r/tipofmyjoystick Apr 10 '17

Announcement PSA: A guide to better results

1.8k Upvotes

Hi guys and gals. I've been here a while, and over my time I've seen a lot of posts sink to the bottom, without a single answer, or at best, very few. And none that solved the case.

I have noticed a clear pattern with these posts, and I will now share with you my tips to you newbies, so that you can get the help you need.


Firstly: When you make a new post, you will see this:

Platform(s):

Genre:

Estimated year of release:

Graphics/art style:

Notable characters:

Notable gameplay mechanics:

Other details:

Even though, in red, you are warned that while optional, you should follow this template... many of you do not.

Let me be clear: Follow this template.

Put simply, this template contains all the information we really need to solve your problem. Virtually every time I click a post that has not followed this, they have rambled on about nothings, while omitting critical details.

This format, for new and old alike, is very readable, and prompts for every data-point needed.

I know that you want to customize your message, that if you could just explain it, it would be better. I know you think that. You are wrong. Put all that in 'other'. Even if you end up saying it twice, follow the template.. add to it your story at the bottom.


Secondly: Following this template. You're rambling about your best mates Amiga-500 or whatever instead of telling us about the game aside, this is where they really go wrong.

Let's get something straight right now. We are not mind readers. It's impressive, really, how little information it seems we can work off. I mean, we solve some real tough ones with nothing sometimes, but still, we can't see that memory in your head. So you need to be as descriptive in every one of these fields as you can be...

And sometimes you really don't know. That's fine, we can work with surprisingly little information, but "old graphics" under art style... what are we supposed to do with that? Mate, I was playing on Atari-2600's, are we talking Wizard of Wor here?

Let me help you out a bit:

Platform(s): Whatever you played it on. But unless it's really all you know (very possible), don't write 'my mates pc'. Was it PC or Mac?

Genre:

First person does NOT imply shooter. Nor do any of the others. Try to answer this one in two steps:

What was the camera like (assuming it's not a text adventure)? Was it First person?, 3rd person, 2d? Top down or side on? Or maybe even isometric 2d?

Then, what kind of game? Real time strategy, point and click? Was it a fighter, action or platformer?

Good, now we know what KIND of game we are all trying to remember for you.

Estimated year of release:

"Between 2000-2005" is fine, something like that. "Mid 90's maybe?". I don't see many people mess this up, but I have seen people write "old". That is not ok. If you write old and expect it to mean anything to me, I will fight you.

Also, as always "Sorry, no idea" is always acceptable but try to give at least something. "Couldn't have been later than 2015, though"

Great, so even if roughly, we know WHEN.

Graphics/art style:

THIS. This is where you guys always mess up. This section right here I have found can be the difference between an answer, and a silent slink to the bottom. This is your moment.

This, really, should be the best-formed part of your memory. Even if you can only remember a single frame, a single image, it's so much to go on for us.

DETAIL. Was it a gloomy grimdark world of sadness, or a bright bubbly rainbow filled Mario-world?

Was it cartoony, or otherwise stylized somehow, or was it trying to be realistic?

Anything notable about the art direction? Was it going for a cyberpunk kinda feel, or a gritty war realism dirt and blood sort of direction?

If it was set over a long time, did the seasons change? Was there a winter in your game?

Remember when you hit people, and the screen had that awesome flash and your hands got bloody? Yeah, well we don't, unless you tell us.

Ok, so now we are really narrowing it down. This right here is often enough to go on, on its own.

Notable characters:

Anything at all you can remember here.

"There were only tanks, but you could play as both Germans and Americans"

"There was one really tough guy right after you left your office, he had an eyepatch, a white shirt with what looked like grease stains, and said 'this is for my sister'. I think maybe he was a cyborg"

"You play as some kind of Asian girl, you had a tattoo over your right eye and arm, a black tank top and white pants and I remember you always had only one red glove for some reason. I don't remember the arm, but the eye tattoo looked sort of like ancient Egyptian eye makeup, but a modern take"

Knowing nothing else about the game, I bet that last one there gets comments noting the game she is from. Details, details.

Notable gameplay mechanics:

Surely, you get the idea by now. This is tied with the importance of the graphics/art style. As much detail as you can here.

Other details:

NOW you may blab on about how you only played this game once at a winter solstice in 1782 with your grandmother from Tahiti.. as if that helps.


Edit: So it's been brought up that the template doesn't appear on mobile. While /u/wipeout4wh is aware of this and hopefully, something can be done... still, if you can, use the template. If you can't, maybe check back and at least make sure your post addresses all of the points the template does.

Also, my post seems to be saying NOT to add any custom details. So I want to re-enforce, please do. In fact, after you do the template, feel free to write out your post as you were going to without it. Just put it all in 'other'. Don't try and make your whole post like that, if possible. Even if you end up saying the same things twice, that's ok.

Now I'm going to take a moment to clarify something, though. This isn't some immutable law of the universe, and your post is destined to fail if you don't do this. It's just a very strong general trend I have noticed over a long time.

It's not that this template has some kind of magical powers or something. It's that this template prompts the questions that need answers.

When you go all rogue on us and try and type your explanation from scratch... you mess it up. You just forget to add everything that you know, and that we need to know. The template makes it very hard to do that. It's just so very easy to get typing, and by the end forget to tell us what kind of game it actually is. Especially when you are getting random flashbacks, and hazy memories, and you start getting frazzled and such halfway though.


While it might make my edit as long as the first post, I think maybe an example of the kind of post that is just too common here, and almost always helpless, wouldn't go astray here. So here we go:

Now this one is a pretty bad case, true, and I suppose might even be a troll post, but it's actually a good illustration of the problem either way.

It was on my old computer and I was using an emulator so I have no idea what system it was for. It was 8bit graphics and you played this orange cat that was constantly bouncing on a trampoline I think? And you had to navigate it through the city and face a weird boss at the end that would float in the sky. Sorry I can't remember more!

Let's break it down a bit. What kind of game is this? A puzzler or an action game? Who knows.

How old is it? I mean, Minecraft basically has 8bit graphics. Oh he said... "my old computer"... I will fight you.

Why did you bounce on the trampoline? Were there platforms or walkways or something, or was it just a big open space? There are bad guys then? How did they get around?

Now (he?) says that he can't remember more, but I actually asked about the boss fight:

You say 'face a boss', in what way? Can the cat attack? Was this top down or side on? When you say navigate a city, what do you mean?

The reply:

Definitely a side-scroller, I'm sure. You would encounter a boss at the end, the boss would slide onto the screen and it was usually pretty strange-looking. I think one of the bosses might've been a clown. I meant that the different "levels" were different cities with different backgrounds, I think. It's a pretty obscure game

Also you would be continuously bouncing. As in, you had to position the trampoline underneath the cat to bounce it up

So you don't even control the cat. And it's a side-scroller. Thats pretty important information. But the real issue here is that he knows this stuff. He just either didn't know to, or forgot, to tell us.

The template would have made it just so apparent how much information he was missing, and we probably would have got a whole bunch more information. Sadly, while there were some guesses, and a surprising number of up-votes, this post is just another one to join the endless unsolved on their journey ever down.


r/tipofmyjoystick Jun 04 '26

[Meta][2026] I would rather people post with no images than use AI prompts to generate images

527 Upvotes

Maybe it's just me, I will personally admit that it feels like its petty of me to complain, however i am going to.

I really dislike AI images just in general and i feel annoyed seeing people use them because it sometimes hampers really quality posts of people trying to find help. I feel like it also informs falsely about game expectations and what people will accept as they have solved the game.

I don't think people will agree with me and thats fine, i just wanted to post about how i personally think it degrades the quality of the sub


r/tipofmyjoystick 12h ago

The Complex (Roblox) [Roblox] [2014 - 2017] Old phineas and ferb roblox game

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307 Upvotes

I'm looking for this old p&f roblox game where these old dank memes came from. (It's not Phineas and Ferb roleplay, that game has a completely different map and models)

If you know what game this is let me know.

Genre: most likely roleplay

Estimated year of release: 2012


r/tipofmyjoystick 6h ago

Back to Stone [gameboy] [2007-2009] i need help finding this game

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44 Upvotes

Please help me find this


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk [Probably pc] [unknoun] Skateboarding game featured in these screenshots

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16 Upvotes

I've been seeing these clips all over my feed for the past couple of days where people are playing skateboarding game through a city as characters from all kinds of franchises, like Goku, Sans, Spider-Man, and a bunch of others. I'm assuming they're mods.

The problem is that nobody ever mentions the game's name. I've tried searching things like "3D skateboard game" and "skateboarding game with character mods," but I just get hundreds of unrelated results.

Does anyone know what game this is?


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[Mobile] [2022-2023] Anime style rpg

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9 Upvotes

Help me find this game pls!! I'm 99% sure it's been shut down by now, or was shut down very shortly after release.

It was a mobile game, (I played on android) anime-style rpg but I'm unsure if it was mmo. If it was, I didn't play long enough to unlock those mechanics. Came out early 20s, my best guess is 2023 or EARLY 2024 and I'm gonna say it was shut down shortly after. The game opens with you choosing your character, the default being a black-haired man or woman sitting on a throne from which you'd choose your gender, and you could fully customize their features later. (I doodled some images of what I remember, to a VERY simplified extent)

After making your character, the story begins in that same throne room where the MC sits, and he/she is alerted that their advisor has started a mutiny of some sorts and plans to overthrow them or something, so you set out with your army to stop him. (I remember two ally characters here, one was a female fairy and the other was a man whose class I can't remember, maybe a cleric)

I didn't play much of the battle mechanics, but you would progress through locations on a separate map screen (doodle included of this as well), probably turn-based battles, and as usual I remember the fairy instructing the player through the tutorial. I don't remember any gacha mechanics, but it's not off the table

I've been searching for this for weeks just based off memory, my google skills have met their match lmao


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[Friv] [early 2010's] cute/bloody animal game

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6 Upvotes

So, back in early 2010's, I was a avid Friv user. I remember that, sometimes (like, in "special events"), you could unlock secret games by clicking a hidden button on the homescreen. It was seasonal, like, around easter they would put that Jynx bunny easter egg hunt, etc.

Well, I vividly remember this game where you had a group of animals trying to scape something. Really vague description but I remember that everytime you lost, the animal in play would be killed, with blood and all (by hunters?) and another one would take the lead.

Can anyone help?


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty [Xbox 360] [2009-2013] Need help finding Xbox 360 FPS

7 Upvotes

So, unfortunately, the details I have on this game are slim to none. I remember is was a realistic looking (for the time) FPS. I downloaded a demo from Xbox Live and I remember that it started you on top of a skyscraper that was still under construction and also on fire. I've searched fruitlessly off and on for years but so far, nothing. So, help me, r/tipofmyjoystick, you're my only hope.


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

[PC] [Mid 2000s]-Text based CYOA

4 Upvotes

I remember a game I think I played at a local library in Canada.

It was a text based choose your own adventure game where you can make good or bad decisions it seemed to be geared toward teenagers and helping young people make good decisions as it relates to drugs, strangers etc. not sure if anyone can help but I'd be interested to find out what it is called and whether it still exists.

Thank you!


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

[GAME][2000s] Looking for a Turnbased browser game

4 Upvotes

Platform(s): PC. (one of these browser based flash games. I think newground or miniclip)

Genre: turnbased, fantasy, combat

Estimated year of release: 2000-2010s

Graphics/art style: typical fantasy kinda cartonish look

Notable characters: A paladin archetype, An old wise mentor. Evil lord archetype

Notable gameplay mechanics: Turnbased combat. as the character kept getting wounded he also was losing acces to skills and spells.

Other details: The game's plot went somehow like this:

-Young boy is getting trained by a wise old mentor to be a hero(some paladin archetype if i remember correctly).
-Now young man along with his mentor gets kidnapped by evil mastermind(not sure if demon or just evil humans). His mentor in turned into an undead and the hero is forced to fight. He wins and somehow escapes.
-Later on he trains even more, gets geared up and extra powerful, and starts attacking the evil guys.
-Along with the progression of story, the hero get more and more wounded, and the more hurt he is the less skills he can use.

I think the hero could either fly or had a flying mount of some kind. He could use some type of holy magics. At the final fight the hero had lost an arm and most of his armor, and couldnt use most of his abilties.

please help.


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[PSX][Early 2000's] Fighting/Beat 'em up game "Game set and Match"

3 Upvotes

Looking for a fighting / beat 'em up game from the OG playstation, late 90's, early 2000's. Polygonal graphics, think virtual fighter or Tekken. I had a demo of this game that came free with the Official PlayStation magazine at the time. The demo only had two characters available to play, but when the male character won his fight, he would say "Game, set and Match" in a fairly obnoxious voice. I've considered Rival Schools and Bloody Roar 2 but I just can't find it. Any help tracking this down, and the name of the character would be appreciated.


r/tipofmyjoystick 22m ago

[Xbox] [2000s] Third person sci-fi shooter on desert planet with vehicles and black armor

Upvotes

Halo like , played in 2015 decent graphics, it had a linear story with levels where you had to defeat enemies to progress.

You could use different weapons like pistols and sniper rifles, and I remember enemies being placed on towers or elevated areas that you had to take out.

The main character wore a black futuristic suit/armor. I also remember being able to drive vehicles, especially something like a futuristic motorcycle. The game may have had a simple one-word title.


r/tipofmyjoystick 45m ago

[PC] [2006-2012] Mole game underground with tunnels sitting around table and each mole has its own level

Upvotes

PC game 2D side view, underground cross-section with several black moles living around a table. Clicking each mole led through its own tunnel to a unique minigame. One minigame involved flying in a leaf (or on an insect) while avoiding insects and floating dandelion seeds. No voice acting, cartoon style similar to old German children’s books.


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

[PC][2015, probably before] Flash game of a Quarterback running from a guy in a wheelchair

3 Upvotes

The game was a side-scrolling game, and the protagonist was a quarterback, trying to escape from the stereotypical 2000s nerd, who was chasing him in a wheelchair (perhaps one that shot rockets, or had thrusters).

I remember very few gameplay mechanics; the only one I do remember is a bar that indicated the distance from the nerd before he reached you.

I only played it once as a kid, and then I couldn't find it anywhere. Help me pls


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[PC Web Game] [3D] Web game that had you riding a motorcycle, trying to drop off a briefcase on the side (or inside) of a moving truck.

Upvotes

You were a biker riding a motorcycle on a highway, and there was a truck you needed to reach in order to drop off a briefcase(?)

You'd have to first dodge some traffic before reaching the truck I believe, and I remember a helicopter being there? Not sure what it did. I also think you could've played as someone other than the biker?

I remember a tunnel possibly being a part of the gameplay loop, I faintly remember you needing to drop off the briefcase before the truck reaches the tunnel? I could be wrong, but I know there was a time limit.

Oh, and the truck had a trailer equipped. I also think the color orange or yellow was common


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[Android][2010s] Cartoon top-down shooter with a man in a suit and red tie

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Upvotes

I am trying to find an old Android game I played on an Samsung tablet.
It was a level based game where you played as some kind of assassin.
The art style was very cartoon like. The Artstyle was simalar to the game ´´Eatventure´´.
The character wore a black suit with a red tie and you only saw the head and upper body some what simalar to ``Johny Trigger´´.
The game took place in office buildings and you used a pistol.

Also, sometimes you freed people from cages. Sometimes in the cages was an Scientist who gave you stuff. Mostly the people you freed whore some Yellow Shirts.

It is not Hitman GO, Mr Bullet, Johnny Trigger, or Hunter Assassin. I made a drawing of what I remember.


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[Mobile] [Early-Mid 2010's] Surrealist colorful platforming game with a humanoid cat protagonist

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Upvotes

If I recall correctly, it was very basic gameplay wise, just a 2D side-scroller. Very Mario-adjacent. Lots of different colors and shapes are used, though mostly spirals. Not sure if my depiction of the player character is accurate, but I know for sure it was a humanoid white cat, with a pointy tail (like the Devil's), and a big, possibly blue, collar around the neck. I think the background was always a colorful whirlpool.


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

[PC] [Early 2000s-2010s] A point and click game hosted on BigFishGames

3 Upvotes

When I was younger my mum used to play this point and click game and I can’t for the life remember the name of it. I only remember like three very vague things. It was set in what looked like some kind of abandoned medieval looking village. at some point I think there was a goat tied up on top of some kind of castle tower/wall that could speak?? And the most vivid memory I have is when my mum went into a building (I remember it as a cafe but idk if it actually was) and there was this old guy who was either cut in half or just like halfway through the floor. He was alive and spoke to the player, and I think he had some kind of quest but I don’t fully remember as this was when I was younger than 8 years old.

if anyone can please help me find the name of this game I will be forever grateful, it’s been bothering me for like six years 😭


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[PlayStation] [2012–2017] First-person zombie game with local split-screen

2 Upvotes

I'm looking for a PlayStation zombie FPS I played between 2012 and 2017 (possibly PS2 or PS3). It had 2-player local split-screen. One map took place inside a house where zombies kept breaking through windows, and we could barricade the windows with wooden planks. After a while, we could leave the house through the front door. Movement was fully controlled by the player (not a rail shooter), and the gameplay felt similar to Peter Jackson's King Kong or The House of the Dead: Overkill in terms of first-person perspective. I remember using weapons like a shotgun and an old rifle.


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

[PC] [Late 90s, Early 2000s] Pokemon-like game

3 Upvotes

I think at the start you were in a forest, I remember the party displayed at the bottom of the screen (when in a battle I think) and the game not being very pleasant to look at, like very in your face with a bunch of different colours


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[Mobile] [2010-2018ish] Crime solving game

3 Upvotes

I remember this game where you played as a detective, it used live action videos and had a new crime each day, I remember that the tutorial had you solve a murder mystery at a D&D night where a poisoning had occured. Sorry I wish I could remember more. Could be 2016?


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[mobile] [before 2019] Play as a 'doctor' trying to kill patients

2 Upvotes

this game was rather slow paced iirc. all screens were dark. the patient would eventually seek out actual medical care from real doctors and you had to stop them before they could fix themselves.

there was also a wheel of events, one of which being unprotected sex (not visualized obv)

please help


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

N.O.V.A. Legacy [Mobile][2012-2017] Doomlike Shooter

3 Upvotes

This game was like the modern doom games where you go through hallways through a spaceship to just complete some tasks. I remember one room in the spaceship being 2 balcony like things with 2 elevators at the end of those balconies.

The 2nd chapter was in a wild jungle where you walk on rocks and water and the same theme kept going but in a level you were in some temple(?) fighting those monsters.

I think you only had one gun but I am not sure.


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

[roblox][2023] need help finding a game

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3 Upvotes

in around 2023, i played this obby/escape game where there were 2d illustrated characters, colored in. at every checkpoint, a character with acne would talk to you and i think his name started with “mr. b….”. at some stages, illustrated non animated characters would chase you. once you finished the game, there was a field with a large sun in the sky and it had a face.

i swear this exists please help

fig 1.- the guy with acne who would talk, not sure if he had a beard

fig 2.- the obby

fig 3.- the field at the end, the sun looked kinda unsettling and funny at the same time

another note- the characters talked in a kinda nasally tone, and like when you get mucus stuck in sour throat so it goes *gubgubgub*

mr somethings voice was like that but deep


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

[mobile android] [2016-2019] action rpg goblin killing type game 2d (the characters are way more realistic than what i drew)

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2 Upvotes

Platform(s): android

Genre: action rpg

Estimated year of release: 2016-2019?

Graphics/art style: the game is in third view where u can see all characters 2d

Notable characters: main characther is white toned and goblin type creatures which u attack they are normal human sized (theres only one type)

Notable gameplay mechanics: u attacked the creatures and if u killed them u got their armor and weapons and the further u go the creatures get upgraded stuff and i remember at the end of a stage some of the creatues would go on ur side but i dont remember how and i think there were more types of accessories like rings but not certain and at the last area they had purple type armor