| “ | Something looms in the dark... But to move forward, we must first learn from the past. So, let us start from the beginning. | ” |
| — Mob Entertainment[1] | ||
The Story So Far: Chapter 1 is a storytelling tape that retells the story of Chapter 1: "A Tight Squeeze" of Poppy Playtime. The video is narrated by a familiar-sounding narrator and contains several hints that lead to the Chapter 4 ARG.
Analysis[]
The video begins with a black screen displaying a redacted date in the center: XX-XX-2005. Meanwhile, a synthetic voice is heard creating a security log for Playtime Co. The system states the front lobby entrance was breached by an unidentified trespasser, referring to The Player’s return.
The camera then cuts to a shot of the letter and tape that incited The Player’s journey. Meanwhile, a familiar voice states the reason behind their decision: "A mystery about a toy factory whose staff all vanished a decade prior." The image slowly fades to black as the narrator corrects himself, saying that almost all of the staff vanished.
Next, the camera displays a moving shot of the Main Entrance's skylights, where the Playtime Co. logo is seen mirrored outside the glass. The narrator continues, stating "it was dusk when the intruder broke into the factory". Upon showing an overhead shot of the Green VHS Tape, the narrator remarked how fast it took for the silence to break, with the scene transitioning and slowly zooming in towards the TV above the Green VCR. A clip of Leith Pierre’s concluding statement from the tape is heard: "-you've got my warning. It's not too late to turn around. I just hope you're certain whatever you're doing is worth it."
In the next shot, footage of the GrabPack’s obtainment and the subsequent opening of the Main Lobby's shutter is shown. During said footage, the narrator discusses The Player's disregard for Pierre's warning and provides a brief history of the GrabPack. As the shutter slowly opens, a glimpse of the lobby is shown before the video displays the room's centerpiece, a giant statue of Playtime's most popular mascot: Huggy Wuggy. The narrator reflects on the encounter, remarking that other people would have vacated the premises at that point, but the intruder continued their pursuit instead.
The subsequent scene showed an insider's view of the Warehouse conveyor network, with the narrator stating that The Player’s odyssey dredged up "pieces of the distant past". Upon voicing this remark, a shot of the Pink VCR's TV located above the Make-A-Friend catwalks came into focus. A clip from Stella Greyber’s interview is heard, "It's a pretty great feeling too," before several frames rapidly flash across the screen.
As the camera shows transitional footage of The Player's actions in the Make-a-Friend room, the narrator revealed that they had inadvertently "stirred one of the factory's security measures," with an image of the Lobby's podium, now empty, briefly appearing on-screen. As the narrator completed his statement, "And he performed exactly as he was designed," the start of the intruder's and Huggy Wuggy's fateful second encounter was shown.
The camera then cut to footage of Huggy's climactic chase, with the narrator noting how frustrating the conveyor network's maze-like layout had been; he complimented the intruder's navigational abilities, stating it was a miracle they made it through. As the ex-employee entered the Storage Bay, overhead footage of Huggy's defeat and subsequent plummet was displayed. The narrator remarked that "they lingered on the catwalks for quite some time," with a shot of the Black VCR's TV coming into focus. The ending of the Scientist’s Final Log is heard: "-we must forge onwards in the name of science whether those who are beneath us understand it or not...End of-"
The camera then cut to multiple shots of the Poppy Room, with the narrator stating The Player eventually entered that room, with the former noting how its contents differed greatly from the factory aesthetic. As the camera transitioned to a glass case containing a vintage female doll, the narrator revealed her name: Poppy. The tape cuts to black and ends with one final statement from the narrator: "And we shall see what comes of it... won't we?"
Transcript[]
 |
Synthetic Voice:
"Playtime Co. Security Log 0 1 2 5." Synthetic Voice:"Entry to front lobby breached by unknown intruder." ("It's Playtime" plays in the background.) Narrator:"A tale like this always starts simple." Narrator:"A mystery about a toy factory whose staff all vanished a decade prior." Narrator:"Well, almost all." ("A Tight Squeeze" plays in the background.) Narrator:"It was dusk when the intruder broke into the factory." Narrator:"Its main lobby provided a warm welcome for all." Narrator:"But these days, it is an old forgotten thing." Narrator:"It didn't take our lone intruder long before the first voice of the factory rose over the silence." [VHS Tape]:"-got my warning, it's not too late to turn around. I just hope that you're certain whatever you're doing is worth it." Narrator:"They ignored the warning, of course, stealing a Playtime Co. GrabPack, once used by staff and invented by the elusive company founder Elliot Ludwig." Narrator:"The next creation our... guest encountered was none other than Playtime mascot Huggy Wuggy." Narrator:"He loomed over the foyer with a wide vacant smile." Narrator:"Weaker people would have left at that point and yet this intruder progressed down, kicking up pieces of the distant past in their descent." [VHS Tape]:"it's a pretty great feeling too." ("Box on Boxes" plays in the background.) Narrator:"And this is where the fun began." Narrator:"Our Intruder stirred one of the factory security measures and he performed exactly as he was designed." ("Oh, Hey Huggy!" briefly plays in the background before transitioning to "No More Hugs".) Narrator:"Our intruder scrambled through ventilation ducts with Huggy not far behind." Narrator:"The ventilation in this place has always been a maze; it's impressive this intruder made it through at all." ("Complexus" plays in the background.) Narrator:"Eventually, they made their way into an open warehouse, narrowly avoiding a collapsing catwalk that set our dear Huggy plummeting into the depths below." Narrator:"They lingered on the catwalks for quite some time..." [VHS Tape]:"-we must forge onwards in the name of science *Crash* whether those who are beneath us understand it or not...End of-" ("Poppy's Lullaby" plays in the background.) Narrator:"Eventually, they moved on into a room the public was never meant to see." Narrator:"It wasn't a factory floor or corporate office, this place was different, and yet... not even a hint of the missing staff." Narrator:"At the end of a long hall, there was a room." Narrator:"And inside that room, there was a glass case." Narrator]:"Inside that glass case... a doll." Narrator:"Poppy..." Narrator:"And we shall see what comes of it... won't we?" |
Findings[]
At precisely one minute and twenty-eight seconds into the tape, several hidden frames were shown. The first four frames contained the letters "IV", "A", "R", and "G". When the letters were combined, fans got the following phrase: "IV ARG." Since IV means four in Roman numerals, this phrase both revealed and confirmed that an official ARG for Chapter 4 was in development, with more encrypted clues likely appearing in future recap videos.
The next frame displayed a close-up of the Male Presenter's suit in the Vintage Poppy Commercial. A message was shown below the word VIDRES: "Let the game begin". This message merely supported the claim that Chapter 4's ARG development had begun.
The final frame showcased a close-up of Poppy Playtime's face, which was taken from footage of the Poppy Playtime Maintenance tape. The following code was shown in front of the footage: "J5XCAZTFNR2GKZBAMZSWK5BAMFXGIIDXNF2GQIDCMF2GKZBAMJZGKYLUNAFAUU3MMVSXAIDEOJQX04ZAMV3GK4RANZSWC4Q=". Players deduced that the code was written in Base32 and upon plugging it into a decoder, revealed the sentence "On felted feet and with bated breath, sleep draws ever near."
Trivia[]
- The redacted date shown in the security log confirms the events of Poppy Playtime take place in 2005.
- While the narrator's voice is identical to Harley Sawyer, it was unclear if they were indeed the same person.