StrategyWiki:Guide/Main game page

What's that? Your favorite game doesn't have a guide yet? You can create it! Starting a guide can be a tedious process at first, but by the time you've finished reading this guide you'll be well on your way to starting and contributing to guides.

Differences from plain text guide writing
Before we get into the elaborate details, there are some important and fundamental differences from traditional guide writing.


 * Nobody "owns" guides. All content is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (or GFDL for short).
 * There are no closing comments sections. Each guide is considered to be written by the community. Writings speaking for the community, or any other for that matter, are not welcome.
 * There is no copyright section. The disclaimers link at the end of the page outlines the terms of the GFDL.
 * No contacting section. That means no e-mail addresses or chat handles. Use talk pages, instead.
 * No credits section. A list of contributors is recorded automatically by MediaWiki (click on the history tab to see).
 * No attribution. All your edits are automatically attributed (click on the history tab to see).
 * You can use rich text formatting and some HTML. (bold, italic, underline, hyperlinks, etc.) using MediaWiki markup, or HTML if no MediaWiki equivalent exists.
 * Tables are allowed, as long as you use HTML or wikimarkup for them.
 * Images that enhance the quality of a guide are allowed, and encouraged. We provide a place to upload images onto our servers.

Starting a guide
The first thing is to choose a game to write for. It's best to choose a game you like and have played through completely to be fully able to write about it. Remember, if you're ever uncertain of how to lay out your page you can use the Sandbox to test it. Bear in mind that it's a free-for-all workspace; if you come back later and your work is gone, check the history for the last edit beside your username. By editing this old revision you can get back what you were working on.
 * You will need some amount of motivation or ambition to work on your chosen game. If you meet another fan also interested in working on that game; that's great, this will distribute the workload.
 * You don't have to immediately jump into writing the walkthrough (which is often times the hardest part). If you want to concentrate on an item list or boss strategies to get used to wiki guide writing, that's fine.
 * Changes go live the moment you hit save. You can write as much or as little at a time as you like.

Once you've decided on a game to work on you'll need to start it up and fill out an infobox. But first it needs a name.

Naming
Each game gets its own page, preferably the official name of the game. If there are multiple different games with the same name and different stories, convert the page to a disambiguation page and link to all games with that name.

Article disambiguation
If two games with the same title differ dramatically from one another, a disambiguation system will be used where by the system of release and/or year of release are included in the title (abbreviated if appropriate). For example, Shadowrun is a disambiguation page which links to Shadowrun (SNES), a version for the Super Nintendo. If the games have the same name and system but different publishers/developers, put that in parentheses.

If releases are the same game on all but one system, the most common game should occupy the main name with disambiguation only for the special title. For example: When in doubt, bring candidates for disambiguation to the attention of other editors by posting in the Staff Lounge.
 * Spiderman The Movie II - Spiderman on all consoles.
 * Spiderman The Movie II (NDS) - Spiderman on the Nintendo DS

If the same game was released under multiple names, it is common practice to use the name most known globally. If there is a tie, it is up to the discretion of the guide's original writer to name the game guide (just make sure the proper categorised redirects are present for the other names). See alternate titles for more information.

NOTE: while you should use the correct name of the game wherever possible, please do not use % (percent) or ? (question mark) in the page name. Due to server configuration these symbols do not work correctly. Any characters other than these two should be fine, and there is no problem using these characters within page text.

Once you've decided on a page name, the easiest way to get started is to type the full name of the game you want to work on into the search box (at the top-right of every page) and press "Go". If nobody has started a guide for your game the resulting page will tell you so. Then, just click on the "this exact title" link to begin editing your guide's first page! Click on the new game guide button at the top to automatically fill in some information.

Creating the main page
Before any work is done on the guide there must first be a main page. Setting up the main page for a new guide has been simplified with the use of the template buttons above the edit box. Simply click on the "new game guide" button to be given a basic layout, then just fill in the blanks. If you can, write a summary or introduction to the game (see other guides for examples of such). This should include a few lines about the history of the game and some spoiler-free teasers about the beginning of the plot. At all costs, avoid any spoilers on the main page.

Unless an article is very short, it should start with a 'lead' comprising one or more introductory paragraphs. The lead should not be explicitly entitled ==Introduction==.

The subject of the article should be mentioned in bold text (not bold and italicised text as on Wikipedia) in the first sentence of the introduction.

Normally, the first paragraph clearly explains the subject so that the reader is prepared for the greater level of detail to follow. If further introductory material is needed before the first section, this can be covered in subsequent paragraphs. In the case of book format guides with multiple pages, it is suggest that a brief explanation of what that page contains be present in/as the introduction to that page.

The lead is automatically followed by a Table of Contents, which is followed by the first section of the main guide or guide page. The infobox for a game should also be located in the introduction.

Writing guidelines
The primary purpose of StrategyWiki is to inform, not entertain. Guides should contain a minimum of "fluff" (also known as "drivel") and focus on being as detailed and descriptive as possible. Similarly, all guides must be objective and devoid of personal opinion. Different techniques and strategies may be suggested with the goal of determining the best technique or strategy.

When writing, always maintain a single focussed "voice". Do not refer to yourself ("I", "me", etc.) in the guide, unless it is specifically necessary (e.g. "User:NameHere has found that collecting all five keys within 30 seconds can actually be done, as long as...". However this is solely for the purpose of asserting that something is possible, rather than claiming glory for having achieved it.

Always give alternate options. Many solo guide writers often choose what they say is the best way to complete a certain objective, but another gamer might choose another route. If there are multiple ways to do something writing them all out could be useful to the reader.

Spelling and grammar should be checked by contributors before an edit is saved. The newer versions of Mozilla Firefox automatically mark spelling mistakes in text boxes. You can also copy the text into Microsoft Word or another word processor and run a spell check. If proper nouns specific to a game are used, please ensure that they are correctly spelled and capitalized.

Crediting sources
If you find yourself in the situation that you need to credit information, you can do so using ref and note. Because information (including cheat device patch codes) cannot be copyrighted or otherwise protected, you can take cheat codes or item stats from other guides as long as your wording and presentation of those details are sufficiently different.

Organize well
Keep paragraphs short. Their size will vary depending on screen resolution and font size, but as a general rule you should start a new paragraph whenever something major takes place or it just seems like a good place. For example in an adventure game using a paragraph for each major location or location change is probably a good idea. Whatever is most fitting and appropriate for the guide while not being redundant is welcome.
 * Use sidebar for notes that accompany a page that aren't a necessary feature of it. Using the sidebar to indicate the location of a sidequest collectible or rare vehicle or whatever will help those looking for those things while not interrupting those only interested in the core subject of the page.
 * Take notes on paper or in Notepad while playing the game, as it is a lot easier than playing back through whole portions of the game just to describe something you didn't before. You can, of course, refer to other guides to refresh your memory of the specifics.
 * Don't bother using tabs or multiple spaces to align text. These don't appear in the final page. If you want to lay something out in a specific way, use a table instead.
 * Don't use more than a single blank line between sections. Any more than one will create obvious blank space in the saved page, which generally looks bad.
 * Don't use ASCII artwork on StrategyWiki. Use images instead.
 * Don't use any form of JIS (e.g. JIS encoding or Shift-JIS) for Japanese. Instead, use normal ASCII characters (e.g. ゼルダの伝説). Modern browsers support both, but ASCII works immediately whereas JIS requires the user to first manually change the character encoding in order for the characters to display correctly.

Avoid spoilers!
Revealing main plot points such as the identity of a main boss at a point in the walkthrough earlier than that at which it occurs in the game is generally considered bad form. However, in some cases plot points are revealed by the game box, manual, or introduction. These are not considered spoilers as it is highly likely the player knows of them. An example would be the death of a central character in Grand Theft Auto Advance--this is stated right on the back of the box.

Alternate titles
If a game is known under other names, redirect those names to the most common one and mention them there, e.g. "Grappler (known as Bad Bros in Japan) is a beat-'em-up for the Sega Genesis". To help people find it using that other name, include the game's categories on the redirect page. This will make it show up in those categories under both names. Redirecting common misspellings (e.g. Megaman instead of Mega Man) is also a good idea, but because the names are so similar they do not need categories.

Versions
If a particular version of the game has changes (such as more/fewer characters or remixed levels) this should be explained on the appropriate pages. If a feature with an identical name is different enough in particular versions that it cannot be covered on the same page, disambiguate it at the top something like this:
 * For the Game Boy Advance stage see Game/Level 1 (GBA) .

If the other version is significantly different enough that it should be covered separately, use a similar disambiguation on the cover page only and name the other guide with that system's common abbreviation.

Formatting
MediaWiki formatting is more involved than plain text, but much easier than HTML. See Help:Editing for more details.

Images
Remember the famous saying "a picture says a thousand words"? If you're trying to describe a route or puzzle solution that takes a lot of words to explain, it might be easier to draw it and refer to the map.

Image Formats
As a general rule, "When in doubt, use PNG". The four most common formats are:
 * PNG has excellent lossless compression as well as multiple levels of transparency. Always try PNG first.
 * BMP is lossless but has no compression. Never use BMPs, use PNG instead.
 * GIF has good compression but not as good as PNG. It only supports a small palette (216/256 colors), and dithers anything outside that palette. Use PNG instead, unless you're using an animation (QuickTime animations or movies are good alternatives.)
 * JPEG is good for pictures with thousands of colors, but its compression method corrupts simpler images with compression artifacts. Use PNG unless the resulting filesize is excessive (say, over 100 kb). Also, avoid saving your JPEG images with Microsoft Paint when possible, as it's been known to cause compatibility issues among certain clients.

Of course, there are many other image formats out there, but StrategyWiki generally only welcomes the formats mentioned above. When in doubt, consult a sysop or other knowledgable individual.

Image Maps
Image maps are welcome on StrategyWiki. They can be inserted as follows:

Standard image map notation is used. You can use visual editors such as Mapedit to assist with drawing the shapes.

See The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Maps/Overworld for a good example of an image map, and see the extension's documentation for further information.

Attribution
Like the rest of the site, do not use attribution on your image; this information instead goes on the image description page.

Can I use others' info?
Yes, but always rewrite anything you use unless the source allows to quote them (but a rewrite is still best). It's considered good form to credit the source (use ref and note for this), but it's by no means it is mandatory. Regardless of statements to the contrary, authors have no rights whatsoever to the information they are conveying, they only own their specific wording and presentation of that idea.

What is "drivel"?
"Drivel" is defined as unnecessary information or the wrong case. Saying "this character sucks" or "I usually go with the girl" is drivel. Because guides don't have fixed authors, using first-person wording is a bad idea. You could instead try wordings like "some players recommend" or "it is recommended". Similarly, while you might think a particular character or feature is bad or good others might not; instead, try to give good reasons why that particular thing isn't good (e.g. "his attack is good, but he has too little health to survive long against bosses").

What about history pages?
No. MediaWiki keeps an automated history list, so you can enter things like "spellchecked" or "rewrote incorrect controls list" in the edit summary to easily keep a history list. As a general rule, use the talk page of the appropriate page for everything else. Such pages may not be part of the main guide nor may they be linked from them, but including one on the appropriate talk page is a useful way to find others interested in working on the game. Describing your role (e.g. "working on the food items list") will help others know what you're mainly working on.

Cover
This page serves as an introduction to the game. As a rule there won't be actual guide content on this page, but things like the storyline or description of acronyms/abbreviations to be used in the subpages might be a good idea.

If the cover doesn't already exist, use  to populate it with an empty infobox and Table of Contents. You can then edit the page and fill in the details. There should be a brief introduction describing the game (much like the start of a Wikipedia article). If you want to link the the Wikipedia article, use Wikipedia, or  if the Wikipedia article has a different name.

Helping others find your guide
To help other people find your new guide, you should place its main page in several categories. We already have categories set up for systems and genres. To add a page to a category, simply put the following into your page:

Replace NAME with the category name you would like to use. To put your page into more than one category, just duplicate that line and change the name. Check out other guides to see the categories they use. Generally, the game should be in categories relating to its platforms, single/multiplayer support, publisher/developer/distributor, series, initial release date... basically, the categories will be mostly the same as the information in the infobox.