But That Was Yesterday

I almost gave up wishing she'd return...but that was yesterday.

—The girl ending.

A pretty short, somewhat artsy game made by Michael Molinari (OneMrBean). It won 1st place in Casual Gameplay design Competition #9. It's described as "A personal journey about learning to move forward in life". That's pretty accurate.

There are three separate endings, based on your system time. 12:00-4:00: Dog, 4:00-8:00: Little boy, 8:00-12:00: Girl. Both a.m. and p.m.

It can be played here. Well worth checking out.

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Tropes used in But That Was Yesterday include:

• Art Major Physics: Cliff platforms at a 90 degree angle to the ones you start out on, reachable by a swing. Hmm.
• The Blank: All of the characters have no facial features except for the nose.
• Canine Companion
• Cutscene
  • From when you get up after being knocked down by bullies to after the boy in green's funeral.
  • From when you jump off the swing until you end up in the swings alone after the girl leaves in a jet plane.
• Dead Partner: The boy in green dies from unspecified causes - possibly falling off of something, what with all the roofhopping and tree-climbing he does.
• Don't Look Back: Subverted - you have to face away from the darkness to progress.
• Flash Back: When you reach the first swing, you get a flashback to an afternoon spent on a swing with the girl, conveniently teaching you how to use it.
  • When you reach the first cliff, you get a flashback of the green boy.
• Foreshadowing: Look at the hospital clock and you know your ending.
• Gang of Bullies: The three thugs in (dark) green.
• Le Parkour: The boy in green does it, and teaches you how to, too.
• Mime-and-Music-Only Cartoon
• Multiple Endings
  • Dog: I was certain he'd never come back...but that was yesterday
  • Little boy: I used to think he wasn't with me anymore...but that was yesterday
  • Girl: I almost gave up wishing she'd return...but that was yesterday.
• Respawn Point
  • Respawn on the Spot: If you fall off a cliff or a roof, you always reappear on the last one you were on in a beam of golden light.
• Spirit Advisor: In a sense. Although the boy, the girl, and the dog don't come back except in the endings, shadows of them will appear during the bits that most resemble the trick you learned from them after the boy in green dies.
• Take My Hand: When you reunite with the girl, she will stretch out her hand when you try (and inevitably fail) to cross the chasm a few times. Averted in the end when she just jumps into the chasm and appears on your side.
• Title Drop: In all three ending texts.
• Trauma Swing: After the girl leaves.
• Underwater Kiss