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

608 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 • • 2h ago

Tap Tap Dash [mobile][2018] game where u have to follow a path with arrows

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17 Upvotes

Platform(s): mobile

Genre: endless runner

Estimated year of release: idk abt release but i played it in around 2018

Graphics/art style: cartoonish

Notable characters: i think there was a chicken but u could change skins

Notable gameplay mechanics: U had to swipe when there was an arrow so the chicken didn't fall and it kept going faster the higher ur score was

Other details: i think the currency was purple gems


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 11h ago

[PS2] [2000-2006?] third-person shooter about a spy or something like that in a covert mission

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39 Upvotes

the game had a similar cover to that of Deus Ex Invisible War but it was not it. The whole game had a colder tint to it. It was sci-fi ish.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[itchio][2020s] a mercenary making bouquets

• Upvotes

It was a pixel graphic game about making bouquets in a industrial world where the's only one person left who has the means to grow flowers but can't anymore and doesn't have the energy/youth to make bouquets and deliver them. It had a somber tone and the flowers had meanings aswell


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 3h ago

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine [PC][2000s?] Can't remember the name, Top-down escape game, square characters, dark with limited vision, guards, and i remember there was a feuature that if while standing near a toilet and walk into it tlhe character would actually use it.

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5 Upvotes

r/tipofmyjoystick • • 2h ago

[PC][Mid late 1990s?] Car game in a city setting that had traffic offenses

2 Upvotes

Hi all. This might be a hard one as I don't have much details on this game, and even the details I have may not be accurate. I might also be barely playing the game properly (ie. could be just replaying 1st level or certain modes) because I was very young and noob.

  • It's a car-centric game, and not something else with cars (like GTA lol)
  • I played this game in mid/late 1990s, very unlikely but possibly 2000-2002.
  • We had a steering wheel then to play it, so it was compatible
  • Graphics wise it might either be 3rd person low polygon 3D or top down isometric? I can't recall. But definitely wasn't great graphics.
  • I am uncertain if it was a racing game or what the objective was. It could also just be a mode that I was playing, but I recall having to drive around to cul-de-sacs to pick up a flag or something
  • I recall we drove around in a city setting, though I don't remember seeing many buildings. Roads were proper roads though and not dirt tracks.
  • One feature I recall was some form of traffic offense. Not sure if it is speeding or beating traffic lights etc. What happens is that when the offense occurs, I think there would be a camera sound and a photograph would be displayed at the side. Not sure what the penalty was.
  • I vaguely remember some kind of unfinished road works or "gaps". Maybe you could go past it by driving on the edge of the road, or if your car is fast enough you could fly past it.

Thanks!


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 19h ago

Mondo Medicals [PC] [2010-2017?] Indie psychological horror about mental health and exploring a maze / spiral ?

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62 Upvotes

[Edit : found by Coolboyyo in the comments !

It's Mondo Medicals !]

Hello !

I am looking for a game I remember playing on Steam on my older brother's computer when I was young.

(It's not Moirai btw !)

Please see picture attached + text

- 2010-2017 ? Maybe before 2010 but I doubt it. + It might not have been steam but in my memory this is where I found it, in my brother's game library. [IT'S 2007 !]

- Very simple game, french or english language. 3D / Fake 3D first person pov + I don't think you could really move the camera. [You CAN move the camera ! And it's real 3D !]

- Artstyle was VERY simple. The sprites were simple pixel art (kinda like in the Moirai game) stretched to look big.

- Color palette : Black, White, grey, skin tones, Maybe red if there was blood ?

- Scary game, potentially psychological horror ? The theme definitely had something to do with mental health, maybe mental illness ? Maybe memories ? [The theme is related to Cancer]

- Dialogs or not ? Maybe the dialog was just the text next to the character's heads. Maybe it was voice-acted but I doubt it...

- Not much violence or combat but I think it involved a chase sequence ?

- The game was composed of multiple scenes / chapters... I mostly remember the ones where you explore big spiral mazes and find random characters...

- It was on steam I think. But it was very indie looking.

- Not a lot of music. Maybe footsteps when you walked ?...

- I remember most characters being men and I really think there was a doctor amongst them... But I feel like I remember women sprites as well... [The character are simple humanoids wearing screens for their heads, sometimes it's a face showing on their screen]

- Not shown too much in my sketches but sometimes you were in the dark I think.

This is all I can remember. If you have any idea, don't hesitate ! ❤️

+ I asked my brother and he doesn't remember it + we can't find the game in his game library... Which is why it's strange. Was it just a random itch.io game ? Maybe a gamejam game ?


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

​[Mobile][2012-2018] Unofficial 2D Endless Runner with LEGO Minifigure in Desert Cave

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• Upvotes

Platform(s): Mobile (Android / iOS) ​

Genre: 2D Side-Scrolling Endless Runner / Platformer

​Estimated year of release: Around 2012–2018 ​

Graphics/art style: Simple 2D graphics. The level was set in a narrow, claustrophobic desert cave/tunnel with yellow/brown sand walls. Kind of reminding star wars. ​

Notable characters: A LEGO minifigure (or a sprite/model meant to look like one) running to the right, and dark/shadowy stick-figure-like enemies.

​Notable gameplay mechanics: ​You continuously run to the right through a tight corridor. ​Enemies spawn on the right side of the screen. ​You shoot red blaster/laser projectiles straight ahead to clear enemies before they hit you. ​Very simple "shoot or get knocked out" mechanics. ​

Other details: This was almost certainly an unlicensed bootleg / asset-flip game on the App Store or Google Play Store that was removed due to DMCA takedowns. ​I drew a quick sketch of the gameplay from memory (attached to this post). ​Does anyone remember the title or have an APK/screenshot of this game?


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 3h ago

[Windows] [~1990] Medieval side view puzzle game

3 Upvotes

I haven't played that game in so long that I dont even know what year it was. I don't know what version of windows the PC had, but I think the game was on the desktop, or maybe start menu.

The game is pixelated, side view of a medieval character in clothes (i believe) walking left or right, but maybe with some up/down movement (animation would only be left-right). I think it was mostly played with the mouse, and you had about 0 hints of what to do. You needed to explore the scene, find items and guess where you could click to trigger an interaction based on what you'd think the items could be used for.

I remember being stuck on a level (could be the first one, dont remember) where you start on the right, have some dirt path you can walk along of and it leads to a castle wall that you need to find a way to get over. I belive there's a well or hole that allows you to go in an underground scene, but I could be mixing levels.

I remember some of the puzzle solutions to be quite wacky, like maybe you find some rock, that you use to break a branch and use the twig for replacing a broken lever. This exemple is made up but that's the type of logic it could be.

No hints anywhere, nothing to tell you what is clickable until you find it, clicking on something you dont have the right item for will either do nothing, or do something useless (trying to use a broken wooden machine would get some movement out of the machine but then it would clearly stop before it was supposed to if completed - not sure where I'm pulling that from, could be a fake memory).

I was playing the game in Europe, that might be relevant.

Would love to find that game again


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 4h ago

[steam] [2020-2025] “ps1 graphic” robot dystopia

3 Upvotes

Seriously need help finding this game. It’s an indie game similar in graphics and definitely as eerie and atmospheric as “iron lung”.

The game (in my memory) goes as follows.

You (1st person) are driving down a freeway alone and you become fused with your car after a flash covers the sky. You hop around with a tire and a claw arm thing. Your human body is transfused with the mechanical parts of your vehicle. You eat cans and metal objects to keep energy.

Later on in the game you try to find a “doctor” of some sort to free you from your mechanical body. You eventually are lead to the doctor by a robot acquaintance. The doctor “releases” your friend from his body and a giant mechanical ray gun pulverizes him… (dark I know) anyways. A major part of the game was the ending. In The ending you are walking towards a giant door hopping around holes in the ground. When you just reach the door, you fall into a hole and are stuck. Then the game ends.

I remember watching this either last year or before that on YouTube. It was an unknown YouTuber. Any ideas or insight helps. Thanks


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 17h ago

The Blob! [PC] [2008-2013?]: • Identifying a game where you roll a blob/creature, gobble colourless (people?) up, and change them into bright colours.

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32 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to find the name of a game i used to play with my brother. I recently looked up de blob, and while the concept is similar it’s not quite the right match.

In the game I'm remembering, you control a giant blob or creature that rolls around and gobbles up people or creatures, turning into one solid colour. However, unlike de Blob, the creature wasn't super active, like it didn't really jump around, sprint or smash into things dynamically. It had a much more passive vibe. I remember me and my brother used a joystick to control the thing. The background of the game was greyish and only the creature was coloured. The game was 3D.

I could be wrong in quite a few of the details. Thanks.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 6h ago

Fade to Black [Ps1/2][early 2000s] help with child hood game

5 Upvotes

Theres a game that was either on the ps1/2, your a prisoner in space and your suppose to try and escape and the gaurds are like alligators. Well one comes in trys to talk to you, you get his gun and start shooting up the place to escape.

Thats literally all I got for a description cuz i was young and for some reason the prison scene stuck with me!


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 2h ago

[[PC/Browser][Mid-Late 2010s]] Fairytale themed game

2 Upvotes

Ok so I think it was a flash game but I've been scouring flash sites for weeks and I'm starting to think I hallucinated this game existing. I remember it being kind of like a fairytale story theme like there was a princess or she was just a random lady idk but then there was a guy too. And basically the game was you could interact with the background to change the story, I think there was a spot you could plant a tree or flowers that the guy could give to the girl. But I also remember there being things you could do in the game to kill the characters. But then I might be mixing it up with that Netflix game. I think I remember you could have a pond made with ducks or swans in the scene too. I remember it having muted colors like an old storybook. But maybe I am mixing it with the Netflix thing it's just so vivid. Anything is appreciated love y'all.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 7h ago

[Android][2021]2D RPG / hack and slash game

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4 Upvotes

The game was in beta in early 2021 if I'm not mistaken, had the same gameplay system as shadow of death and shadow hunter, it also had companions system. I can't seem to find I'm not sure if it's one of the games i mentioned and it got reworked, or if it got taken down.

(The screenshot is from the game Shadow Of Death)


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 15m ago

[FLASH] [2010(?)] 2D game with mutants

• Upvotes

So, i remember this game - it was kinda like Worms, but you had mutated animals as factions. There was a snail faction, a gorilla faction, an ant factiom and one or two more. You were taking over the american cities like New York etc.

Everything had this post-apocaliptic theme.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 21h ago

Madosa [Android] [2010s] Game about upgrading a magic flame

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45 Upvotes

The mood of the game was dark, but not in a horror way but in mysterious way? There was a hand, there was a guy, there was the magic flame stuff

Gameplay was very simple. It's like a dexterity game where you unlock a lock. Rune lock? A type of lock with multiple layers you had to stack together

The overall goal was just to unlock more colorful flames with special animated effects. No lore as far as I can remember

Sorry for scribbles. I don't remember the graphics very well. I think it was flat-art? With bloom from the light source and a highly animated/dynamic flame


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 20h ago

Project Pokémon [Mobile][2020-22] A Roblox game that I played during Lockdown

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35 Upvotes

This is a 3d model of a part of the game I made from memory.

It was a Pokemon game in roblox. The above pic is a section I remember. [Scale not to match+There was no pink pokemon(chancy beside the trainer, just a representation)]

You could jump by the corner of the slope and reach the trainer with the Chancy. He only had 1 pokemon (chancy) which was at 1HP and any damage move would kill it/if you used a status move then also it wont attack you. Upon killing you would get so MANY LEVELS that you would fully evolve the pokemon that killed the Chancy.

I dont remember the name or the bushes but it has that Turn Based fighting system.

I played it on mobile so I wont know if it was available on PC as i didnt have mine at that time period.

I WILL probably not exist on the roblox platform anymore(due to copywrite) but any videos or other people who remember this ROBLOX game?


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 10h ago

[PC][2015-2025] 1st person 3D horror game with realistic graphics where you are hiding from a family member(I think) because they are acting strange but in the end you found out you were crazy and in reality you were the one terrorizing THEM

6 Upvotes

I've seen a streamer playing this a few years back and they dont put the name of the game in the title.

I am pretty sure it was indie, available on PC and if I remember correctly I think it was a "sister" we were scared of. The whole game you see her moving around the house and in the end you somehow learn everything she was doing was normal but you were crazy

I dont know if it was in reality a sister but pretty sure it was a family member. She was presented as being human and I am pretty sure the character you're playing is also human, although by the end its possible the big plot twist is that he(or she), the character we are playing is clinically insane.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 5h ago

Delivery Must Complete [PC][2025+]High-energy arcade-y plane game probably not out yet or barely

2 Upvotes

I saw trailers for it about mid 2026 and it looked 90%+ finished.

It was a 3D cellshaded-ish low-visual realism game in a future war where you control a single plane with absolutely insane arcade controls. IIRC you could parry missiles or instanly change directions, boost like x10 your speed and other stuff like that.

I would've sworn it was upcoming on steam and I had it in my wishlist but I can't find it anymore


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 7h ago

[ipod/iphone] [2011/2013?] chibi creators game that would let you customize your own avatar looked exactly like this blind box I found at miniso

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3 Upvotes

There was this chibi creator game on iPod, where you could make your own chibi and it was like around 2011/2013, I found this at miniso and it reminded me of it, they had the same design


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 9h ago

[PC][LATE 2000'S-EARLY 2010'S] DUNGEON CRAWLER

4 Upvotes

In the late 2000's or 2010s I used to play a game with my cousin ( it was single player but we took turns) it was a dungeon crawler that was a 3rd person ( top down) game where you would take your charachter into different dungeons fighting blobs, rats, wolfs,monsters, deamons etc and collect items such as weapons coins etc. This would have been a game that could be downloaded through windows preloaded game store ( windows games live IIRC)

Fate is close to what it was but its not what I remember exactly.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[PC][2010s] A flash game where you need to keep bringing puppies to their mother so they can nurse

• Upvotes

The dogs were probably golden retrievers and the game has a top-view of everything. The puppies will keep running off to play, but you need to bring them back to their mother to nurse or else they'll die. The puppies also pee on the carpet so you need to clean it often.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[[mobile/android][unknown possibly 2010-2015] Fantasy game about a knight

• Upvotes

Hello everyone, sorry in advance for the vagueness. I have bad memory, it doesnt show in my playstore list and I don't think it was a well known game.

- It was a top down 2D, but maybe a little bit the ilusion of 3D. It had a cartoony artstyle (not pixelated though).

- You played as a guy on an island (1 island, small open world) with very vibrant green colors and pine trees, fighting monsters. I also remember there being holes in the island you had to manouvre around.

- Once agro'd the monsters wouldn't let you go. There were tiers to them (like small goblin like creatures and then stronger versions).

- When killed the enemies dropped silver (and maybe other gold aswell) coins. I think you could use those coins to get better, stronger gear.

- I'm not 100% sure but you either moved the character by dragging your finger on the left side of the screen and attacked with your sword by tapping the right side of the screen. Or you could interact with semi translucent bubbles on the screen to move and attack.

- I think maybe there were also bows or throwables.

- It had catchy adventurous, but chill music. 1 distinct thing i also remember is the screeching sounds some lesser enemies made when they spotted you or when you hit them. Many years later the screech of the demi humans in the game elden ring instantly made me think of them.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 10h ago

[PC/Flash] [2012 or before] Point and click horror game where a little devil (satan?) has to witness you burry something to get the true ending or something like that

4 Upvotes

I have really faint memories cuz I was a kid playing it and it used to scare the shit out of me. Its one of those realistic point and click horror games (backgrounds are probably real pictures).

Only things I remember is that an angel appears at some point (probably a jumpscare) and theres a part where you are outside of the house, looking at the woods and a little devil quickly dashes in and out of the screen. I remember reading somewhere as a kid that you needed him to witness you doing something to get something else.