Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Video games

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Revision as of 12:52, 6 December 2007 by Krator (talk | contribs) (→Scope of information: Big edit. Containing 1) updates. 2) restructuring to enable deletion arguments akin to WP:CSD 3) rephrasing, partially based upon User:Krator/Sandbox2)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

This page is considered a guideline on Misplaced Pages. It is generally accepted among editors and is considered a standard that all users should follow. However, it is not set in stone and should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this page's talk page.

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Note that these are guidelines established by consensus among Wikipedians and members of the WikiProject Video games. Please discuss them on the talk page if you have ideas or questions. An informal guide geared towards editing video game articles to featured status can be found here. You should also be familiar with the guide to writing better articles.

The path to a featured article
Start a new article Develop the article Check against the featured article criteria Get creative feedback (Peer review) Apply for featured article status Featured articles
v t e

Neutral point of view

Template:WPCVG Sidebar Make sure to write from a neutral point of view. Misplaced Pages is not the place for writing reviews. If you can provide factual records of opinions, that is of course excellent. Magazine reviews, awards and quotes from game developers (except the developer's own advertising) can and should be used - those carry weight on their own. If there is more than one take on the subject, make sure to include all and to treat all as potentially true. For these, be sure to clarify that they are opinions, not incontrovertible facts.

Watch out for overly general and vague statements, such as "there are many who think Game X is great". Such weasel words are not particularly factual and usually nothing but the author's opinions in disguise. Try to provide more specific information, and back the statement up with references to magazines, websites, etc. In addition, avoid peacock terms; these pieces of fluff actually lower the prose to an unprofessional level.

Content

Common elements

Each computer or video game article should include a minimum set of standard elements:

An infobox, completed correctly and appropriately. See the CVG Templates for more instructions on how to use the different templates that are used in writing video game articles.
Appropriate categorization by genre, platform, and year. See Misplaced Pages:Categorization.
The {{cvgproj}} template placed on the article's Talk page. This lets others know that the article is part of WikiProject Computer and video games.

Scope of information

Shortcut

WP:GAMECRUFT

This guideline in a nutshell: Misplaced Pages is not a game guide.

Articles on computer and video games should give an encyclopedia overview of what the game is about, not a detailed description of how to play it or an excessive amount of non-encyclopedic trivia. Such topics should be moved to one of the gaming wikis: Encyclopedia Gamia for general info/trivia, StrategyWiki for walkthrough/strategy/gameplay content or GamerWiki for categoric listings of releases, due to the pending deletion of the Wikibooks computer and video games bookshelf. To propose that an article or section should be moved to a gaming wiki, use the {{Move to gaming wiki}} tag. To help remove information that might read as a game guide, please add the {{gameguide}} tag to the article in question. See Help:Transwiki on how to move information to other wikis.

A general rule of thumb to follow if unsure: if the content only has value to people actually playing the game, it is unsuitable. Keep in mind that video game articles should be readable and interesting to non-gamers; remember the bigger picture. Below is a list of content that is generally considered beyond the scope of information of Misplaced Pages articles on video games. Keep in mind that there are always exceptions. For example, an exception to the general idea that strategy guides are inappropriate is the "lurking" exploit in Asteroids, which led to significant changes in the design of future games.

Unsuitable content

Italic items are proposed, and should not be read as part of the official guideline.

Specific moves and buttons used to execute them. While saying that a character can jump, punch, and pound the ground is OK, explaining how to execute them using the controller is not.
Lists of gameplay items or concepts
1. The HP or weight class of a character is not important to the article; neither are all the weapons available in a game.
2. Articles about Xbox Live and Xbox Live Arcade games should not contain a list of their Achievements.
3. Specific point values, time limits, character behaviors, etc. also fall into this category unless they are essential to understanding the game or its significance in the industry.
Strategy guides. Basic strategy concepts are often essential to the understanding of a game, but avoid in-depth explanations. This includes lists of cheats.
Rumors and speculation. This includes rumored future products (games, consoles) or speculation about concepts within the game.

Critical content

A staple of any video game article is its reception section. It makes a case for the game's notability and provides important out-of-universe information, such as critical review. It is often coupled with "impact" or "legacy" sections in articles over important games; see Final Fantasy VII#Reception.

Magazine Project

Finding critical review for older games may be difficult as most work was done in dated gaming magazines without the advent of the internet. Several project members have kept old copies of certain video game publications. A list of users and notable data is kept at Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Video games/Magazines. If you find something relevant to your article on that page, contact an appropriate user to request referencing.

If you wish to contribute to the project, please add your username to issues you have or create new issue listings if none currently exist. Please be thorough when checking magazines, and be sure to wikify game titles. Follow the simple table format.

If you prefer, add this userbox to your page to generate interest in the project. Just add {{User WPCVGm}} to your user page.

Style

This is an encyclopedia, and articles should be written formally, not like FAQs, fansites, or player's guides. In addition to the Manual of Style, keep these video game-centric style tips in mind:

Do not use second-person pronouns ("you"). In addition to being ambiguous, informal, and unencyclopedic, we cannot assume that the reader is planning on playing the game. Use "the player," the name of the player-controlled character, or put the sentence in the passive voice. Example: "You can fight the boss" becomes "the player can fight the boss," "the character can fight the boss," "Link can fight the boss," or "the boss can be fought." See also Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style#Avoid second-person pronouns.
When writing about a game's story elements be sure to keep an real-world perspective. Simply put, do not describe fiction as fact. For example: "Link awakened after hearing a telepathic message from Zelda." This sentence talks about fiction from a perspective within its world. "The start of the game shows Link awaking after hearing a telepathic message from Zelda." This sentence talks about fiction from the perspective out of its world.
Use italics for game titles, but not character names. Ninja Gaiden is OK; Ryu Hayabusa is not.
Avoid confusing abbreviations, unless they are standard. PS2 is OK; LoZ:OoT is probably not. Instead, try shortening the title to a few key words: LoZ:OoT becomes Ocarina.
When filling out the Infobox for a downloadable game (for example, a game on Xbox Live Arcade), the Media field should simply read "Download" (no quotes).
Please use appropriate external link templates, such as {{Nintendo.com}}, {{Moby game}}, {{Hotu}} and {{GameFAQs}}. Only add templates when they provide additional, or corroborative, encyclopedic information to the article.
Substandard and fluffy prose are unacceptable, even in underdeveloped articles. Ask for copyeditors to help enhance your article's prose, even if you are a solid writer. Avoid redundancies and misplaced formality, such as "in order to" and "upon". You may wish to read "How to satisfy Criterion 1a".

Verb tense

When describing a video game or console itself in the abstract, use present tense unless a reliable source proves that no instances of the product exist or the product was never released.
- "The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console."
- "Star Fox 2 was a flying shooter game in development for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was canceled prior to the release of Star Fox 64."
However, when describing a specific event related to a console or game, such as production, advertising, reviews, etc., use a tense appropriate for the time period in which the event occurred. Be careful to avoid phrasing that may confuse past and present tense.
- "The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console designed by Nintendo, which was released in 1985."
- "The PS3 is currently being sold worldwide."
Similarly, use the present tense for describing things happening in the games (including gameplay), not the past tense. This is logical; even if a game was released decades ago, it still performs the same today as it did on release.
- "Throughout the game, Pac-Man is chased by four ghosts."

Japanese and other foreign titles

As the inclusion of Japanese titles can enhance an article on a video game by providing additional cultural context, when possible these titles should be provided as follows.

Japanese titles should only be provided for games of Japanese origin whose official English name differs significantly from its Japanese name. Phonetic transcriptions are, as a rule, not considered to be significantly different and thus do not warrant the inclusion of Japanese titles. However, games known in English-speaking countries by their phonetic Japanese titles (e.g. Katamari Damacy) are an exception to this rule; these games should also have their Japanese titles included for clarity.

In cases where the meaning of the Japanese title differs from the official English title, Japanese titles should be accompanied by English translations. These translations should be enclosed in quote marks to indicate their unofficial status.
Although optional, phonetic transliterations of the Japanese titles are strongly recommended to aid Japanese speakers who are not familiar with kanji. Romanization should follow the Manual of Style guidelines on romanization.
Japanese titles, transliterations, and translations should be added using the standard properties of the {{nihongo}} template. Only the English title should be placed in bold characters per the first sentence guidelines in the Manual of Style.

Similar guidelines apply to other games of non-English origin, such as Korean RPGs.

Naming convention

Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Video games/Naming

Pop culture citations

Video games have been around long enough to have made their mark in influencing pop culture. Likewise, recognizing a subject's influence on popular culture can enhance an entry subject's notability on Misplaced Pages. WikiProject Video games recognizes this, and has allowed for the inclusion of pop culture related material with the placement of an In pop culture in Misplaced Pages video game related entries, along with its subheaders In Film/Television and In Music. However, material included in this section must still adhere to Manual of Style guidelines on trivia as well as suggested guidelines on In Pop Culture appearances.

The following guidelines are to be used for judging if content is notable enough to be included in a pop culture section:

In references to film or television, an appearance is worth inclusion when the game or character in question plays a significant part of the storyline, dialogue, or scene. With very few exceptions, the film, television show, novel, or other work should meet the relevant Misplaced Pages:Notability criteria for the appearance to be worth mention. Examples of different types of appearance include:
- Worth mention: The game subject is a literal character in the film. The game is integral to the plot of the work (e.g. it would be named in a well-written plot summary). For example, World of Warcraft is significantly featured in the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft", and should be mentioned within the Warcraft article.
- Consensus needed: The game is being played by the major character(s) and is the major subject of the dialog in at least one scene. The game is being played and the game events are an illustration, counterpoint, or ironic commentary on the subject of the discussion—note this must be obvious or sourced to a reliable secondary source, or it will likely be labeled original research. Consider the importance of the dialog or scene to the work as a whole. The second segment of Futurama's "Anthology of Interest II" contains numerous video game references and parodies, some which are more integral to the plot than others. The inclusion of this episode on the specific video game articles would need to be determined by editor consensus.
- Not worth mention: The game is only mentioned in passing, or is just a source of occasional interruptions of the real conversation. The game is being played only because the playing of any game is needed for the scene, for example to give the characters something to do or to be distracted by, even if the game is specifically named. The game appears as a background prop. For example, Gears of War is briefly shown in the first few minutes of the movie Live Free or Die Hard but is never referred to by name or appears later; this would not warrant a mention.

In references to music, the appearance is worth inclusion when the game or character is integral to the artist, album, or song itself. Examples of worthiness would be where the game or character is part of the song presentation (artwork), song title, album title, or the subject of the song itself. Having a brief mention in the midst of the song does not constitute notability.

All instances must be documented and follow Misplaced Pages policies on citing sources and verifiability. Specifically in regards to television citations, a citation to the specific episode using {{cite episode}} should be used. Any entries not following these guidelines will be marked {{fact}} and eventually removed if suitable reference is not found.

External links

External links in video game articles should follow the same convention for external links on Misplaced Pages in general. Certain links are recommended for video game articles, while other links should be avoided. Specifically, external links should provide information that, barring copyright and technical restrictions, would be part of a Featured Article on Misplaced Pages. Restricting the type of external links to be added to video game articles helps to avoid the section from becoming a link farm. Additionally, Misplaced Pages is not a game guide - external links should not be added to include material that explicitly defines the gameplay on certain aspects of the video game.

Appropriate external links - These links should be present if possible in a video game article

A video game's official home page (provided by the developer or publisher). Only the English version of the page should be included if there are multiple languages. If no English version exists, then the official page in the language of the country of first publication should be provided, but indicate that the site is in a foreign language. If the developer and publisher each offer a different site, include both.
The developers' and publishers' home pages. If, however, the official game site is housed on the developer or publishers pages that allows for obvious navigation to the main developer/publisher site, these may not be necessary.
A video game's page at MobyGames and in some cases, the Internet Movie Database.
A download source for games that are freely downloadable (such as in freeware or shareware), if such links are completely separate from the game's home page

Inappropriate external links - These links should be avoided in video game articles, though if determined by consensus to be valuable, they may be included

The video game's page at 1up, Gamespot, IGN, Gamespy and other commercial video game news and reviews sites - Such links can be seen as promotion of the associated commercial sites.
Fan-based sites, including those that may extend from the commercial sites listed above (for example, PlanetQuake) - These tend to be self-published venues and are not appropriate for verifiability within Misplaced Pages.
Forums, even if official forums provided by the developer/publisher of the game - Again, these are self-published forums and are not appropriate
Game guides, as provided by GameFAQs or lists of Xbox 360 achievements, or other similar highly detailed game information - Misplaced Pages is not a game guide, and such information would not be included normally in articles.
Links to modern remakes (homebrew clones) - these are generally included for self-promotion and may infringe on copyrighted works

Unacceptable external links - These links are never allowed in video game articles and should be deleted without discussion if found

Links to sites that offer complete downloads of video games, ROM or ISO images, or other copyright-infringing works. This includes materials that may be considered abandonware - while the copyright of these works may be in question, Misplaced Pages's policy forbids even questionable links.

Screenshots and cover art

See also: the Video game images department

For information on adding pictures, see Misplaced Pages:Picture tutorial.

Wikipedians assert that screenshots of video games and box or cover art usage are protected under the fair use provision of U.S. Copyright law (but see exceptions below). To notify others of the copyright status of such images, uploaded game cover art should include the tag {{Non-free game cover}}. Screenshots of a game should include the tag {{Non-free game screenshot}}. Some screenshots or box covers may be categorized elsewhere, in which case the uploader is still required to provide valid information on the image's source and copyright status. For rendered art or other official graphics that are not screenshots, use the general {{Character-artwork}}, {{Non-free promotional}}, or {{Non-free fair use in}} tag and provide information (See Misplaced Pages:Non-free content for information on what the requirements are). Game company logos may use the {{Non-free logo}} tag. Do not upload screenshots that have been watermarked.

If the video game itself uses a free license (for example GPL), that license extends to screenshots produced by the game. In such cases, use the appropriate free software tag instead. In addition, Ubisoft has also granted Misplaced Pages free licenses for screenshots of games produced by them. (See {{Ubisoft-screenshot}}).

Screenshots are great for enhancing the comprehensiveness of articles, and all computer and video game articles should have at least a couple. Do not go overboad, because excessive placement of fair use images has been known to spark controversy and objection, especially with Featured Article candidates. Cover art should appear in the infobox (see below for more info on the infobox), and ideally, the most recognizable English-language cover should be used to illustrate the subject.

For video game consoles or other hardware, it is preferred that users take their own pictures and upload them. Whenever possible, replace copyrighted images with free (public domain or GNUFDL) alternatives.

For captions, try to conform to the guidelines set forth in Misplaced Pages:Captions and Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Writing Captions.

Image file formats

For box art, JPEG will work fine. PNG or SVG are preferred for logos.

Now with the easy stuff out of the way, the file format used for screenshots depends entirely on what type of image it is. JPEGs are fine for most 3D games and some 2D games. Games with a strong emphasis on pixel art/sprites should use PNG. GIFs should only be used for animated images.

Release dates

When inserting release dates, please be sure that they are correct. Remember, point out if this is a release date for a specific region/console. To find a release date for a game it is best to check multiple sources for the same dates. Many game websites display the release dates of games (GameSpot, IGN etc.) and shopping sites such as Amazon. When adding wikilinks to the year the game was released, consider linking to the video game article of that year. For example, use ] instead of simply ]. By following Manual of Style guidelines, try to avoid the surprise, e.g. use "Scramble was released in 1981" rather than "Scramble was released in 1981".

Where a full date is known, link to the year itself rather than the year in video gaming, so that user date preference formatting can function correctly. For example, use ] ] rather than ] ].

If a title has yet to be released, please put {{future game}} at the top of the page. This template takes the sortkey as an argument if needed. The game will then be listed in Category:Upcoming video games.

Organization

Here are a few ideas for how to organize articles. These do not necessarily have to correspond to the actual section headers and divisions, and they are no more than suggestions. Do not try to conform to them if they are not helping to improve the article.

For games:

Lead section: The name of the game in bold italics, release date, platform, and other identifying information go first. Then, a brief summary of the article. Finally, why the game is notable and important; this is the key part of the lead section, because it establishes the main idea that will be carried throughout the article.
Infobox: see below for more information.
Gameplay: going over the significant parts of how the game works. Remember not to include player's guide or walkthrough material.
Plot: if the plot is not too complex, it can be lumped in with the gameplay; otherwise, put it in its own section. If necessary, the section should have subheadings for the story's setting, characters, and story. Avoid trivial details.
History: discuss development, release, impact, critical acclaim, etc. This can easily be several different sections.
Trivia: Such information should be integrated into appropriate areas of the article.
External links and references. Cite sources! If you are unsure what to include for references, game instruction booklets, guides, reviews, and interviews are all good candidates.

Other guidelines

As per a very lengthy debate, full names should be used for video game character article namespaces when they appear in-game. Otherwise the common name should be used.

Example articles

Shortcuts

Featured Content on Misplaced Pages is content that Misplaced Pages editors believe are the best in the encyclopedia, and the status which all content should eventually achieve. Content includes articles, lists, topics, and pictures. Before being listed here, content is reviewed at a process like Misplaced Pages:Featured article candidates and Misplaced Pages:Featured list candidates for accuracy, neutrality, completeness, and style according to quality criteria. Bold article names have been featured on the Main Page as "Today's featured article", "Today's featured list", or the like.