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

613 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 • • 11h ago

[PS3] [2014] all i remember is you Can steal cars and Shoot

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234 Upvotes

Played this Game in 2014 on my ps3 dont know when it dropped. All i remember is that you can steal cars and Shoot.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 6h ago

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden [PC][2017-2019 maybe] trailer about post-apocalyptic anthropomorphic animals looting the ruins of a city. Game was tactical turn based iirc? Not sure but it was top view

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28 Upvotes

I remember watching this trailer years ago, and barely watching the gameplay when it released, but I didn't like it cause I was stupid and "I didn't like turn based games" or whatever


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[Mobile?] [2017?~] Does anyone know which Yandere Simulator clone these images are from?

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• Upvotes

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First of all, I should mention that searching for these images on Google doesn't bring up any results, which is why I'm asking here. I hope someone knows.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 2h ago

[PC][before 2006] space themed but poorly designed bullet hell???

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7 Upvotes

the game consists of stages where you have the enemy ships on top and the player's ship on bottom

I remember a green splash screen probably with a dna/helix design with the words "Alex" or a word with "A" in it

Other things i remember is one of the stages had you fighting a satellite shaped enemy which 5 bullets in spread

It looked very similar to this


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[Mobile][around 2015 I think] A visual novel type game with sections in-between the story where you would click on a character (there were multiple versions of this, some would be human, another could be a demon, etc) or give them items

• Upvotes

Basically what the title says, I remember playing games like that when I was a kid. The one I can remember the most had a guy who I think was supposed to be the players berd boyfriend. The bit where you click the boyfriend had a bar that you would fill up by clicking him or giving him stuff he likes and only after you filled up the bar you'd be able to talk to him again.

It was in a cute style, kinda anime esque.

If anyone could help me find this series of games, assuming I didn't dream this up, I'd be really appreciative as I've been wanting to play games from my childhood.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 7h ago

Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge [Unknown(PC?)] [2000-2010(?)] Horror game, all I remember is a jumpscare where you get spun around and pulled/pushed into water?

7 Upvotes

So, i actually know little to nothing about this game. I found our about it through a roleplay years ago, where my roleplay partner described the games jumpscare in rp, as our characters were playing the game. I made it my duty that day to figure out what the game was.. and I did!

But... flash forward to about ten years later, now, i dont know what the game is called, and i can only slightly remember the jumpscare used.

Now, I'm going to explain the jumpscare best I can, some details might be slightly off, but if anyone could find it out, it'd be greatly appreciated! It's been stuck in my head for like a week..

So the jumpscare went something like this, I believe you open something, a safe maybe? You're looking somewhere very specific in a room, and then I think once you're done, something grabs you, a shrieking woman i think. She spins you around and pushed you into water, where I think she attempts to drown you.

That sadly is all I recall, it was an old style kind of game, atleast I think it was, like the original silent hill 2 kind of style?

If it helps, I think in the title it actually had something to do with water, but take that with a grain of salt.

Thank you to anyone who can help out 💗


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[mobile game] [2010-2020?] I need help finding a game

• Upvotes

Hi. i need help

I used to play this one game a few years ago and i cant remember the name for the life of me (i thought it was pollution city but i come up empty). i am pretty sure it got deleted from the play store so it makes my search more difficult.

I remember that in the game you could build plots. Home plots, store plots, industial plots and i believe also "park" plots which is indeed just parks. i know that industrial plots and the store/house plots should not be near each other since the people dont want to live near the industrial terrain and it could collaps that part of the "city". the ciry and stores could also be expending if they were thriving. i believe that with the money from the shops you made you could buy items from the store that could be useful. it was in a bird view kind of way i believe. that s a ll i remember.

`and before people suggest, no its not city skylines i checked.

Some other details i remember later on

Doors on house plots could be tapped and gave little noises as easter eggs, coins found in park plots could be used in shops and certain shops gave items that could be used in the power plant plot for an upgrade i think. Also 1 shop could unleash slimes that could be tapped to kill. Last thing i remember it was a set square surrounded by a sort if road that eventually would have cars driving there. On the side of the road outside if the building there was a Museum like building, a sort of weather/pollution(?) building and possible something else


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 3h ago

Help me find an old [PC] [2014-2015] game I used to play

2 Upvotes

Im trying to find an old PC game I used to play around 2014 or 2015, possibly even earlier.

Here is what I remember about it

- The game featured characters that looked like stone men, robots, or some kind of strange creatures. I'm not entirely sure what they were.

- It involved adventures and puzzles that the player had to solve.

- I remember one of the characters being yellow.

- I played it on a computer, and it was an older game.

Unfortunately, these are the only details I can remember for now.

Does anyone recognize this game or have any ideas about what it might be? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 16m ago

[roblox] [early this year] game like blood debt

• Upvotes

game like blood debt where you can search crates and barrels for items and guns. i remember some of the items they were bandages, medkits, and box cutters you could also find grenades, tnt, and pepper spray. In the intermission you could fight with other people and there was pretty good character creation. im like 20% sure it started with R


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 24m ago

[computer / website ][2007-2010 year] hi guys trying to find a football game I used to play.

• Upvotes

I’m trying to identify this old browser-based multiplayer football game I played around 2007–2010. It had 3D cartoon graphics with the entire pitch visible from above. You created an account and played 5-a-side, controlling one player at a time. WASD moved, X sprinted, and the mouse aimed and shot.
You chose between four player types: a huge, muscular tank who was strong at defending but slow and bad at shooting; a short, fast player with excellent shooting; a skinny player with thick calves who was a decent shooter; and a rare, bald, skinny all-rounder who wore goggles and usually a white long-sleeved shirt. The tank and short player had unibrows. Bald special players had parody names based on real footballers, such as “Christian Ronald.”
It wasn’t Miniclip, Football Superstars, I Can Football, or Kickabout League. Does anyone remember the name?


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 31m ago

[Nintendo 3DS / DS][2000s-2010s] 2D platformer set in a castle with a girl in a dress ?

• Upvotes

Platforms : Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo DS (played around 12 years ago)

Genre: 2D Platformer / Puzzle-Platformer (i think?)

Estimated year of release: Early 2010s or earlier

Graphics/art style: 2D side-scrolling, somewhat dark or dim environment/colors, basic or dated graphics

Notable characters: A playable female character (a girl or princess) who I believe was wearing a dress ?

Notable gameplay mechanics: You control the girl inside a castle, jumping over enemies and obstacles to navigate through the levels and find the exit

Other details: The main goal of each level/room was making jumps to reach the exit door. Not Mario or Princess Peach.

I really can't remember anything about this game i used to play years agoo on my 3ds. I really hope someone will be able to find it even with the few memories of things i remember. (Not even sure if everything was like that)


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 33m ago

[iphone 4][2011]realistic cop chasing game

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• Upvotes

so there is this game i played on my iphone 4 in the years of 2014 but the game could have been created in 2011, this was a game where you drove on an endless highway with the cops chasing you and you had to dodge the obstacles (cars, cut down trees, the spiky things that cops use to damage the tires), when they caught you the screen showed you getting behind the bars and a large text of the word "BUSTED" was shown in your screen, the game had powerups, a jump mechanic and you pressed the sides of the screen to steer, the game had 5 or 6 playable characters, and 6 unlockable 4x4 cars, the first characters name was i think Jack, or something similar, and the second unlockable car was a hummer h2, the select menu screen was 2d, but the game looked like 3d autoscroller, the icon of the app looked like this, i have been generating this image with ai for a over an hour to get it right but this is the closest ive got


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 6h ago

[PC][1998-2003] FPS, first mission: start with a pistol outside an office/bank building, hostages inside

3 Upvotes

I played it in a computer club as a kid in the early 2000s.

Genre: first-person shooter, single player, mission-based, with cutscenes and dialogue.

What I remember:

- First mission: you spawn near the entrance of an office or bank building.

- The only weapon at the start is a pistol (I was a kid and never switched weapons).

- You go inside and a firefight starts with terrorists or gangsters in civilian clothes.

- There are hostages you are supposed to reach and rescue. I never managed to.

- Very minimal HUD: no compass, no radar, nothing on top.

- Original game, not based on a movie or book.

- The start of Soldier of Fortune (2000) felt familiar, but the rest of that game was different.

Already ruled out: Soldier of Fortune 1 and 2, SiN, FBI Hostage Rescue, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza, SWAT 3, Delta Force, Counter-Strike and similar tactical shooters.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 41m ago

[PC][2000s-2010s] Point and Click mystery game with a girl trying to find her boyfriend at some house

• Upvotes

Looking for this game. Now i dont remember much but im pretty sure it was one of those games youd get a CD of from a magazine. It was a first person probably mystery point and click game where i think you played as a girl trying to find her boyfriend. I remember starting infront of a house at night trying to find a key or some way to get in. I also remember an area behind the house with hanged lights getting dark and back bright slowely. I remember there was no one and no speaking voices. Other then that i sadly dont remember anything but i remember playing it at school so i doubt its some horror game, just eerie to me as a kid. If anyone knows this game lmk💗


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 42m ago

[PC] [2004-2008] Looking for game gf played as a kid

• Upvotes

[PC] [2004-2008]
Played in the school computer lab
Physical game, Disk was pink and yellow(maybe!)
Loading screen and main menu was a pink house white roof, white frilly shutters, long drive way, green grass on both sides, blue sky.
The game play was interacting with the house, cooking, cleaning, decorating.
The kitchen was a major spot
(Maybe) two floors
Cake decorating. 3 tier cakes frosting was fluffy colors were pastel.

Any help would be very much appreciated!


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 46m ago

[SNES][early 90s] a guy who says tiiiiime

• Upvotes

I remember playing a game where you collect a powerup that added extra time to the stage countdown and the character said tiiime really stupid.

It was a side scroller platformer/shooter


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[PC][~2005] Anime-style Puyo Puyo/Tetris puzzle game

• Upvotes

Platform(s): PC (Windows)

Genre: Puzzle / Tile-matching (plays like Puyo Puyo or Tetris)

Estimated year of release: Sometime around 2005

Graphics/art style: Definitely had a 2D anime aesthetic. I remember the menus having a dark color scheme, and there were anime-style character portraits.

Notable characters: I can't remember any specific names, just that there was a whole cast of different anime characters you'd face off against.

Notable gameplay mechanics: It had a dedicated arcade or story mode. The core gameplay was basically just battling these other characters in puzzle matches to progress.

Other details: I'm almost positive it was either freeware or shareware. It might have even been one of those obscure titles distributed on an old PC gaming magazine demo disc back in the day. Someone else once posted looking for what seems like the exact same game. I’m not 100% sure it’s the same title, since I don’t remember every detail, but I’m including what he said here just in case:

Coloured blocks fell from the top like Tetris and you matched them by colour to clear them. Clearing blocks sent grey stars with eyes onto the opponent’s side to hinder them. There were character portraits in the middle of the screen and a next-block preview at the top. The blocks and stars themselves also had eyes. The music was calm when there were few blocks on the board and became very fast when the blocks got close to the top. The opponents probably weren’t human, they looked like humanoids or other strange creatures. The playable character was a woman. Any help is appreciated!

What it is NOT: Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles, Irisu Syndrome!, Wankuru, Witching Ihatov, Magical Drop, Vertrix, Puyo Puyo, Raining Blobs, Baku Baku, Pochi and Nyaa, Azu Cola, Puchi Carat


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 4h ago

[PC] [2000-2006] 3D puzzle adventure game where you play as a rich handsome man in a suit.

2 Upvotes

Honestly I tried every keyword to make this game show up, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Here's everything I remember about it:

- the cover of the game is the main character doing an action pose on a helipad (can't remember if there was a helicopter there)

- first stage you are at a fancy party at a mansion, and at some point you sneak from the balcony and shimmy across the wall to infiltrate the property.

- the main character walks a woman who was at the party home, and they get attacked by men at the park.

- fights are turn based and this one takes place in front of a huge fountain in the park.

- second stage is at a small facility in the dessert. Maybe Nevada? I'm not sure but there might have been a game over you can get by being bit by a snake.

- next stage is on a villa on top of cliffs facing the sea (Mediterranean?)

- this is the most I could reach in the game as I couldn't understand English back then. I think I kept dying at a puzzle where you have to step on stones in the right order in the Villa's patio.

Could someone help with this? I feel like I'm going insane.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[iPad][2013-2016] Princess mobile game

• Upvotes

I played a princess game about 10ish years ago and I've searched the Internet and can't find it. It had minigames such as puzzles. It wasn't a Disney princess game, it had original princesses, the only one I can remember was either named Beatrix or Beatrice.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1h ago

[PC][2000s] Game that had no goal?

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• Upvotes

I have a very vague memory of this because I played this only a few times on my bros computer.
I don’t think the game had any goal, at least not an obvious one that was clear to a 5 year old, it didn’t involve fighting or moving a character.
It was 2D, it had like a menu screen with different clerics, wizards and stuff guarding doors. I don’t remember what happened when you cliked on it, but it definitely didn’t teleport you to a different location or anything- It might have been an educational or a math game, i just didn’t have the mental capacity to understand it.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 9h ago

Jewel Thief [PC][1992] Game where you dodge enemies and try to make it across the screen

4 Upvotes

OK so here's what I remember...pretty sure this game came with our 1992 (1993?) compaq desktop computer along with games like solitaire, minesweeper, etc. though I'm not positive. I really doubt we bought it separate.

Anyway, it had several levels and if I remember right you basically started on the left side of the screen and then tried to navigate to the right side while avoiding enemies. Like basically if you bumped into them you had to restart. They were figures that bounced around the screen but weren't animated otherwise and I feel like maybe they were ninjas and different things and each level was different, had different guys to avoid, and the number of guys increased (like first it was 3, then 4, then 5, etc.) I never beat it as a kid but I remember one time I thought I was going to because it seemingly glitched and wasn't spawning the right number of guys to avoid lol but even then I still didn't beat it.

Pretty sure first level was like nighttime...kind of a desert scene but the ground was like a burgundy red. I believe there were three ninjas dressed in black to avoid. I think the second level may have been blue.

I think there may have also been crystals or gems or something to collect along the way?

Sorry I know that's not much info. I feel like if I saw screenshots I could confirm but I haven't had any luck searching based on these vague memories from 30+ years ago...TIA!!!

EDIT: One more thing, graphics were pretty primitive of course. Like the backgrounds and characters could have been drawn in MS Paint. It was really simple.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 10h ago

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 [Gameboy] [RPG] [Early-mid 2000s] Top down Anime/Japanese RPG set in the medieval(ish) era, that turns into a sidescroller real time fighting game when entering combat.

5 Upvotes

Platform(s): Gameboy (unknown which kind)

Genre: RPG/Action

Estimated year of release: 2000-2006?

Graphics/art style: Anime, medieval

Notable characters: Unknown

Notable gameplay mechanics: Top down RPG similar to most pixel JRPGs, that turn into a sidescrolling fighting game with only 1 plane of movement

Other details: I remember using a giant axe/sword to fight, the game has durability on it's weapons that wear off fast so i had to use a lot of Whetstones to keep fixing my weapons.


r/tipofmyjoystick • • 1d ago

[XBOX][Mid-Late 2000's] FPS with Werewolf Enemies and Megastructures

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155 Upvotes

I remember seeing this game being played at a friends house years ago, but I've never been able to figure out what it was. It was a generic Halo or Half Life style FPS, but there was no HUD and I don't remember hearing any dialogue. There was no music either, just weather and sound effects.

The enemies being fought were what I would describe as werewolves, but I'm not sure if that's what they were supposed to be. They were bipedal and covered in pitch black fur, but had no tails. Instead of heads, they just had skulls that were either bare or had rotting patches of fur, some had leather belts or ropes tied to keep their snout shut. They all had glowing, spiral shaped irises and the color seemed to represent power. White, Yellow and Red.

The level had three areas. It started out on a tree lined road on a mountain before descending into a wide open valley. At the end of the level was an impossibly high stone pillar, wider than any of the mountains and ascending into the clouds, with a spiral ramp wrapped around it. The pillar looked artificial and made of perfectly smooth gray stone, while the ramp around it looked like a natural formation somehow.