What is the Prototype in Poppy Playtime?

The Prototype is a dark and mysterious entity whose identity has yet to be revealed in Poppy Playtime. Here’s everything you need to know about the main antagonist in the Poppy Playtime episodic adventure.

Poppy Playtime: What is Experiment 1006?

Experiment 1006 (aka the Prototype) was the original Playtime Co. creation in Poppy Playtime. Crafted to spread joy to the children who resided inside the Playcare Orphanage, 1006, alongside the future experiments, were tortured to uncover their “valuable secrets.” The Prototype could no longer take the torture of its fellow experiments like Huggy Wuggy and CatNap, so the experiments rebelled against the scientists in a massacre that destroyed the Playcare. This was the Hour of Joy.

The Prototype watches you throughout each chapter. It observes but brings no harm toward you. The only time the Prototype appears is to take parts of damaged monsters like Huggy Wuggy, Mommy Long Legs, and, most recently, CatNap. The Prototype cares about the well-being of its fellow experiments. It has previously saved CatNap’s life after an “accident” to which CatNap goes on to worship the Prototype as a god and complete its bidding.

The Prototype takes what remains of defeated monsters in each chapter and is likely adding them to its appearance. In the final Poppy Playtime chapter, the Prototype will likely be an amalgamation of monsters you defeated. Even Mommy Long Legs feared her fate at the end of Chapter 2 with “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! HE’LL MAKE ME PART OF HIM! YOU… CAN’T… DO THIS TO ME!”

With only a giant metal claw to work off, the Prototype’s full body has never been revealed. But the Prototype is seen as the antagonist of the series by characters like Poppy and Ollie. But more on these characters below.

Poppy Playtime: Who is the Prototype?

The Prototype has a main theory around its identity in Poppy Playtime. As it acts as the primary antagonist in this series, many assume the Prototype is actually Elliot Ludwig, the founder of Playtime Co. Both characters are fond of children.

While Ludwig could be extending his life by placing his consciousness inside the Prototype, it is far more likely that the Prototype behaves more like a mimic (similar to the Mimic in Five Nights at Freddy’s). The Prototype was likely tortured by Ludwig, considering the experiments originated from him. Mimicking his nature (to care for children) and possibly torturous behavior (nefarious acts on the experiments), the Prototype adopted Ludwig’s attitude. Its intelligence grew the more it learned.

There are inconsistencies with the Ludwig-Prototype theory however. Chapter 3’s nightmare section may be pointing the finger at the unnamed protagonist being Elliot Ludwig instead, but this theory becomes unlikely as Ludwig died sometime in the 1980s. We know that the protagonist is a former Playtime Co. employee and that the monsters recognise them. The protagonist also has a link directly to Prototype because of the death screen messages, telling you to “get up” and keep playing (presumably using Sawyer’s voice to condition him). This either points to the protagonist being an experiment more like Prototype and The Doctor or that he will become a part of The Prototype’s true form.

If the Prototype isn’t Ludwig but is mimicking him, there comes a question of its true identity. As the Prototype is copying and learning, capable of altering its voice, the Prototype could be Ollie. Ollie is the protagonist’s key ally in Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3. The name Ollie is also part of the name Elliot (Ludwig). There is no confirmation on this theory, and I imagine more will be discovered with the release of Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4.

The many voices of Experiment 1006

It’s difficult piecing together what we know about The Prototype. Looking into the voice production in Chapter 3’s credits, we see seven voice actors listed as The Prototype. These are recurring actors too, who voice important characters we’ve already met and are soon to meet in Chapter 4. Here are the voice actors for Experiment 1006 and their other roles in Safe Haven:

• Elijah Deloney: Voice of DogDay and KickinChicken cut-outs.
• Nola Klop: Voices Poppy Playtime and Stella.
• Eric True: Voice on the Nightmare Tape.
• Avalon Delaney: Voices Miss Delight.
• Baldwin Williams Jr.: Voices DogDay and most importantly, Harley Sawyer (The Doctor).
• Micah Preciado: Voice of Huggy Wuggy and Bubba Bubbaphant cut-outs.

I could be overreaching, but what always seemed weird to me was the cardboard cut-outs that you can interact with in every chapter. Could these be hinting at what happened to each character? CatNap breathing, the Smiling Critters screaming, and Mommy Long Legs’ static recording; it’s almost telling us these recording are their current status or final recording. We know The Prototype is capable of recording audio (or mimicking) and playing it back, so is that what the cut-outs are?

The sheer number of voices for Experiment 1006 tells us that not everything we’re hearing is real. We can’t fully rely on what we see either as we’re impacted by the red poppy smoke. But, every time we hear a voice or watch a tape, it begs the question, is the narrative we’re being fed orchestrated purely by The Prototype?