View source for Pikipedia:General content guidelines

This page details [[Pikipedia:Policies and guidelines|Pikipedia's guidelines]] towards article content in general. More specific guidelines can be found [[:Category:Guidelines|here]]. For policies, see [[Pikipedia:General content policy]].

==Article format==
===General===
* Articles must have a "See also" section. In extreme cases where no related pages exist, link to the category the page is in.
* In the opening paragraph, the name of the article's subject should be in bold.
* Articles should ideally have at least one image and the {{tem|game icons}} template at the top. Although not encouraged, an article may go without images if its subject cannot easily be shown. The game icons may be missing from a page if it does not directly relate to any ''Pikmin'' game (e.g. a [[Super Smash Bros. series|''Super Smash Bros.'' game]] article).
* Use formal US English. That said, just because the wording should be formal doesn't mean it has to use advanced words.
* When referring to the player, use the pronoun "[[wikipedia:Singular they|they]]" (e.g. "the player can check their options").
* Dates should be written with the {{tem|date}} template.
* Instead of the <code><nowiki><references/></nowiki></code> tag, use the {{tem|refs}} template.
* Reference tags (<code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code>) shouldn't have spaces before them. For transcripts, use {{tem|transcript}}, and make the second parameter follow a format similar to the following: "[[Olimar's notes]] on the [[Bulborb|Red Bulborb]]"; note the links and lack of period.
* To add equations, use {{tem|equation}} and whatever recommended instructions it contains.

===Italicizing===
{{shortcut|P:ITALIC}}
All titled media should be ''italicized'' in articles. At Pikipedia, this is mainly video games, but also covers series, music, books, and films, for example. ''[[Pikmin Adventure]]'' is also included, because for the sake of being a collection of ''Pikmin'' information, Pikipedia treats ''Pikmin Adventure'' as a game (instead of a mini-game).

==="Pikmin 1"===
{{shortcut|P:P1}}
The first ''Pikmin'' game, ''[[Pikmin (game)|Pikmin]]'', should only be referred to as "Pikmin 1" where ambiguous. In article text, game names are italicized, so this is not a problem, but in categories, for example, it could easily refer to the species or series, without the "1".

===Capitalization===
{{shortcut|P:CAPITAL}}
Some subjects in the ''Pikmin'' series have ambiguous official capitalization, commonly because subjects whose names aren't in title case are forced to be as such because of the way they're presented ([[Piklopedia (Pikmin 2)|Piklopedia]] file, [[lock-on]] screen, etc.). This, combined with different games being inconsistent about the capitalization of some names has lead to the following community-created guidelines:

;Proper nouns:
''Title case''. [[wikipedia:Proper noun|Proper nouns]] are to always be written in title case. It should be clear what things are given proper names, like [[area]]s, [[caves]], characters, and important objects ([[ship part]]s, [[treasure]]s, [[fruit]]s).

;Species:
''Title case''. This applies to [[Pikmin family|Pikmin type]] names, [[enemy]] species names and [[plant]] names (e.g. "Yellow Pikmin", "Beady Long Legs", "Pellet Posy"). These names are of the most obvious examples of inconsistency in the series. Although in the real world, species names are commonly written in lowercase, fans of the series are used to seeing them written in title case; specially considering it's common in video games for enemy type names to be in title case.

;Families:
''Lowercase''. The names of [[:Category:Families|families]] should be written in lowercase, as is the case in the real world. This capitalization is normally seen in the games as well.

;Common objects:
''Lowercase''. For objects that are common throughout a game and do not have a major impact on gameplay, their names should be in lowercase. This mirrors the way it is in the real world &ndash; humans don't capitalize the word "[[wikipedia:Egg|egg]]" or [[wikipedia:Gate|gate]]" for no reason. This includes, but is not limited to: [[hazards]], [[obstacles]], [[spray]]s, [[nectar egg]]s, [[nectar]], [[rubble]], [[bomb rock]]s, [[pellet]]s, and [[geyser]]s.

;Simple words:
''Lowercase''. For words that do not deserve or need any specific capitalization, they should be written in lowercase like any normal text, even if they're important mechanics. This means that words like [[leader]] (and captain), [[day]], [[area]], [[cave]], sublevel, etc.

;Special cases:
*"Onion", as well as the Onion's type, must always be written in title case. (e.g. "Red Onion", not "red onion".)
*[[The President]]'s "name" should be written as "the President", for consistency's sake.
*Scientific names use a capital first letter for the genus, and a lowercase for the rest. Example: "''[[Bulborb|Oculus kageyamii russus]]''".

For the purpose of being clear, "title case" refers to names in which the first letter of each "non-minor" word is capitalized (e.g. "This Text is Written in Title Case Style"), and "lowercase" means that the words all start with a lowercase letter. Naturally, the names of subjects at the start of sentences, headers, etc. always start with an uppercase letter, with [[e-Reader|very few exceptions]].

===Frames and galleries===
{{shortcut|P:FRAME}}
[[File:Red Pikmin.png|thumb|140px|Example of a picture with a frame and caption.]]
:''Always add a caption to images, and finish it with a period. Organize galleries so that the most in-game-related content comes first.''
All images with frames (see example on the right) and images on galleries should have a caption on it, even if it's just something like "Follow-up to the previous image.". Captions should be treated like an article's body, with links and italicizations, ending in periods, etc.

When creating a gallery for an article, organize the images so that the most in-game related content is placed first. For example, suppose you have a gameplay screenshot, a texture ripped from the game, a concept art picture, a strategy guide picture, and a photo of a relevant real-world item. You should list them in that order. If the subject appears in multiple games, there should be a subsection for each game. All {{ssbs}} images should be under a subsection with the same name, regardless which ''Super Smash Bros.'' game it is. If there are any images that don't fit in a specific game, there should be an "other" subsection.

===Region===
{{shortcut|P:REGION}}
When the information on a subject changes according to the game's [[region]], the US version's info should come first on the page, then the European version, and finally the Japanese version.

When naming a region, avoid using the term "NTSC" or "PAL", as explained [[Region#Naming|here]]. Instead, use "US", "Europe(an)" or "Japan(ese)".

===Prerelease===
{{shortcut|P:BETA}}
When referring to a prototypical version of something, avoid using the terms "alpha" and "beta". Those terms can mean different points in development for different developers, so unless the developers specifically brand a point in time or version as being "alpha", "beta", or "release candidate", do not use those terms. Instead, use "prototype", "prerelease", or "early".

===Order for common sections===
{{shortcut|P:OCS}}
{{shortcut|P:SO}}
Some sections are common to many pages; where present, these should be ordered as follows:

* Glitches
* In other games
* Technical information
* Naming (+Names in other languages)
* Gallery
* Trivia
* Names in other languages (if the Naming section is missing)
* See also
* External links
* References
* ''Navigation templates'' (this section has no heading)

===Naming section===
{{shortcut|P:NAMING}}
Most articles should have a section where they explain the subject's names. If applicable, the article should mention the origins, explanations, or inspirations of the names, as well as their meanings and translations.

For this, use {{tem|naming}}. If the article's subject has names that derive from another, or uses names that are common in a family, then the respective list item should contain something like "See &lt;link&gt; for details on &lt;word&gt;", with a link to the article+section that details that information. This avoids having to explain what the same words mean over several different articles.

If the "Naming" section is created, the "Names in other languages" section should be a subsection of this one, and should make use of {{tem|foreignname}}.

{{guidelines}}
[[Category:Guidelines]]