child in the facility, unless she's trying to convince us that he is. All that talk about hating the prototype and wanting to kill him, it's all just an act to get us to trust Poppy and her new friend, to follow their instructions as we explore the facility so that they could enact their revenge. But what does that have to do with our player character? If they wanted revenge, why not invite Leith Pierre? He's still around and kicking and definitely wasn't a good guy. Instead, we were the one who received the note at the start of all this. Why? Well, it comes back to what I was saying at the start of this episode. We aren't just anyone. We are P-W, a biologist that worked on the experiments

at Playtime Code, and that is what the prototype needs. We feel pretty confident at this point that 1006 is making a new body for himself down in the basement. We saw the shrine in Chapter 3 that mimicked this idea, and of course there's Mummy's iconic line. orientation notebook, we learned that not every experiment was completely successful. Bobby Bearhug seemed to be missing the ability to hear, speak and stand stably. In Chapter 3, Leith Pierre comments about how Catnaps' voice isn't working properly. Is his voice thing he's still broken? And while Huggy is obedient, he too is unable to speak.

Even 1006 isn't perfect. He's copying other voices to form sentences. Each experiment has flaws, except of course for Poppy. She is perfect. She can see, speak, hear, move, she is the blueprint. So I wonder whether 1006's goal here isn't just to create a bigger body, but to create the perfect body, combining all of the elements that worked from each of the toys. And then, once he's perfect, he can truly enact his and Poppy's revenge.

Or maybe it's like Rytoc's suggested in their reaction to my first theory. Instead of 1006 trying to create the perfect toy body, they're trying to create a new organic body out of all the biological parts from within each of the toys in order to go back to living a normal life. Maybe Poppy will get a new body too. However, whichever option is correct, the one thing I never stopped to consider until now was whether 1006 would be physically able to make themselves a new body. We know they're particularly good with technology, able to turn an alarm clock into a laser pointer to disable the security cameras. But as we've mentioned multiple times, the toys he's adding to himself aren't mechanical, they're biological. Playtime Co. had to hire Biological

to make their experiments work, not just any old toy makers. So, if 1006 was trying to make themselves a new body using the parts of these deceased toys, he'd likely need the help of someone with those specific skills, someone like us, someone who worked on these experiments and knew how they ticked in order that they could create the perfect bodies. Given this game has seen success going in a darker direction and the area we enter at the end of chapter 3 being known in the game files as the prison, I wouldn't be surprised if throughout chapter 4 we are going to see more characters like dog day missing limbs stuffed into cages

and surrounded by the pure carnage of one zero zero six's attempts to create this perfect body only for him to realize that he can't do it alone but now his good and faithful servant poppy has led us right to him and despite going into this new chapter knowing that we can't trust anyone there's nothing we're going to be able to do to stop it ollie and poppy have us right where they want us and all we can do is wait and see what last minute out the developers are going to give us to escape their horrible schemes. But hey, that's just a theory. A game theory! Thanks for watching.