You can tell the popularity of a cultural phenomenon just by looking at the prizes at a fair. The sharp-toothed, blue monster known as “Huggy Wuggy,” is currently the prize du Jour at Midway games and on an upward trend of kid’s (and adult) collectibles.
But who is he and why is he causing such a fuss among parents? Gamers everywhere probably know of this creepy 20-foot doll from the game Poppy Playtime, a thirteen and up horror survival game that’s bark is worse than its bite.
Although the ESRB has slapped a “T” for Teen rating on the box, the content is somewhat mild for parents to start freaking out about. As with most nutritional facts, the largest ingredients are listed at the beginning.
In Poppy Playtime’s case, the T is for Blood and Violence which doesn’t make it a scarlet letter, so to speak. If it was that bad, the conservative ESRB would have used their fists to hammer down an “M” rating for mature.
Parents shouldn’t be concerned with what the game has as far as content, they should however investigate further before falling into the klatch of mass hysteria instigated by ignorant knee-jerk reactionaries sometimes called parents.
The internet has a strange way of creating drama where there shouldn’t be. Several fan-made memes and videos have surfaced about Poppy Playtime and how it influences kids to jump to their deaths or do other horrible things. remember the Momo? Turns out, if you said its name it didn’t come to find and kill you as the legend said. It was just a piece of modern art that didn’t move except by way of imagination.
Poppy Playtime Is Their First Game
The same seems to be the case for Huggy Wuggy. Yes, he’s a bit intimidating, but so was Animal from the muppets until you realized he was fake. Forbes talked to the President and CEO of the developer of the game, Zach Belanger, who says there was no target audience to begin with.
“Poppy Playtime was not created with the intention to target any specific audience,” he says. “Bear in mind that this was the first game our studio ever created, and our main priority was to create something that we would enjoy playing ourselves.
“Beyond that, we have a passion for any content we create to be enjoyable by audiences of all ages. To us, it isn’t accurate to say that we created Poppy Playtime to be consumed by kids or adults, but rather our goal was simply to inspire and entertain anyone who decided to play the game.”
Schools have started issuing warnings to parents about the game in response to concerns from parents who may have gotten wind of hearsay.
Belanger says those stories are extremely exaggerated or false.
He adds: “One of the things we’ve read online is that Huggy Wuggy whispers creepy things into one’s ear while playing, but anyone who has actually played Poppy Playtime would know that Huggy Wuggy does not even have a voice in Chapter 1, so it’s impossible for him to have whispered anything.”
“As far as we are aware, all of these warnings from schools are originating from fan-made content based off of our game, but if you want my personal opinion, I do not think that any of these videos should be cause for concern, and we appreciate all the hard work and dedication our fans are put toward creating content inspired off of Poppy Playtime.”
The Fuzzy Song
There is also some concern around a creepy jingle that accompanies Huggy Wuggy, suggesting that he’ll “squeeze you until you pop!” Seems harmless.
But the creator of a high-energy song that pays homage to Fuzzy has been under scrutiny for his eerie lyrics. Igor Gordiyenko whose YouTube handle is TryHardNinja created a video that has reached over five million viewers.
He says there was nothing nefarious when he wrote it. He based it on the lore of the character and has set the child safety setting to 13 and over on YouTube.
“The themes and visuals of my song and video are true to the character’s lore, actions, and depiction in the game. I am not trying to make an innocent character seem scarier than they are. Much like Chucky from Child’s Play, Huggy Wuggy is and always was a horror character. My song is for fans of the source material which is not for young kids.”
Another horror survival game, Five Nights at Freddy’s didn’t have the same concerns from parents as Poppy Playtime has, and it has since blossomed into a multi-million dollar franchise with a movie adaptation on the way.
Perhaps Freddy’s narrowly missed the evolution of technology and online lore eight years ago. It was about that time that Creepypasta began to permeate the minds of creatives hoping to scare the pants off people with unnerving legends. At that time, The Slender Man came into public view and influenced impressionable teenagers to believe in the supernatural.
Even adults can fall for “real-life” mythology — by way of movies. Films like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity were so well marketed, that even level-headed grown-ups couldn’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
The trick with video games such as Poppy Playtime is to explore the game yourself. Research it before you buy it and don’t fall victim to the adolescent trappings of “I swear it’s true.”
Common Sense Media, one of the leaders in parental guides for content doesn’t seem worried about how Poppy Playtime will affect kids, their biggest complaint is onscreen maneuverability.
They write: “The controls are easy to pick up and play, though not always the most precise. While there’s no graphic violence or gore, there are splatters of blood throughout the factory. Also, the horror nature of the game will likely be too scary for younger audiences.
“Finally, parents should be aware that this is the first chapter of an episodic experience, meaning that it’s only part of the story and the rest must be purchased piecemeal over time.”
*Header image courtesy of TryHardNinja