Help:Contents/Creating Articles
This is a sub-page of Help:Contents.
Contents
Should I Create This Article?
Only create an article if you have information to put on it. Don't make placeholder articles for games with no discoveries yet.
Also, don't create an article if the information you do have is trivial, such as a recently released update that fixes something nominal. TCRF isn't a race; we don't want either a "first edit!" attitude or a "we should have a page on Super Game 5!" attitude when it comes to new articles, because these lead to lots of very low-quality articles. This doesn't mean "don't make articles on anything new"; just don't jump in for the sake of it.
Creating Articles
Follow the steps below to begin creating an article.
- Search TCRF to see if someone has already made an article for the game.
- You can use the Search box on the left sidebar, or click here.
- If there are no results, you will see a link that says "Create the page on this wiki!"
- (Example)
- Click the red link, and you will arrive at an edit screen where you can begin creating your article.
- (Example)
- Make sure you have correct namespace selected.
- Proto: is used for prototype pages, Prerelease: is used for prerelease pages, Development: is used for development pages, and Notes: is used for note pages.
- Use the "Show preview" button below the Edit Summary box to preview your changes before clicking "Save page".
- Please try to add or edit as much as possible before saving the page so you don't spam the Recent Changes page and IRC channel with notifications.
- Use the Edit Summary box to describe what you added or edited.
- Example: "Added debug menu screenshot."
- Expansion packs should be included within the article for the base game.
- Expansion packs should be in subpages for the base game. An exception is if they are stand-alone expansion packs, meaning that they can run without having to use the base game.
Titles
When choosing a title...
- Use the proper name for the game.
- Use the name that the game was most commonly advertised under.
- Game title screens and boxes/labels/promotional materials sometimes differ, especially on older titles (example). In these cases, use the latter; alternate titles can be placed in the aka field in the Bob and in redirects (see below). Note that there can and will be discrepancies; any concerns or disputes about page titles should be brought up with the admins.
- If the same title has been used for games on multiple platforms, add the platform to the title in parentheses.
- Example: Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
- If the same title has been used for games by different developers, add the developer to the title in parentheses.
- Example: Tetris (NES, Tengen)
- If the same title has been used for games on different years, add the year to the title in parentheses.
- Example: Unreal Tournament (PC, 1999)
- If the title fits the above three points, order the title as (Platform, Developer, Year).
- Example: Tetris (Windows, Microsoft, 1990)
- Use the American title for the game.
- Example: Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast)
- If the game was released in Europe but not the USA, use the European title.
- Example: Doshin the Giant (GameCube)
- If the game was not released in the USA or Europe, use the Japanese title.
Redirects
Sometimes a game has more than one commonly-known name. For example, Doubutsu no Mori was only released in Japan, but English-speaking fans call the game Animal Forest. You can create a redirect, so people searching for "Animal Forest" will get to the article for Doubutsu no Mori. Add the following code to an article to create a redirect:
| Code: |
| #REDIRECT [[Game Name]] |
For example, you can add #REDIRECT [[Doubutsu no Mori]] to the Animal Forest page.
NOTE: Please don't create unnecessary redirects for uncommon misspellings or extreme abbreviations of game titles (ex: YI -> Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island).
Prototype, Development, Prerelease, and Notes Pages
Prototype pages need {{prototype}} added to the very beginning of the article. For development pages, {{development}} needs to be added to the beginning of the article. For prerelease and notes pages, use {{prerelease}} and {{notes}} respectively.
Bobs
Every article (except for articles about prototype games) needs a bob. A bob is a column with information about the game, including when it was released, its publisher, developer, and what kinds of unused and debug content can be found in the article.
To create a bob, copy the code below and change the information to match your game. If your game doesn't have unused graphics, for example, simply delete the |graphics= yes line. You can see an example on the right. Please have a new line after each new section added, as well as after {{Bob.
If a game was released in two or more calendar years (such as 2011 and 2012), add |nocat=true to the later release dates. Dates should include a reference for the information, by adding |ref=<ref>Add link here</ref>.
If a game was released on multiple platforms, only include platforms in the bob that pertain to the article contents. Platforms should not be included simply because the game was released on them.
For a more in-depth explanation of the various fields in the bob, please visit the template page.
NOTE: Bobs are only for game articles, NOT user pages. There is a separate Userbob template that should be used for that purpose.
|
|
| The Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker |
|---|
|
Also known as: Zelda no Densetsu: Kaze no Takuto (JP)
|
| Code: |
{{Bob
| bobscreen= IMAGE_NAME.png
| screenwidth= 320px
| title= Game Name
| aka= Alternate Name (Region)
| developer= Company A
| publisher= Company B
| system= Insert System Here
| world= {{date|}}
| japan= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| usa= {{date|2003|March|24|nocat=true}}
| canada= {{date|2003|March|24|nocat=true}}
| mexico= {{date|2003|March|24|nocat=true}}
| europe= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| uk= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| france= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| germany= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| italy= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| spain= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| portugal= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| nether= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| scn= {{date|2003|May|2|nocat=true}}
| aus= {{date|2003|May|7|nocat=true}}
| nz= {{date|2003|May|7|nocat=true}}
| rus= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| korea= {{date|2003|December|13|nocat=true}}
| brazil= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| china= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| hongkong= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| taiwan= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| asia= {{date|2002|December|13|nocat=true}}
| animations=y
| areas=y
| characters=y
| code=y
| source=y
| devmessage=y
| devcredits=y
| devtext=y
| enemy=y
| objects=y
| gametype=y
| graphics=y
| models=y
| video=y
| items=y
| abilities=y
| music=y
| sound=y
| text=y
| debug=y
| soundtest=y
| levelselect=y
| region=y
| revision=y
| piracy=y
| bonus=y
| dummy=y
}}
|
Descriptions
Please put a short description of the game directly below the bob code at the top of the article. This should ideally include the title of the game in bold and italics. TCRF does not require detailed summaries; a sentence is often enough. There are plenty of resources online where readers can learn more about a game.
Please note that descriptions are not reviews. Try not to be too opinionated while writing them. If a game was widely praised or criticized, the intro can reflect that, but keep in mind that different people often have different opinions regarding how fun or well-made a game is, and we don't want to alienate anyone.
Example:
'''''Lufia II''''' is an RPG for the SNES. It is actually a prequel to the first game in the series.
Table of Contents
A table of contents will automatically be added to the page when there are four or more sections. However, if you need to put code directly underneath the TOC for page formatting purposes (e.g. {{clear}}), place the following code between the game description (or bob, if there is no description) and the first section heading:
| Code: |
| __TOC__ |
Please do not manually add TOCs to short pages for any other reason.
Uploading Title Screens
|
|
| Yoot Tower |
|---|
|
Also known as: The Tower II (JP)
|
Bobs need a picture of the game's title screen. These must be taken with an emulator or in-game screenshot function at the game's native resolution, and must not contain any watermarks or emulator overlays. Read the image guidelines and screenshot guidelines for more information.
Do not upload box art in place of a proper title screen!
For games that have no real title screen, upload the first gameplay screen that appears after you run the game.
If you are unable to take a title screenshot, delete this code from the bob:
| | bobscreen= IMAGE_NAME.png | screenwidth= 320px |
The article will be added to the Missing Title Screen category. You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.
| Code: |
| {{Bob | title= Yoot Tower |
Arcade Games
|
|
| Donkey Kong Jr. |
|---|
|
Developer: Nintendo
|
If the game is an arcade game, specify the system as "Arcade" in the bob, and then add this code:
| | arcadesys= Insert System Here |
You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.
| Code: |
| {{Bob | bobscreen= DKJuniorTitle.png |
BIOS Pages
If the article is about a BIOS, it will need a title screen, title, developer, publisher, system, release date, and a list of what unused content it contains. You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.
|
|
| BS-X BIOS |
|---|
|
Developers: Nintendo,
St.GIGA
|
| Code: |
| {{Bob | bobscreen= BS-X BIOS Title Screen.png |
Suggested Order
- Bob
- Intro
- Subpages header
- Namespaces template (if other namespaces exist)
- Subpages
- Content, grouped together by relationship, most interesting at the top
- Revisional differences
- Regional differences
- References
- Series template
Page Template
A template page whose code you can copy and learn from is available here.
