Who is the Protagonist? || Poppy Playtime Theory

The main protagonist of Poppy Playtime is a mystery to this day. However, we can make an educated guess based on some evidence found throughout the story so far. In this video we take a look at Poppy Playtime's mystery character and the character of Playtime Co worker Rich. A prominent side character who seems to have importance, despite us never meeting him. Could Rich and the protagonist we play as be one and the same? Watch on to find out in this new Poppy Playtime theory video.

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[hashashafashasha]

from a storytelling standpoint, rich getting a tape in every chapter means he is almost certainly an important character. i'd assume either the prototype or the protagonist

[Warrior-Of-Virtue]

I used to think it was an orphan who managed to escape but Chapter 3 shot that down pretty quick.

[GetRektBruv]

I feel like the fact he's in every chapter in some way really adds on to the fact he must be a main character. Either as the protagonist, or antagonists

[shaniceball]

I have a feeling that we were once an orphan at Playcare too, cause in the hallucinations, we're joining in with the other children. But we must have seen something and so Playtime Co. made it their job to keep us quiet by employing us and keeping a sharp eye on us. But then The Hour Of Joy came along, giving us the chance to escape the factory! And i still believe that The Prototype is Elliot Ludwig, and his lost family member was his daughter. Who is now the soul inside Poppy herself.

[rafaelcunha]

the protagonist is, like Henry, a former factory employee who returns after being invited by a letter

[alliesangalli]

The change in VA and direction for Stuart in the chapter 3 VHS is interesting. The original clip sounded warm and understanding while the new one sounds distant and almost uncaring, maybe even a little suspicious. I don't know why they changed it, but maybe it's to foreshadow Rich being set up by Playtime, maybe turning him into one of the experiments?

[void_summoner_]

I think the protagonist is darker than you realize, do you remember in chapter 3 that during the nightmare sequence. You come across a radio telling the news about a body inside Elliot Ludwig's home after his passing. Why would that be stuck in the protagonist's mind, I think they planted that body there as a way to expose playtime co. You might ask why would the protagonist do this? If you come across a radio that has a backward message on it, it states how the protagonist missed a meeting after the hour of joy. I'm assuming that the protagonist and other workers were working with the prototype, but they knew the prototype wasn't going to spare anyone. So, they convinced the prototype that they have another exposed playtime co. And the prototype agrees, but if they fail, the hour of joy must happens.

[celticcomedy]

I could be wrong but Rich isn’t the only person with so much importance placed on him via tapes for each chapter. Stella’s tapes also appear in each chapter but we haven’t seen her

[MagicalFlame]

The protagonist could also be Stella. She's an employee, who cared about the kids. She seemed genuinely confused and upset when she saw 'testing' on that orphan kid's file. So maybe after finding out, she quits. She misses out on the Hour of Joy and comes back 10 years later. But hey, that's just a theory.

[torazely]

I don't think the Protagonist is Rich for a few reasons:

1) Rich has a voice actor, so there would be no reason to keep the Protest silent.
2) Rich doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd leave before or during the Hour of Joy. He's not the kind to run.
3) He clearly cares about the children, so he wouldn't have helped in the experiments on them. But we know thanks to Mommy Long-Legs that our character had a part to play in them.

So no, I don't think Rich is the Protag.

Rich is the Prototype.

[lrcronk]

Actually Poppy playtime CH1 actually told us why the protagonist wasn't there. In an early version of CH1 it said that we took a sick day of and the next morning when we returned there were thousands of cop cars outside. So taken a sick day of was actually the reason why we didn't show up to the hour of joy.

[realbiggestlegofanconnor]

Also I REALLY wish they kept stu’s voice as an old man because he’s supposed to be retiring soon and his new voice sounds like he’s 40 something at the least when his old voice sounded a lot older and like someone who WOULD be nearly hitting retirement (I don’t even know why they changed it)

[Legoreviewer]

I think the protagonist is Stuart. Stuart said that he was going to retire what if Stuart retired the day before the hour of joy making him absent from the hour of joy

[Tracy_WF]

Game Theorists: Rich is the Prototype
SHB: Rich is the Protagonist
What comes next?

[TwistedSolarium]

My theory is that Rich is actually Dogday, because the voices match (can also just be a coincidence), and Rich likes kids and Dogdag likes kids.
But thats just a theory....

[muigogitoultrasonic]

It's a good theory...but:
If Rich cares about the children, and actually knew the dark secrets of the company, I don't think that he would be able to quit that easily... In the ARGs, those who knew what happen in the company would ended up either killed, or turned into experiment subjects. They wanted a bright image in the eyes of the public, so thinking Rich able to quit while knew something about it would be near impossible.

Another thing that confused me with this theory is that if he really knew the dark secrets of the entire situation, he should be in one of the higher-ups of the company, yet the problem occurs that back in the 2nd Chapter, the slide that has its letters fell off doesn't spell out Rich in any sort of way. Mommy Long Legs knew the protagonist worked there before, but it's doubtful that she would be able to remember all the employees working there after 10+ years, so it had to be someone very significant or having higher rankings. Stuart also sounded to be someone in the higher ranking, and him giving Rich that role unofficially hinted that Rich would be given a supervisor role of sorts.

While it's entirely possible that Rich knew what the hour of joy actually be and taken such action, as he missed that meeting/party, but you said that it was happen within the 1st red smoke illusion, meaning its authenticity is questionable at best. Plus it wouldn't make sense to come back now just because some letter that looks to be written by a kid, yet not able to process the fact that this is impossible to happen in the first place (any survived kid would be teen by the start of the game, and none of the toys that actually attack the player is a kid, all of them has adult voices inside) when he knew the "sunlights" in the factory was fake all along...

It's a cool thought, but given how the chapters played out and other clues shown, it's kinda fallen apart for me

[ashuraomega]

I feel the protagonist is most likely Rich or someone that is affiliated with him given how he seems to be a very important part of the story evidenced by his VHS tapes in every chapter.

[danielschultz]

The protagonist is probably having major survivors guilt. Especially after watching the hour of joy tape. And probably agrees with poppy. That he’s the one that need to finally end all this, to redeem themself.

[wreckitralphfan]

I've had a feeling Rich was being hinted at throughout the game for a reason, and you detailed on it quite nicely in this video!

[bunny]

I swear the dude talking to Rich in the third VHS was more like-- accented???