History VideoGame / LaterAlligator

* BraggingRightsReward: Collecting all of the Jigsaw pieces. 1/3 of them are needed to access an area, and 2/3 for one of the family portraits, but what does collecting all of them get you? [[spoiler:A short video of a dancing Pat.]]

* {{Transgender}}: Joanie is non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns.

* BaitAndSwitch: There's an alley you can go down at the seedy part of Alligator New York City that leads to an alcove with a neon sign for "GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS". But, rather than being a brothel, it's [[spoiler:a seminar reciting the accomplishments of notable women throughout history.]]

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The only way to know the code to Pat's room is to look up his website. Not an in-game website; [[http://alligator.fun/ an actual website]].

* NervousWreck: Pat. The game is kickstarted by his request to prove his family is trying to kill him. [[spoiler: His panicky nature predates this and his resulting impulsiveness is ultimately the reason why someone is trying to kill him.]]

* WhamLine: The [[spoiler:BadEnding - the Investigator follows Pat out onto the balcony during his birthday party; he takes out his notepad again, crossing out one last option - [[{{ProfessionalKiller}} "FINISH THE JOB."]]]] This leads dirctly into...

From the minds of Alex Butera and Lindsay Small, the creators of WebAnimation/BamanPiderman, ''Later Alligator'' is a [[PointAndCLickGame point-and-click]] VideoGame where you play as Pat's new friend and investigator into the mystery of who might want Pat dead. The game largely involves playing a variety of minigames to win the favor of Pat's friends and family. Only by helping [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters all thirty one of the alligators]] can the truth be uncovered.

** One of Tall Jared's game ideas is basically describing "Late Aliigtor". It was crossed out for being too annoying.

** Joanie will complement your [[Music/{{Tommy}} "supple wrist"]] after you beat their high score in pinball.

* HurricaneOfPuns: Every single minigame title is a pun, and several characters have puns in their dialogue. Two-Ton Terry, Pat's dad, speaks almost entirely in dad jokes.

* RetroUniverse: The alternate Alligator Universe is technologically and socially on par with the late 2010's, but the city itself, the cars, and the black and white film noir aesthetic are closer to 1940's than anything.

* MultipleEndings: To an extent. Depending on how many Family Badges you earned, the ending tells you something new about the story.

** The final lines of [[spoiler:the GoldenEnding are Mandy saying "see you Later, Alligator", and Pat getting excited that he said "[[TitleDrop the thing!]]"]]

** Several prizes in the claw game are references to various other works, such as VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII, Anime/{{Doraemon}}, Anime/SailorMoon and [[MythologyGag Alex Butera and Lindsay Small's]] own WebAnimation/BamanPiderman.

* Joanie will complement your [[Music/{{Tommy}} "supple wrist"]] after you beat their high score in pinball.

** The game also pulls off a rather clever one with [[spoiler:the ''entire plot.'']] It skillfully wrong-foots the player into thinking that [[spoiler:there is absolutely no twist, and Pat is really just paranoid]]; most players will see [[spoiler: TheUnTwist]] - [[spoiler:that the "Event" is really just a surprise party for Pat]] - coming a mile away. Far fewer of them will anticipate [[spoiler: that someone really IS trying to kill Pat, and it's ''you.'']]

* StylisticSuck: Pat's website looks like a Geocites page from the 90s, complete with poorly animated gifs and broken image links.

* CharacterCustomization: [[spoiler:The game lets you customize your appearance at the end.]]

** During the intro, the Investigator disembarks the trolley and then proceeds directly to the Restaurant. [[spoiler:They then immediately focus on and strike up a conversation with Pat, despite the two of them clearly not knowing each other.]]
** The Investigator's motives for helping Pat out essentially boil down to "Because it's a game and there would be no plot otherwise." [[spoiler:At least until you realize that this is both an easy excuse for arranging his murder, and a great cover story.]]
** [[spoiler:The entire framing device of the player being a private eye. Pat happily assumes that you're an investigator of some kind, or at least that you'll be willing to play the role of one, but the Investigator never actually identifies themselves as being any form of detective.]]

* GroupPictureEnding: [[spoiler:Both in the first ending and in the GoldenEnding.]]

* WhamLine: The [[spoiler:BadEnding - the Investigator follows Pat out onto the balcony after his birthday party; he takes out his notepad again, crossing out one last option - [[{{ProfessionalKiller}} "FINISH THE JOB."]]]] This leads dirctly into...
* WhamShot: [[spoiler:The Investigator pushing Pat off of the Balcony, confirming beyond any doubt that they were the one trying to kill him.]]

* FifteenPuzzle: One of the minigames takes this form. It's [[NintendoHard the only minigame you can actually skip, no strings attached.]] [[spoiler:Though you do get a puzzle piece for solving it.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Over the course of the game, a sharp-eyed player can pick out a few hints that [[spoiler:you aren't quite playing the private detective Pat thinks you are.]]
** There is [[spoiler:an enormous combat knife in your briefcase, as seen on the options screen.]] In case you missed it, it gets brought out for the minigame against Bobby Blue-Eyes.

** [[spoiler:The final lines of the GoldenEnding are Mandy saying "see you Later, Alligator", and Pat getting excited that he said "[[TitleDrop the thing!]]"]]

* NoAntagonist: [[spoiler:Zig-zagged. First it seems like it's played straight at the birthday party. Then averted when YOU try to kill pat. Then played straight again when you save Pat, Then played straight in an unexpected way when it turns out that Pat DOES have a dangerous enemy: his own panicky nature and resulting impulsiveness that got him into this whole mess.]]

* TheUnTwist: The game stacks on pile after pile of foreshadowing, suggesting that [[spoiler:"The Event" is really just a surprise birthday party for Pat.]] By the time you actually reach the climax, the game is all but yodeling it out loud. Derry will even ''tell you directly''.[[spoiler:Sure enough, this turns out to be the case, because the entire set-up was just a distraction from the ''real'' twist.]]

* WhamLine: The [[spoiler:BadEnding - the Investigator follows Pat out onto the balcony after his birthday party; he takes out his notepad again, now with one option - [[{{ProfessionalKiller}} "FINISH THE JOB."]]]]
* WhamShot: [[spoiler:The Investigator pushing Pat off of the Balcony, confirming beyond any doubt that they are the one trying to kill him.]]

* OrphanedReference: The [[https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzI1MDE0ODcucG5n/original/dMTE11.png cover art for the Official Soundtrack]] features most of Pat's family, lined up around Pat and glaring ominously at him. However, two of the alligators pictured there do not appear in game, suggesting they are DummiedOut family members. One of them is an extremely short gator in a three-piece suit, who may be a beta version of Bobby Blue-Eyes; the other is an elderly gator dressed in a chef's outfit.

* NoVillain: [[spoiler:Zig-zagged. First it seems like it's played straight at the birthday party. Then averted when YOU try to kill pat. Then played straight again when you save Pat, Then played straight in an unexpected way when it turns out that Pat DOES have a dangerous enemy: his own panicky nature and resulting impulsiveness that got him into this whole mess.]]

* NervousWreck: Pat. The game is kickstarted by his request to prove his family is trying to kill him. [[spoiler: His nervousness predates this and his resulting impulsiveness is ultimately the reason why someone is trying to kill him.]]
* NoVillain: [[spoiler:Zig-zagged. First it seems like it's played straight at the birthday party. Then averted when YOU try to kill pat. Then played straight again when you save Pat, Then played straight in an unexpected way when it turns out that Pat DOES have a dangerous enemy: his own anxiety and resulting impulsiveness.]]

* NervousWreck: Pat. The game is kickstarted by his request to prove his family is trying to kill him.

* TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily: PlayedForLaughs. The game heavily implies that Pat's family are connected with the mafia, and plotting to [[{{DeadlyEuphemism}} "rub him out"]] for [[{{TheMole}} "squealing."]] [[spoiler:Turns out that this is a misunderstanding; Pat's family are completely normal, and for the most part, very nice, alligators. The only ones with any illicit connections are the Valentinos, and the Investigator themself.]]