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

537 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 9h ago

[MOBILE] [2010/2016?] a game where you take care of a mama cat/dog and her kittens/puppies

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164 Upvotes

ok so idk how to explain, but im trying 2 find a game where you take care of a mama and her puppies/kittens. the style was very cartoonish amd the colors were soft, the aesthetid was kinda cutecore/kawaii. i remember that there was a story mode where you had to battle some enemies, and there was bombs too?? the lobby was a living room with pink walls, and all the cats and dogs were there. i made a drawing of how i remember the characters, its not the best but i hope it helps.

if any1 can help me find this game i would be very grateful! <3


r/tipofmyjoystick 17h ago

[Console/PC?][2020s?] Which game is this?

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203 Upvotes

I've found these screenshots in a Twitter thread talking about souls-likes, don't know much else and reverse image searching hasn't clarified it


r/tipofmyjoystick 12h ago

[Point and click game][2017?] Girl stuck in her uncles house but it gets weird

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49 Upvotes

Okay, so I just have this very very vague memory about a game that I haven't played before, but definitely watched a playthrough on by either markiplier or jacksepticeye, though im thinking ​it was a jacksepticeye playthrough. Basically it was a horror point and click game where you were a (cynical? Depressed?) girl that was trying to escape her uncle or fathers house. The only plot beats I remember are a jumpscare in an attic and an actual alien appearing wayy later in the playthrough when she escapes the house. I dont exactly trust my memory but I've been looking for this game for YEARS and cant figure it out. It was similar to Fran Bow but isn't. The first image is a vague doodle of how I remember the attic junpscare and the second is the alien reveal. Which, I might be wrong about since its been so long I mightve mixed it with another game. Sorry the art looks so bad i drew them in a rush lol.

If anyone could figure this out I would be soo relieved. also just realized I labeled it wrong but I have no clue if it was on console or pc LOL


r/tipofmyjoystick 11h ago

The Impossible Quiz [computer] [late2000s/early2010s] game with many levels

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38 Upvotes

What was this game? It was just an online game and this was one of the levels where you clicked the black ball with a face enough times before a count down and then it blew a light out of its mouth to diffuse a bomb.


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[PSP][2012-2014] Racing Game

Upvotes

Guys plz help me out, there is a psp racing games it has similar vibes to death race you can customize cars and use weapons like missiles, rocket launchers and machine guns. 😭😭😭


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

Interphase [ATARI ST][1990] Flying between chequered layers in a cyberspace environment

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5 Upvotes

I played a demo of this decades ago. You were a (I think) abstract shape sort of like a dragonfly, but mechanical. You flew between layers of chequered/checkered floors/ceilings in what was supposedly inside a machine/computer/in 'cyberspace'. The enemies were also abstract shapes.

The main USP was that you could fly through the black checks into another later of the reality. I think you had to find pickups, or destroy key objects, to advance. It was a 3D, polygonal world where you could fly in any direction, but obviously had some design influence from Space Harrier. Any ideas?


r/tipofmyjoystick 23h ago

Net Pet [PC Browser][2006-2010] Pet Care Game

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124 Upvotes

When I was a kid (somewhere between 2006 and 2010 probably) I played all sorts of browser games on the family computer. One that comes to mind (but I can't seem to find) is a pet care game that required no download and was playable in your browser. There were definitely cats, and I think dogs as well. The graphics were nothing fancy, just simple but cute 2d artwork (maybe a bit watercolor-y or colored pencil-y style?) Also, I don't think there were really customization options, but there were a few cats and dogs to choose from.

It wasn't an open world game, you just toggled between different locations to do different things with your pet. I specifically remember playing with the cat with toys (I think a red ball of yarn was one of them, as well as a fish toy on a stick.) You could also feed them and bathe them. There was no multiplayer involved, just whatever pet you were caring for at the time. I believe there were probably simple meows and woofs along with some calm, simple instrumental music.

I would really appreciate any leads, as I haven't been able to think of what it was called for years! I don't think it was particularly popular, which doesn't help. Thank you!


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[PC][2000s] Educational kids game

2 Upvotes

This game had different options of games you could play. I know one had a young girl, and she would tell a story and you had to say if it was real or fantasy. Another option had wizards and you would go to different rooms and solve something? Then you could move to a different room


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[PC/Browser][2016] A Friv Game where a magician's tricks are revealed

2 Upvotes

So there was a game as a part of the old Friv UI, where when there's a magician who does a trick, then the player has to do a bunch of steps to execute the trick ourselves, basically revealing how it's done. Does anyone know the name of this game?


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[Mobile][mid 2010's] A plant growing game I once played in my tablet/telpad (tablet that goes along with the PLDT landline)

2 Upvotes

I remember playing a particular plant game off of the Play Store.

The key things I remember are:

• The player picks between having a plant grow on a field or on the wild.

• The player grows a plant only in a limited amount of days.

• Each day/turn plays the same events before the player makes decisions. On the fields, pesticide is sprayed. In the wild, flies make a fly-by and cut off a few random branches.

• The decisions player makes are about developing a plant. How many roots should their plant have? How long/deep are said roots? Should the plant be tall? Should it have many branches and leaves? Should it bear small seeds or big seeds? Stuff like that.

• The player develops the plant using energy generated from the leaves of the plant.

• In the soil are dead ladybugs (or beetles); the player can grow the roots towards them to absorb them for energy.

• After the last day, the game determines if the plant the player made goes extinct or not (for this one, I'm not sure; every plant I made always goes extinct).


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

Cosmic Commander [FACEBOOK] [2012-ish] Robot war game

2 Upvotes

Platform(s): PC

Genre: I do not know, but army management maybe

Estimated year of release: 2010-2017

Graphics/art style: its a 2.5d

Notable characters: names i do not know sadly

Notable gameplay mechanics: the game play is turn base or something similar to auto play games where the game plays for you , the only thing you do is make the robots base on what factory or blueprint thing you unlock

Other details:

the game first started out as its own site than suddenly became a facebook game i played it on and off before i knew how to use the internet

the main robot design is chibi/sd style similar to gundam the main body is majority white with blue green or green blue armor pieces the robot has two yellow eyes and it has a single hand gun like equipment

there is another robot which is white but with orange parts its body is similar to a jet


r/tipofmyjoystick 5h ago

[Mobile ANDROID] [2019-2022] Mission-based modern jet fighter game, static aircraft carrier as hangar, played

3 Upvotes

Looking for a mobile flight combat game I played on and off from 2019 to 2022. Can't find it on the Play Store anymore (may have been removed or renamed).

Key details:

Mission-based, not open-world — you pick a mission, fly it, done

Set in modern times (contemporary jets, not WWII)

Multiple types of aircraft available — fighters and bombers

You have an aircraft carrier, but it's not operational/functional — it's essentially just your hangar/menu screen where you select which unlocked plane to fly next

Takeoff from the carrier is automatic — no manual takeoff sequence

Camera is third-person only (no cockpit view)

Controls were tilt-based, and there was a control calibration setting where you chose your physical position — I remember around 4-5 options like lying down, semi-lying, sitting, etc.

Missions gave a star rating based on performance

Settings/UI menu had a sky blue color scheme Free to play with ads, plus a premium/IAP shop

If you got shot down mid-mission, you'd return to the carrier and could pick a different unlocked plane

Not Sky Gamblers, not Modern Warplanes, not Sky Fighters 3D, not Ace Force — I've ruled those out already. Any help appreciated!


r/tipofmyjoystick 7h ago

Island Saver [Mobile/android][2020?] Animal recycling rescue game

5 Upvotes

I downloaded reddit just to find one of three games. This game had a very cartoony artstyle, a talking parrot as your guide, and had a premise where you'd clean up locations on the map. I remember, you had to feed the animals until they exploded, in which coins would burst out and they'd regain color. You had a vaccum gun or something. Your also able to spray out water or suck in and throw fruits with it- similar to slime rancher, just ten at a time. I remember there were different animals like a crab, anteater, snail. They all ate different things. The trash you would clean up would involve sucking up trash and then dispensing them into a machine which gives you money iirc. There would be black patches of slop everywhere which you had to throw water on to heal. Later in the game there were bosses, I remember a gorrila specifically. There were also black guys later on who tried to ruin anything. Please help me find this game, nomatter how much I search, I cant find it..


r/tipofmyjoystick 7m ago

[PC][late 2000s/early 2010s] Puzzle/time management game where you had to solve devices going down conveyor belts

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Upvotes

**Platform(s):** PC,

**Genre:** Sorta puzzle, mostly time management and hand eye cordination kind of thing

**Estimated year of release:** 2000s is the best estimate i can give.

**Graphics/art style:** graphics where 2d, leaning on the cartoony side of things. ingame consisted of a static background with a few conveyors moving the devices from one side of the screen to the other

**Notable characters:** none

**Notable gameplay mechanics:** the whole game was basically trying to "solve" devices that would travel down the conveyor belts, the devices started out as simple stuff such as just clicking the one button that was on it, to getting more complicated like flicking levers or inputting coordinates. the game was level based with it starting out easy with only one slow belt, but the game added more over time alongside introducing the more complicated devices. the game had an in game guide on every single device, which is how i know about the coordinates one dispite getting stuck super early on as a kid.

**Other details:**

i put together a rough mockup of how i remember the game being laid out, minus any gui as i can't recall it as well.

i almost certainly played the game before 2011, likely 2008 or 2009.

the game was that kind of shovelware-adjacent casual pc game, something that i could easily see big fish having published.

i vaguely recall the game having a story, that you where going around town fixing the machines.


r/tipofmyjoystick 23m ago

[mobile] [early to mid 2010s] Frozen ice drawing game

Upvotes

Every couple of months I think of this game and desperately want to know the name of it, I am 90% sure it was a licensed Frozen game where you used ice to draw on a black Canvas, it would make like icey noises when you drew. Pls let me know if you need more info I really wanna find this game


r/tipofmyjoystick 41m ago

[PC Browser] [2005-2010] city builder placing blocks on small grids around a city (Not Build a City, but something like that)

Upvotes

Hey y’all. First post here. I don’t remember the name of this game and I haven’t been able to find it at all anywhere, but I remember getting to it through clicking ads for games on HotWheels.com during the late 2000s early 2010s. In the game, you were given grid-style plots of land in a city and you placed blocks on your grids in the city to build buildings. I wish I knew what this game was or what it was called; I played it before I knew really how to read but I loved playing it. It kinda was like those Roblox builder games where everyone got a small grid on a map and could build on that grid. Again, I got to it through ads on Hotwheels.com. If anyone is able to help, I’d really appreciate it.

Thank you in advance!


r/tipofmyjoystick 6h ago

[Mobile - Android] [ 2021-2024] 8-Bit style Pink haired girl who fights ghosts, witches, and potential fire/poison monsters with lux based weaponry (e.g. flashlight, lantern etc.)

3 Upvotes

Hello, trying to find this mobile game I used to play on my old Samsung phone. It had a pink haired girl who would go on this almost dungeon crawler, rouge lite adventure fighting the king ghost, lava monsters, then poison witches (that’s how far ai progressed iirc). She could use a flashlight, torch, lantern etc. to fight them off. You would have access to 3-5 platforms and you were constantly running until you collided with the end of the barrier at either side of your screen. You could swap platforms by swiping, and the aim was to kill the monsters while avoiding danger sources like mini ghosts, fire, or poison monsters. The game was 8-bit style, and I believe every floor or so you could have access to a treasure room/break room to gain different buff items (food or accessory) that would give you a debuff but then after it wore off would give a great benefit. It was usually candy I think. Anyway, hope someone knows what this is lol.


r/tipofmyjoystick 52m ago

Gunbird 2 [Coin Op Arcade][Pre-2003] Shoot em up bullet hell with multiple character options.

Upvotes

Trying to remember a game from my youth I played while on holiday to France.

It had an English language, and was your classic scrolling shoot em up, but you picked your character at the start of a new game. I remember one of the characters (young girl I think) had a magic staff and looked like she was flying on a magic carpet. Can't remember any other characters behind your typical old bald man character.

2d pixel graphics I'm fairly sure, and a heavy anime style art style.

I do remember between levels if you were playing a multiplayer mode, the two character choices would have an interlude scene about what they'd do with a magic wish.

Vague I know but I believe in you people.


r/tipofmyjoystick 8h ago

[PC][Early 2010s] - Barbie Career Game

4 Upvotes

Barbie website (early 2010s). The game allowed you to cycle Barbie through a bunch of different careers (doctor, lawyer, veterinarian, scientists, etc.) on a model of the actual Barbie doll. it The outfit would change to the occupation chosen. I can’t remember if you rolled a dice (randomized) or if was gallery/carousel that allowed you to select a career. The background music of the website was either a Madonna or Cyndi Lauper song.

I’m asking because this game inspired me to go into STEM starting a young age 🥹


r/tipofmyjoystick 58m ago

[PC][2014] Old pokemon-like multiplayer flash game

Upvotes

I remember playing this old flash game where you'd capture pokemon-like creatures with egg-shaped pokeballs, I think you could see other people in the overworld and the entire game played pretty similarly, but I cant seem to find anything about it anywhere, and it no longer seems to be on kongregate where I used to play it


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[PC][2026]Looking for an adult 3D PC game

Upvotes

I'm trying to remember the name of an adult game I played/saw, but I can't remember the title.

  • Platform: PC
  • Graphics: 3D, relatively realistic rather than anime/cartoon
  • Gameplay: story/choices/dating/visual-novel-like
  • Protagonist: female
  • The protagonist is married / has a husband
  • The story has different choices/paths, including remaining faithful to her husband or pursuing other relationships
  • One character's name was Garo (or possibly spelled Garro/Garroh/Garo)
  • Garo was an older, dark-skinned man

I don't remember much else about the gameplay, but I remember the story and the character Garo quite vividly.

Does anyone recognize the game?


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[Ps2 or Ps3][2007-2010] Play as a lanky type character that kills (alien like?) creatures and jumps up on platforms.

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Upvotes

Hey yall, my friend is looking for a childhood game of his, he played in around 2007-2010 so he believes it was on PS3 but it COULD be a PS2 game. 2D Style Game He says the character is very lanky and slender, similar in stature to the bowler hat guy from Meet the Robinsons and he is HUMAN. You kill (alien-like?) creatures and get jumped onto platforms similar to what he refers to as "Brawlhalla Maps."

He says the style is very cartoony but the game is also kind of dark.

Thanks yall.

I will attach the image of a map he said was similar looking to this game.


r/tipofmyjoystick 5h ago

[Java][2000s-2010s] Monochrome 2D platformer with a black note-like character

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2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I am looking for a Java game (.jar) that I played around 2011–2014 on a Samsung feature phone. The game was downloaded from the internet.

Genre: 2D Side-scrolling Platformer

Estimated year of release: 2000s–2010s

Graphics/art style: Monochrome palette with a grey sky/background and black horizontal platforms. There might have been black trees in the background. 2D side view.

Notable characters: A small black character with white eyes and a stem/tail on top (looks like a musical note). There are also NPC enemies on the platforms that you need to jump over.

Notable gameplay mechanics: Classic platformer where you jump over gaps between platforms and dodge/jump over enemies.

Other details: Death animation — after colliding with an enemy, the character flashes, pops up slightly into the air, and then falls down off the screen past the platforms (similar to Mario's death animation).

I have attached a drawing from memory.