Pikipedia:Area article guidelines

The following guidelines applies to articles about areas in the series. These help make sure all area articles are consistent, and nicely filled with content.

The following sections should exist, with the names and order provided.

Opening paragraphs

The article starts with {{infobox area}}. The opening text (not a section) should describe what the area is like in the broadest terms possible: how the area is reached, what the most important events that take place in it are, what boss(es) it has, and other basic points about the area. Finally, it should list how many Pokos or bottles of juice it has in total, both on the overworld alone, and overworld + caves.

Plot

If there are any relevant plot events regarding this area, list them here.

Overview

This section should have this name. It explains the geographical properties of the level, like the following:

• Its theme (garden-like, artificial, etc.)
• Its size
• Its structure (maze-like, open-ended, etc.)
• Type and distribution of the terrain
• Types of structures of interest (several tree stumps, several lakes, etc.)
• Its linearity (whether it is mostly open with equal exploration on all points of the land, or if it's mostly linear, with clear start and end points)
• How much vertical variation there is
• If it's surrounded by water, pits, etc.

Key sections

This section should explain the different sections of the area, including cardinal direction references. For example: "To the north, there is a large circular arena accessible at a higher ground level. The Armored Cannon Beetle here guards the Radiation Canopy, which resides on a small alcove in the arena." Have each zone be a faux section (e.g. use ;Section name: at the start), and in the case of Pikmin 3, there should be at least one faux section for every area segment, linking to the segment article.

Caves

Only for Pikmin 2 areas, this section should list and link to the caves the area contains.

Cutscenes

Only for Hey! Pikmin areas. If this area has no cutscenes, then this section shouldn't be included. Otherwise, it should contain a table with all of the cutscenes: one column has a brief, non-official title for the cutscene, one contains a screenshot, one explains what triggers it, including special requirements (e.g. some cutscenes only play if you the player has a certain minimum of Pikmin in the party), and the final narrates the cutscene. You can use the following skeleton:

{| class="wikitable"
! Cutscene || Screenshot || Trigger || Description
|-
! 
| [[File:|200px]]
| 
| 
|}

Pikmin locations

Only for Hey! Pikmin areas. This section lists all places where the player can find Pikmin, whether they are given to the player after a cutscene, obtained by whistling a spot, dropped by Coppellers, etc. This information should be in a table, like the one in the following skeleton.

{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Spot || Location || Pikmin || Requirements || Notes
|-
|  ||  ||  ||  || 
|}

The spot column lists what kind of spot the Pikmin are found in, like "in a bush", "carried by Coppellers", etc. The location column explains where that spot can be found. The Pikmin column explains what Pikmin come out of this spot every time it's "triggered". The requirements explain any requirements before the spot can be "triggered" and more Pikmin can be obtained – some bushes, leafs, etc. only make Pikmin come out if the player has less than a certain number of that type of Pikmin. If this spot only gives Pikmin the first time it's triggered, write "First time only". Finally, the notes should be dedicated to any notes about this spot, like if the Pikmin in this spot must absolutely be collected before progressing in the game, or if the player has a time limit to obtain the Pikmin from this spot.

Objects

A section listing the objects that can be found here. It should follow the object listing guidelines, except that every category (enemies, fruits, etc.) should be its own sub-section. Unless impractical, have each list in two columns, using {{columns}}.

Data files

For Pikmin 3 areas, this section should contain a list of what data files can be found here, separated by their Exploration Notes category. The section should start with {{main|Data file}}. The items use the US name, and if the European name is different, it can be written afterwards after a slash. If an item is only present in one version of the game, it should say so.

Hidden murals

For Pikmin 3 areas, this section should contain a gallery with screenshots of the hidden murals, and their locations in the gallery's captions. The section should start with {{main|Hidden mural}}, and the list itself should be hidden inside a {{spoiler section}}.

Sunset

A section listing what enemies show up during sunset, as well as any other important information about this area's specific sunset period. This section should only exist if there's anything to say.

Quotes

If there are any quotes about this area (Olimar's monologs, Olimar's notes, etc.), add them here, using {{transcript}}.

Guide

Two or three broad guides should exist: a basic one, a speed one, and a Challenge Mode one, if applicable. The story mode guides explain how to "complete" the area, meaning discovering all Pikmin types within, collecting all collectibles (ship part, treasures, spacesuit upgrades, etc.), and clearing all caves. The guides shouldn't explain how to clear a cave, how to fight a boss, etc., but the cave/boss/etc. article should be linked to.

The basic guide helps explain how to complete the area, and what requisites there are for each of the area's events. It should be placed under a section titled "Basic guide".

The speed guide should give an overview on the general order of events that need to be done in order to complete the area as quickly as possible. It should be placed under a section titled "Speed completion".

The Challenge Mode guide should provide a strategy on how to complete the area with the best score possible.

Challenge Mode

For Pikmin areas, this section explains the Challenge Mode version: the differences between it and the story mode variant, as well as the most notable gimmicks and exclusive features in the Challenge Mode area. It should also feature a table with the rundown of Pikmin seed sources.

Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard

For Pikmin 2 areas, this section has an overview image of the area as it appears on the Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard, preferably to the right. It should give a very quick explanation on how to "access" this area (i.e. putting the ship's cursor on the area the article is about and then entering the Piklopedia or Treasure Hoard), and then explain what differences exist between the in-game area and the Piklopedia variant.

Gallery

The gallery should contain some screenshots showing most of the points of interest and notable sections in the area, as well as link to a category containing more images of the level, by use of the template {{see more}} below the gallery. The gallery should also include the map shown on the infobox, because users that are not running Javascript won't be able to open the map using the infobox.