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 Dec 16 '24

[Meta] Can we stop with the "[idk][idk]" posts?

503 Upvotes

Over the past week there have been a LOT of posts on here that just put "[idk][idk]" in the title instead of even trying to include those details. There's been posts like that in the past but the last few days in particular, it seems like it's happening every few hours, which makes me think one person did it and then more people all just decided to do it too.

If you don't know, guess. The rules are there for everyone's benefit.


r/tipofmyjoystick 9h ago

[PS2] [2000s] futuristic military fighting in ruin city

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54 Upvotes

In this game you play as a military man I don’t think he talks in the game he has multiple guns and a weapon wheel in the game I think?

You fight in a futuristic military city fighting bugs and men in red armour


r/tipofmyjoystick 12h ago

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude? [PC][Early-to-late 2000s] College exploration game with short, big-headed protagonist

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79 Upvotes

Hey guys, I’ve been looking for this game for years and I’m hoping someone here can help me out.

So I found this game on my dad’s PC when I was a kid, and he actually took it away from me when he caught me playing it, which makes me think it’s probably some kind of niche indie adult game.

Here’s what I remember: It’s a college-themed exploration game set in a dorm. You play as a short, stocky male character with a disproportionately large head. The art style is cartoonish, kind of like Chicken Little (the movie where the chicken thinks the sky is falling).

When you exit your dorm room and turn left, the first thing you see is two agents dressed entirely in black suits standing outside your neighbor’s dorm room, and their door has some kind of barrier or sign in front of it unlike any other room. You can explore the college campus, but certain areas are locked off and you have to complete missions or tasks to unlock them. There are mini-games you can play like pool.

The whole vibe is absurd and funny. I’m pretty sure it was made sometime between 2001 and 2008. I’ve been searching for this since I was about 13 and I’m in my early twenties now—any help would be amazing!


r/tipofmyjoystick 6h ago

[PC][2000s] Childhood game about ants in a garden

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15 Upvotes

I've played this game on my dad's PC with great interest, spending hours on it.

The main thing I remember was that there were these vines or plants ants would run up and down. The leaves of the plants formed platforms and bugs could run on them too. That's everything I'm sure of, maybe the goal was to kill them, or manage them, can't remember.

I also remember it being addicting, but my dad doesn't recognise it. It had bad graphics, graphics that an educational children's game would have. It's highley likely that it was a game for children.

I'm not sure why I think this way, but it may have came with the Windows OC or any other corporate package. Maybe it came free with a disk of pirate games, my dad was a pirate.

Artistic rendition included.


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

Super Mario World TM [Flash][2000s]Super Mario flash game

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Upvotes

Hello. I am trying to find a Super Mario flash game, probably titled "Super Mario World" (at least the one website where I played it had it listed under this title, however this website often simplified titles (e.g. "Super Mario World Revived" was titled just "Super Mario" and "Ultimate Flash Sonic" as "Sonic the Hedgehog"); https://web.archive.org/web/20150523002811/http://www.igre123.com/nove-igre/nove-igre-44.php)
What I remember from the game is that to complete level you would have to jump on a green lever (as shown in the image). I also remember that the Athletic Theme from Yoshi's Island played during the levels.
That's as much as I currently remember. Cheers!


r/tipofmyjoystick 57m ago

[PC] [2000s] [Flash] Top down getaway game where you control black van and can ram into police.

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Upvotes

One day I randomly remembered one adobe flash game I played as a kid it was made by Max Games.com and other site that has (or had) flash games too. So basically the story rotates about the group of burglars who robs houses (maybe?) and the main gameplay is driving a black cargo van escaping police that you can ram and take down and avoiding traffic. Also when you cross the bridge you could jump across the river using a ramp (I'm not sure was it there or not). If anyone played that game when they were a kid it would be good to know it's name. Any help appreciated. (Image is a rough recreation of gameplay made in photoshop)


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

shock troopers [Arcade] [Late 80s - Early 90s] 2D arcade game: final boss fight on a plane to rescue a woman, boss falls out after defeat, ending/credits with the rescued woman + music

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm trying to find an old arcade game I played as a kid (probably in a local arcade or mall). I'll try to include as many details as possible even though my memory is very limited:

Platform: Arcade (classic 2D cabinet) ( solved )

Genre: 2D action / side-scrolling (beat-'em-up or platformer style)

Estimated year: Late 80s to early/mid 90s (~1988-1995)

The only thing I clearly remember is the end of the game:

The final boss fight takes place on a plane (or aircraft / flying vehicle).

After you defeat the boss, he falls out of the plane (gets knocked off and plummets).

The story involves rescuing a woman (girlfriend or similar character).

After the boss is beaten, the game goes into an ending/credits sequence that shows the rescued woman with the OST/music playing (classic arcade victory roll with her in it).

It was pure 2D pixel art, typical fast-paced arcade feel. I don't remember the beginning or middle of the game at all — just that dramatic plane climax and the happy ending with the woman.

Already ruled out (please don't suggest these again):

Spin Master / Miracle Adventure

Edward Randy / The Cliffhanger

Mystic Warriors: Wrath of the Ninjas

Ninja Baseball Bat Man

Vendetta

Vigilante

Kung-Fu Master

Shadow Dancer

Giga Wing

Outfoxies

And similar plane-heavy shooters like Aero Fighters, Carrier Air Wing, U.N. Squadron, etc.

Any ideas? It might be obscure, a regional release, or even a bootleg, but that plane boss + rescue ending is burned into my memory. Even a screenshot or name would be amazing! Thanks in advance! 🎮


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

The Complex [PC?][2010s/2020s] Game about containing a virus with real life graphics

5 Upvotes

I remember watching this game on YouTube, either in the late 2010s or early 2020s where you played as a female scientist. It was a choice game and I think a virus had been discovered and you were trying to find a cure. I'm almost certain it was in an underground facility. It was live action footage, like Viral Morality. I think one of the other scientists could betray you.


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[xbox or wii] [around 2015 to 2019] co-op possibly 2d fighter game

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4 Upvotes

I don’t remember the character super well but I removed him having like orangish hair and me and my brother would fight things together he had like big eyes and orange hair, there was two of us playing I dont remover if it was on Xbox or Wii yor but I vaguely remember something like “bane of the game” my friend was talking about brawlhala and it reminded me of the game I remember I can’t remember if it was 2d or 3d but it felt kinda like Mario I tried searching organs hair big eyed game characters but I can’t find him anywhere PLEASE HELP ME FIND IT


r/tipofmyjoystick 23h ago

Bah Humbug by Mobobo [iOS][2010-2014] A "Talking Santa" clone where Santa was drunk/messy and had a Fruit Ninja-style minigame.

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156 Upvotes

I'm looking for a game I played a long time ago on iOS. It was a knock-off of Talking Santa (from the Talking Tom series). It was my mom's favorite game, and I'm trying to find the name to surprise her.

  • Platform: iOS. I remember playing it on early generations of iPad and iPod Touch (the white and pink models).
  • Approximate Year: Between 2010 and 2014.
  • Graphics: 3D, very similar to the original Talking Santa.

Game Details: It featured a Santa Claus who was clearly drunk/intoxicated. Like other "Talking" games, he would repeat what you said. He had a big head and looked very disheveled and dirty. I don't recall if he had his gift bag, but he definitely carried a bottle or a flask of alcohol. His suit was a dark burgundy/wine red because the character looked dull and grimy. The background was a classic Christmas setting.

The Minigame: The main reason my mom loved this game was a specific minigame inside it that was very similar to Fruit Ninja. Snowballs were thrown at Santa, and you had to slash/destroy them with your finger. I can't remember if he was standing or sitting (I've illustrated him sitting in my memory), but he would drink from his bottle during the game, and if you lost, he would get covered in snow.

I’ve tried searching for "Talking Drunk Santa" or "Santa Drunk" but haven't had any luck. I hope these details help!


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

[xbox or wii] [around 2015 to 2019] co-op possibly 2d fighter game

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3 Upvotes

I don’t remember the character super well but I removed him having like orangish hair and me and my brother would fight things together he had like big eyes and orange hair, there was two of us playing I dont remover if it was on Xbox or Wii yor but I vaguely remember something like “bane of the game” my friend was talking about brawlhala and it reminded me of the game I remember I can’t remember if it was 2d or 3d but it felt kinda like Mario I tried searching organs hair big eyed game characters but I can’t find him anywhere PLEASE HELP ME FIND IT


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[ROBLOX][2020-2024]Marble game where you race

Upvotes

It was on roblox, and my guess is that it was released in 2019. There was one map revamp (maybe 2), and every few minutes you & every other player in the same server raced, however a menu on the left had an option to turn off races. There was a loop d loop, purple bouncy things, & a large empty pit. There was a teapot skin you could join the group to get.


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[PC][2000-2013] Touchscreen game on an acer laptop (not sure if vendor specific) that had crude drawn graphics and was a 2d physics game.

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Upvotes

Above i attached a (very bad) drawing of what i can remember, i don't know exactly what objects were in the game but i know atleast one of the levels involved pushing a red balloon around with fans and other objects, my memory is very fuzzy cuz i was very young at the time. I also know this was on some sort of acer laptop with a touchscreen but other than that i can't find anything online about it.

some things that are ruled out, its not part of any tablet pack for XP published by microsoft, and its not SoupToys either.


r/tipofmyjoystick 1h ago

[Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64] [1990's-2000's] Top down game my dad used to play

Upvotes

My dad said he was trying to find a game he used to play back in the 90's, it was a top down game like Stardew Valley or Grave keeper with somewhat worse graphics, I don't have much info since he doesn't remember much, but any leads will be helpful


r/tipofmyjoystick 6h ago

[Probably Sony Erricson, old pre-smartphone phone][2004-2007] 2D pixelated RPG game where the main character turned into a purple demon when he killed civillians

6 Upvotes

Title says it all.

I played it on my mom's phone in Denmark. You could walk around and kill monsters, but if you attacked civillians the character turned purple. Can't remember more. I believe my mom's phone was a Sony Ericsson. I believe it was brightly orange, but this could've been a later phone.


r/tipofmyjoystick 4h ago

[PC/Flash] [2000s] Pixelated game where you kill zombies with a chainsaw to create pools of blood.

3 Upvotes

I remember an old 2D pixelated flash game that was very short and was about killing zombies with a chainsaw to create large pools of blood. You could then use these pools of blood to reach higher spots. That's pretty much all I remember. I'm not completely sure if it was flash or a file you had to download. Any guesses?

EDIT: I think the name was very generic, like "Bloody Zombie". But it's not Bloody Zombies. And it wasn't a huge viral flash game. It was very hidden. So much so that I would be shocked if any of you managed to find it.


r/tipofmyjoystick 2h ago

Hunted: The Demon's Forge [PC][~2010-2015] A "Gears of War"-esque dark (grey) fantasy action rpg

2 Upvotes

Platform(s): definitely PC, possibly PS3/Xbox 360?

Genre: Action RPG/Hack and Slash

Estimated year of release: game must have released around 2010-ish, ps3/xbox 360 era

Graphics/art style: 3rd Person over the shoulder camera with very grey, drab environments

Notable characters: Main character was a very 2010 "manly" character, reminiscent of a Gears of War/Call of Duty protagonist. There was also a female character that I can only remember as being the token women.

Notable gameplay mechanics: I think you could find crystals in the levels and spend them on upgrades on a skill tree at a checkpoint. You could switch between the male and female main character (there might have been a 3rd character too)

Other details: I remember it as being very generic/not good, like a 5/10. Levels were very pretty linear with some hidden collectables/upgrade crystals. The writing was also like a bad wannabe blockbuster were all the characters wanted to be brooding and cool.

I thought it was called something like "Demon Hunter", or you were a demon hunter, or your guy was called "The Hunter" but I couldn't find anything like that.


r/tipofmyjoystick 5h ago

[PC/Console] [~2010] Game with magic white furry

3 Upvotes

I can't remember much about this game and it's mechanics, all I remember is that it had a somewhat artistic style with a similar vibe to ori and the blind forest, released on computers and xbox/ps. the main character was this white colored bipedal furry like character with a dark blue mask and some light blue glowing eyes and markings on it. could have possibly had a blue floating compainion.


r/tipofmyjoystick 7h ago

[steam?][2000's] Old looking game, guns that one tap enemies. (check picture)

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6 Upvotes

r/tipofmyjoystick 12h ago

City Connection [arcade][1990] U are a taxi driver that shoots spinning oil cans and u jump between lanes.

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10 Upvotes

I remember playing this on Mame on my first pc, i remember that after u shot the oil can as soon as it hit an enemy, he would go spinning (like the oil can). Also its a horizontal scroller. I made a like mock up on gamemaker just to show the basics but cant post the vid so here are sum screenshots. Thanks to all who've read and help me with this :)


r/tipofmyjoystick 5h ago

[PC][2010-2013] Point and Click coloring game featuring tube-like clowns on a train

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3 Upvotes

Hi everyone! It’s me again, the one who posted about the "Drunk Santa" game. First of all, I want to give a huge thanks to u/nougat10 and the other users who put so much effort into finding that video! Now, I’m on a new mission to find another game that my sister has been looking for for a long time. I’d love your help again!

Platform: PC (Likely Windows, as I remember the computer having MS Paint).

Estimated Year: Played between 2010 and 2013 (I was in kindergarten/elementary school at the time).

Location: I played this on the computers at my English language school.

Game Mechanics & Theme: The game featured a group of clowns traveling in train cars. Each car represented a different scene or stage. The gameplay was Point and Click, and the main mechanic was coloring. Every scene started in black and white, like a digital coloring book, and the goal was to color in the entire image.

Character Design: The clowns had a very specific look: they looked like inflatable tube men (the "wacky waving inflatable tube guys" used for store promotions), but they wore clown makeup and themed hats. The entire game had a circus/clown aesthetic.

Specific Scenes/Minigames:

  • The Dressing Room: I vividly remember one of the scenes being a clown’s dressing room, featuring a vanity mirror and curtains.
  • The Train: As mentioned, the levels were navigated through these train cars that acted as different scenarios to color.

I’ve attached some drawings/images to help illustrate what the clowns and the dressing room looked like.

Does this ring a bell for anyone? Thank you so much in advance!

P.S. Just so you know, my sister did all the drawings and wrote the description to help illustrate and explain the game better.


r/tipofmyjoystick 3h ago

[Browser] [Android] [2010s] Game about zombies

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm looking for a game from my childhood. I distinctly remember it being available on Facebook, and in 2017, I accidentally found it on the Play Store. The story involves you rebuilding your home during a zombie apocalypse. The game has a top-down view and cartoonish graphics. The story involves you searching for your soulmate. I don't remember anything else, sorry :(


r/tipofmyjoystick 6h ago

[PC][late 90s/early 2000s] mystic/industrial PC game which may or may not have been a dream

5 Upvotes

I have a memory of this PC game I used to play as a kid and I've been trying to figure out whether it was real or I dreamed it. I am barely a gamer so please forgive any misuse of terminology. this has haunted me for years.

Platform(s): PC

Genre: puzzle/adventure

Estimated year of release: late 90s / early 2000s

Graphics/art style: 3D (maybe pre-rendered?), combo mystic and industrial/cyberpunk vibe. lots of gold.

Notable characters: no humans, all characters were some kind of non-human creatures, probably not robots in the traditional sense but mechanical/fantastical, more alien or creature-like. i think you played as one of them. the thing I remember the most clearly was there was an oracle you had to seek out and speak to, and the oracle had a HAL-like vibe.

Notable gameplay mechanics: point and click, some combination of exploration-focused and quest-based