The Unnamed Protagonist (i.e. The Player) is the main protagonist of Poppy Playtime. They are a former employee of Playtime Co., finally returning a decade later to find their missing friends and co-workers.
Appearance[]
Since the protagonist is a human, their physical appearance isn't seen in-game, and any surfaces that would reflect their appearance instead show a shadow. In the GrabPack Instructional VHS Tapes and in-game posters, the protagonist is a faceless yellow mannequin with a spherical head. The protagonist has not yet talked and the only known information about them is that they were formerly an employee for Playtime Co. However, before The Hour of Joy happened, they either left their job, were retired, was replaced by another employee, or fired. When their GrabPack is pulling a heavy object, The protagonist can still move around with ease. During the vent chase, the protagonist is shown to be agile in their movements, being able to turn around corners, enter lower parts of the vents and even run quickly, while still holding the GrabPack.
Personality[]
The protagonist is a determined individual, returning to the factory where people disappeared a decade ago and continuing to see their journey through. Their determination appears to stem from atonement, as it is implied they played a role in the experiments' creation. They are very intelligent, as they effectively utilize the environment to their advantage, whether it's for traversal purposes, solving puzzles, or fighting back against monsters. They also have more of a flight-than-fight instinct, often running away from monsters and only fighting back when cornered and given a chance.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Not much about the protagonist's backstory, though, they were used to be an employee at Playtime Co. when the company was active. But at an unknown time, they were presumably retired or laid off by the company because they either left their job to work at another company that makes more money, or replaced by another employee, or got fired. They likely left the company for more than 10 years before their return in 2005.
Chapter 1: A Tight Squeeze[]
One day, the protagonist receives an anonymous letter inviting them back to the factory to find the company's staff, with a drawing of a poppy, representing the location they must find. A yellow VHS tape which features a tampered version of a Vintage Poppy Commercial is also included with the message. After watching the VHS tape, the protagonist finally decides to return to the toy factory to find the company's missing staff.
Upon arriving at the factory, it appears to be now abandoned when they first enter the Main Entrance. After opening the Security Room, they obtain their GrabPack (which only has one hand for now). With their newfound item, they use it to enter the Main Lobby, where they are greeted by a giant statue of Huggy Wuggy, Playtime Co.’s most popular toy. After restoring the power in the Power Room, they immediately see that Huggy has disappeared.
After walking through a creepy hallway, the protagonist enters the Warehouse, where they have to find 4 power cells to activate the crane and collect the GrabPack's second hand. They enter the conveyor belt that transfers toy parts to the Make-A-Friend machine and fix the power to enable the conveyor to move. Once they arrive, they restore power to the Machine to make their own Cat-Bee.
The protagonist places their toy in the scanning device to unlock the door, but instead of leaving, Huggy Wuggy emerges, forcing them to flee into the Ventilation Shaft next to the Make-A-Friend machine. Unfortunately, Huggy enters the vents and gives chase, trying to catch and kill them. Once the protagonist leaves the vent, the exit closes behind them, and they pull down a box from above them to break the bridge to stop Huggy from reaching them. Though they land safely on a catwalk, Huggy strikes the railing and falls into the facility's abyss, slamming into several pipelines and leaving behind dark red blood splatters.
Finally, they find the door with a large poppy mural painted around it. Inside, they find Poppy Playtime herself resting in a glass case. After opening the case door, the lights flicker as Poppy's eyes open, as the protagonist passes out, but thankfully they hear Poppy saying, "You opened my case."
Chapter 2: Fly in a Web[]
After regaining consciousness, the protagonist explores a new area of the factory, utilizing their GrabPack to traverse chasms and crumbling floors. After entering Elliot Ludwig's Office, they find Poppy in the Backrooms. Poppy, in response to their rescue, decides to help them escape via the Game Station located deep under the facility. This plan is soon vandalized, as a spider-like monster named Mommy Long Legs assaults and snatches Poppy, forcing the protagonist to drop down to attempt to save her. Once in the station, Mommy Long Legs confronts them, tearing off their Red GrabPack Hand and stating that to escape, they must play three games that become increasingly more difficult.
After creating a Green Hand in the Molding Room, they enter the first game, Musical Memory, a "Simon Says"-like game where the protagonist has to select the correct buttons before a starving Bunzo Bunny reaches them. This gradually gets faster until the game malfunctions, forcing them to hit the emergency stop button. After Mommy gives them the first Train Code fragment, they briefly enter the Rejected Room before returning to the Game Station.
The second game is Wack-a-Wuggy, a game similar to "Whack-a-Mole", where the protagonist must hit the Mini Huggies with their GrabPack as they're coming out of holes in the walls. After they receive the second Train Code fragment from Mommy, they enter the Cart Corridors. When the protagonist comes up to a closed gate, Kissy Missy appears; walking in a similar manner to Huggy Wuggy. Kissy stares at them for a few seconds before glancing at a nearby lever. She pulls down on it, but her hand slips off before attempting it a second time and successfully pulling it. As the gate slowly rises back up, Kissy turns away and disappears into the darkness. After Kissy leaves, the protagonist returns to the Game Station with the help of Barry.
The third and final game is Statues, a game similar to ‘Red Light. Green Light’, where the protagonist navigates a maze while being pursued by PJ Pug-a-Pillar. However, the third game is seen to be rigged, the ending blocked by debris, leading the the protagonist to choose to escape. However, this infuriates Mommy Long Legs, who corners the protagonist, claiming that they "cheated". She tells them that it's time to play "one last game" with them, calling it "Hide-and-Seek", and begins to count down. After surviving Mommy's relentless chase, they trap Mommy in a grinder and activate the lever, killing her. Soon after, a mysterious, claw-like hand appears from the bottom of the partially closed door and drags Mommy's severed torso into the dark, before the door to the right opens, and the protagonist is led back into the Game Station. Navigating Bay 09 lets them find a trapped Poppy and free her. Poppy then boards the Train while the former employee inputs the Train Code correctly, getting the Train to move.
However, Poppy, witnessing the protagonist's outstanding agility and intelligence, deems that they are "too perfect to lose", and changes the train's direction at the last second. Poppy then states she had "so much time to think and reflect", and that together, they can "set things right." Before she can finish, the sound of a digital alarm clock cuts her off, leaving her with only enough time to exclaim "What-?" before the audio is cut off. The Train begins to accelerate at an alarming pace. The protagonist attempts to use the emergency stop, but the Train derails and crashes, and they black out, but not before seeing a sign for Playcare.
Chapter 3: Deep Sleep[]
After the train crash, the protagonist is recovered and thrown down a tube by a cat-like monster named CatNap, landing in a trash compactor. The protagonist quickly escapes and makes their way trough a series of maintenance tunnels, discovering a phone ringing in the distance. They find themselves communicating with an unknown figure named Ollie, who promises to guide the protagonist while explaining the ongoing situation. The protagonist proceeds to enter Playcare through Elliot's Express, which plays a speech made by Elliot Ludwig that introduces his ideologies and thoughts during the creation of Playcare.
Upon arriving at Playcare, Ollie gives the protagonist a key to the Gas Production Zone, which was used to power the facility and produce a gas called “The Red Smoke”. There, the protagonist obtains the GrabPack 2.0, utilizing their new Purple Hand to traverse rivers of liquefied Red Smoke. After activating the console, the power goes out. Ollie tasks them with restoring the Gas Production Zone's power via the five locations' backup generators, and assigns them to Home Sweet Home first, the abandoned residence for the orphan children.
Upon arrival, they find their path blocked by Red Smoke. With no other choice, the protagonist enters the hallway, inhaling the sinister gas and falling into a hallucination. They make their way through a maze of seemingly endless corridors, while also coming upon audio recordings that claim an eviscerated child had been found on Elliot Ludwig's estate. One radio, separate from the rest, repeats a peculiar and damning message. While continuing through, the protagonist comes across several messages carved in surfaces: "Guilt Haunts You", "Happy and fun, why was it done?". The most notable instance is seen through a window at the end of a dead end hallway in an office room. The protagonist reaches the end of the corridors, where a room with dirty beds and a VHS protagonist resides. They watch a tape welcoming employees to the Playtime Co. factory, which slowly becomes increasingly disturbing, calling out the ex-employee specifically for returning and mocking them for not being present on August 8th, 1995. The tape ends with a distorted, twisted version of Huggy Wuggy crawling out of the television and eating the protagonist. They wake up in the real Home Sweet Home, where they obtain an invaluable Gas Mask.
After activating Home Sweet Home's generator and leaving, the protagonist reunites with Kissy Missy and Poppy Playtime, the latter stopping the former from attacking them. While restoring the Sky Dome's backup power, Poppy explains her motives: She intends to kill The Prototype, the leader of the vengeful experiments. She instructs the ex-employee to wait for Ollie's call before departing. Ollie sends them to the School, the only place CatNap avoids. Inside, the protagonist encounters Miss Delight, who slowly threatens them through the PA system. They successfully activate the backup generator; however, Miss Delight destroys the generator before chasing them through various corridors and classrooms. Upon nearing the School's maintenance exit, the protagonist crushes the teacher's head with a metal rolling gate, instantly killing her.
At the back of the maintenance exit, the protagonist obtains the Orange Hand and makes their way into the caverns. There, they observe CatNap worshipping a shrine of The Prototype, though they strangely evade him undetected, thanks either to their stealth, or CatNap's unawareness. The protagonist soon enters a restricted area leading to the Playhouse–the most dangerous area of Playcare, according to Ollie. Here, they fend off hordes of light-sensitive Ruined Critters via the Orange Hand. On their way out, they encounter a locked-up DogDay, who explains that the entirety of Playcare is CatNap's playground for destruction, murder, and general acts of violence. DogDay also explains that CatNap takes orders from The Prototype, worshipping him and killing anyone who doesn’t listen to his god. Shortly before his monologue ends, the Mini Critters infest DogDay, crawling into his body, hijacking it, and chasing the protagonist through it. The protagonist escapes the possessed DogDay, last hearing him or the critters screaming, before taking a slide out of the Playhouse.
Ollie then sends the protagonist to the Counselor's Office as their final objective, where they find and watch a tape of a warning issued to Playtime Co. employees on August 8, 1995, warning them of a hostile force and to evacuate, before corrupting to reveal the sinister message: "Open the doors. The Hour of Joy has begun". The protagonist briefly returns to the caverns as they make their way through the Counselor's Office. As they enter a Red Smoke-infested area while trying to power the building, The protagonist is attacked by CatNap, who knocks the Gas Mask off their face and sends them into a dream state where Poppy asks the protagonist rhetorical questions with various shadowy visions of children in Playcare. After recovering from the hallucination and rerouting the Counselor's Office backup power to the statue, Ollie gives The protagonist the final battery required to power the Gas Production Zone. They return to the zone, but CatNap ambushes them by filling the room with Red Smoke, chasing the protagonist into an elevator.
The protagonist enters the Safe Room and is required to fend off CatNap in his demonic form for three minutes as he constantly toys with the protagonist via hallucinations. A Green GrabPack Hand receiver eventually overcharges and the protagonist utilizes this to eliminate CatNap at the hand's sacrifice. CatNap staggers from the lethal electrocution and, falling to the ground, inadvertently lights himself on fire exhaling the Red Smoke in a last ditch effort. This causes him to madly writhe and scramble around the room as the flames burn away his fur. Shortly after, the Prototype's arm emerges from the ceiling, almost to offer assistance to CatNap before brutally taking his life, seemingly for his failures. Returning to the Gas Production Zone, the protagonist uses the battery to power the console, finally diverting the gas and powering the area. They then encounter Poppy, who shows them a tape containing CCTV footage of what happened to the protagonist's coworkers, an incident the toys call "The Hour of Joy." The tape shows Huggy Wuggy, Mommy Long Legs, Boxy Boo, Miss Delight, CatNap and other toys, under The Prototype's orders, indiscriminately killing everyone present in the factory at the time ten years prior. Poppy explains that she had been thrown into the case the protagonist found her in at the time, but she heard everything that happened and has since been distraught by the needless slaughter of so many lives, including those who were innocent, on that day. Therefore, she has vowed to put an end to The Prototype for what he has done.
Poppy and the protagonist take an elevator deeper into the factory, while Kissy Missy stays behind to activate it. As the elevator lowers into the ground, Kissy is attacked by an unknown entity (presumably The Prototype), and Poppy turns the elevator around to save her, but the door concealing the elevator closes, stranding the protagonist and Poppy in the deeper levels of the factory and leaving Kissy's fate uncertain.
Death[]
If the protagonist dies, one of a few death screens will appear, followed by a white screen (the ones related to The Prototype have a red screen), before they respawn at the last autosave checkpoint. The death screens are chosen at random when the protagonist dies, and are not planned to appear in a certain order. Curiously, dying to The Red Smoke yields no death screens.
Chapter 1 death screens[]
- ɔ̃ɛ̃X́ŋG̀ ɛ̃ᴜãŋ ǝ̀ããà ᴜãʌ̀ɚ̀. Get up.
- Don't die just yet. Get up.
- Exp. 1006. Isn't he wonderful?
- More lives are at risk than just yours. Get up.
- It's not your time. Get up.
- Death isn't permanent. Get up.
- It's too early to die. Get up.
- I need you alive. Get up.
- Don't let them inside. Get up.
- INNOVATION IS KEY. THANK YOU SCIENCE.
- ¿Limón? Limón :D (Secret Death Message, accessed when you click the Limón too much.)
Chapter 2 death screens[]
- Nobody is here by choice. Get up.
- You can take it. Get up.
- You can die later. Get up.
- This isn't about you. Get up.
- We're almost there. Get up.
- I still have plans for you. Get up.
- We're just getting started. Get up.
- There are fates worse than death. Get up.
- Don't let them near you. Get up.
- It's not over. Get up.
- I never said it would be easy. Get up.
- The Prototype has saved us! Isn't he wonderful?
- INNOVATION IS KEY. MAY WE FORGET DEATH.
- HE IS LOOSE. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN.
- ɛ̃ᴜãŋ 'ɔ̃ã ᴜæɔ̃ɛ̃ ᴜæɚ̀ioŋ. GET UP.
Chapter 3 death screens[]
- Your rest is over. Get up.
- Don't be selfish. Get up.
- BURN THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND. GET UP.
- We need revenge. Get up.
- I won't wait for you. Get up.
- IT'S TIME TO HARVEST. THE BODY IS STILL FRESH.
- Bow to the Prototype! Isn’t he wonderful?
- We're going to miss our window, Get up.
- You don't get to die yet, Get up
- INNOVATION IS KEY. We are born anew.
- CatNap is coming. Get up.
- THIS RESEARCH MUST STAY BURIED. NOBODY MAY LEAVE.
Trivia[]
- In the Ventilation Shaft, when Huggy Wuggy gets too close, the GrabPack shakes, as if the protagonist is shaking in fear.
- However, the GrabPack also shakes when Mommy Long Legs gets too close in the Hidden Labyrinth, so it's possible that the ground is just shaking.
- The unused Chapter 1 synopsis states the protagonist felt sick and stayed at home, the reason for them missing The Hour of Joy. It is unknown if this is still the case.
- The coded death screens use the font Bookshelf Symbol 7.
- ɔ̃ɛ̃X́ŋG̀ ɛ̃ᴜãŋ ǝ̀ããà ᴜãʌ̀ɚ̀. would be: Stay, they need help.
- ɛ̃ᴜãŋ 'ɔ̃ã ᴜæɔ̃ɛ̃ ᴜæɚ̀ioŋ. would be: They're hurt, hungry.
- It's theorized the person talking to the protagonist on the death screens is The Prototype, as the words "Get up" are used by the Monster Tutorial Narrator in Project: Playtime, who is believed to be The Prototype.
- A theory has circulated that the letters on an unknown fifth tube slide in Higher-Up Tunnels spell a "name" for the protagonist. The theory is that the protagonist is the Head of Production, and how they are one of the higher-ups in the factory. Using these letters, a presumed name for the protagonist is "Jamie B. Honey." (Although the extra 'A' was replaced with an 'E', so it would actually make it "Jamie B. Honay.") Another name that has been speculated is "Jay Bohemian."
- One of the lines in the Your gift has finally arrived tape seems to confirm this theory. Said line is: "IT WAS YOUR DOING THAT MADE US."
- During the hallucination inside Home Sweet Home, the protagonist can see an office through a window with the message "guilt haunts you" above the desk. It's speculated this was the protagonist's workstation at Playtime Co.