This page details the policy for the wiki in general, as decided by Pikipedia's community. Most points do not apply to user, forum and talk pages, which are considerably less strict. Ideally, we want all of these guidelines to be followed, but we give higher priority to the inclusion of information, with the attention to quality being secondary (but nevertheless important).
To suggest or discuss policies, use the proposals page.
- For policy regarding files, see Help:Files.
- For policy regarding talk pages, see Help:Talk pages.
- For policy regarding deletion see Pikipedia:Pages for deletion.
- For policy regarding glitches, see Pikipedia:Glitch notes.
- For policy regarding guides, see Pikipedia:Guides.
General
Content
Game modifications
- No modifications, unless they help unearth hidden content.
Articles should not contain information about any Pikmin game running in a way other than intended. This includes the use of Action Replay and similar devices, as well as modifications to the game's internal files. This is because modifications are arbitrary: there is no clear line between those that make little difference and those that change the game entirely.
Information that can only be obtained through these means but holds true in normal gameplay, however, is welcome on articles. Whether it is important to document how exactly the information is known may vary from case to case.
Videos
- Only use videos when necessary.
Video embedding should be used sparingly, only in cases where understanding is more easily understood through watching a video than through images or text. This covers, for example, television adverts and glitches.
Trivia
- Trivia is for loose, but still interesting facts.
Unlike Wikipedia, this wiki accepts the existence of "trivia" sections on articles, provided that, in general, the bullet points follow these characteristics:
- Noteworthy: Bland or common pieces of information aren't very interesting to have around, and likely fit in the article's body.
- Objective: Trivia should be factual. Any unconfirmed or speculative information should not be included in an article, much less in the trivia section.
- Short: In order to be considered a tidbit, it should be possible to explain it in one to three sentences. Anything that has a lot of detail is probably better off being elaborated in a section somewhere.
- Isolated: Trivia facts should be unattached to most other aspects of the subject. If a fact is related to an existing section of information in the article, it likely belongs there.
Sections should be named "Trivia", and should be placed before navboxes and the "See also", "References" and "External links" sections. The tidbits within should be listed with bullet points, created by placing an asterisk (*) before each line.
Spoilers should be reduced to the minimum. Users should be able to read through the interesting tidbits without having their experience with any games ruined.
The did you know section of the main page is not directly related to trivia sections, instead listing interesting facts that newcomers to the series might not know. The previously mentioned anti-spoiler aspect is even more important here, however.
Format
General
- Articles should have the first occurrence of the subject's name in bold, some categories, a See also section, images, and game icons, with few exceptions.
Articles must have at least one non-automatic category. The bottommost category in a tree is preferred; for instance, instead of Pikmin 2, 2-Player Battle is preferred. Articles must also have a See also section. In extreme cases where no relevant pages exist, link to the category the page is on. On the opening paragraph, the subject's name should also be bolded.
Articles should ideally have at least one image and the {{game icons}} template at the top. Although discouraged, an article may go without images if its subject cannot be easily complemented with images. 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. game article).
Perspective
- Use "the player" instead of "you", except in walkthroughs. Refer to the player's gender as "they".
In articles, avoid using the second person ('you', 'your'); either talk about the player, or where directly applicable, a captain. When referring to the player, use the term "they" when you need a personal pronoun. For instance, the following sentence: "You can finish it quickly this way, if you don't lose your health." could be changed to the likes of "The player can finish it quickly this way, if their leaders don't lose their health."
Exceptions to the "you" rule are in walkthrough sections in articles, which normally refer to the player as "you", and in guides, which are written whichever way the author chooses.
Headings
- Headings are meant to be simple, and not Title Cased.
In all headings (page titles and sections) only proper nouns should be capitalized, excepting brand names that start with a lowercase letter in normal usage. Note that the first letter in a heading will always be capitalized by MediaWiki. Italics may be used when they would be in body text, but headers should have no links, color or any other formatting. Links can often be replaced with {{main}} or a relevant link near the start of the section. Example: instead of "Pikmin-Exclusive Enemies", call it "Pikmin-exclusive enemies". If you want to add italics to a page's title, ask another user, or look at how other pages do it: Pikmin (game), Pikmin 2.
Frames and galleries
- 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. If the image ties in with the content shown in the previous image, add a caption anyway, even if it's just "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 strategy guide picture, a texture ripped from the game, a concept art picture, a gameplay screenshot and a photo of a relevant real-world item.
- Have the screenshot first, as that's related directly to the game.
- Then the texture, as it comes from the game, but is not presented directly in the gameplay in that format.
- Then the strategy guide or concept art image, as they're not in the game, but are still related directly to it.
- Finally, the photo of the real-life item which, by itself, is not related to the game.
Language
- Be formal, use US English, and avoid needlessly advanced words.
In all cases where spellings differ between variations of English, the USA spelling is preferred. This is the spelling used in the Pikmin games in all English-speaking regions (with the exception of treasures not in the USA version of Pikmin 2), as well as the spelling used by the majority of readers and editors. If you are unsure, a chart is provided below.
We prefer to keep our language formal, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everything has to be said using only advanced words. If you have the choice between using complex terms, and simple words, go for the latter, provided that the text is still formal. This way, readers that have a harder time with English can still understand the text, without compromising the formality of the encyclopedia. For instance, we prefer "The plant-life in this part is mostly consisted of bushes, which serve as walls." over "The flora in this segment is constituted in large part of common shrubbery, acting as delimiters."
Region
- US version first, then Europe, then Japan. Don't use the words "NTSC" or "PAL".
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 here. Instead, use "US", "Europe(an)" or "Japan(ese)".
Italicizing
- Italicize media names.
All titled media should be italicized in articles. At Pikipedia, this is mainly video-games, including Pikmin, Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, but also covers series, music, books and films, for example. Pikmin Adventure is also included.
"Pikmin 1"
- Italicize the first game's name, and only call it "Pikmin 1" when that's not possible.
Where ambiguous, the first Pikmin game, Pikmin, should be referred to as "Pikmin 1". In article text, game names are italicized, so this is not a problem, but in page titles, for example, it could easily refer to the species or series, without the "1".
Prototypes
- Use "prototype" or "early", instead of "alpha" and "beta".
When referring to a prototypical version of a game, avoid using the terms "alpha" and "beta". It's easy to call anything that's "not final" as being "beta", but this term is wrong. The reason being because "alpha" and "beta" can mean different points in development for different developers. Unless the developers specifically brand a point in time or version as being "alpha", "beta", or "pre-release", do not use those terms, as we do not know the real version term. Instead, use "prototype" or "early". For instance, "3 Pikmin could carry a 1 Pellet in a beta version" should be replaced with "3 Pikmin could carry a 1 Pellet in an early version".
Order for common sections
Some sections are common to many pages; where present, these should be ordered as follows:
- Glitches
- In other games
- Technical information
- Gallery
- Trivia
- Names in other languages
- See also
- External links
- References
- Navigation templates (this section has no heading)
Miscellaneous
- When an element changes notably between games, carefully weigh whether it's worth having a section for each game or not. If there is, for instance, an enemy that changes slightly in Pikmin 3, compared to Pikmin 2, it might not make sense to have a section for each game, where most of the information is the same.
- When an element has multiple names (depending on the game and region), the name of the most recent canon game's US version is used. Articles or sections with info exclusive to an older game may use an old name.
Social content
- Social content doesn't go on the main pages. Prefer using social networks to chit-chat.
Any communication about anything other than the running of the wiki and its content should be restricted to user and user talk pages. For excessive amounts of such chat, use the NIWA forums or the chatroom to avoid filling up the recent changes.
Enemy articles
Enemy articles should have at least the following sections, and in the order listed:
- Behavior
- Locations
- Strategy
- Gallery
Other sections may also exist whenever possible, such as the technical information.
Opening section
The opening to the article does not have a section, and explains what the enemy is in general. An infobox must also be present to the right. This section should also contain a brief explanation of the creature's appearance, with one of the most important aspects to point out being its size in comparison to leaders and Pikmin. If it makes sense, its relation to other members of its family should be mentioned (like how the Burrowing Snagret is more common than the Pileated Snagret).
Behavior
This section details how the creature behaves. This also includes attacks and attack-like movements, but they are explained in an objective manner. Walkthroughs on how to combat the enemy are present in the Strategy section. When applicable, at least the following points should be explained, even if only in a single sentence:
- Behavior while idling.
- Behavior when prey draws near and goes away.
- What it does when it wanders too far away from its "home".
- Attacks, including "shake Pikmin off" attacks.
- Its behavior when dying, including whether it releases living Pikmin in its grasp or not.
Locations
A list of locations the creature can be found in, separated by game, and further separated by area/cave. A paragraph should exist detailing the kind of terrain and ambiance the enemy can be found in, as well as how rare it is. Whenever possible, their exact locations should be detailed enough so that players can find them without wandering around too much, but not so detailed that they're useless. For cave occurrences, a bullet list simply pointing out the caves and sublevels is enough. For highly common enemies, a subpage of the enemy's article, with the name "Locations" should exist. In the case of bosses or other unique enemies that require some special way to reach, this section must explain how the player can go about reaching them, in an objective manner (and referring to the player as "the player").
Strategy
This section should start with the guide warning template. This section is strictly a guide, and as such, should always refer to the player as "you", for the sake of consistency. Because some enemies cannot cause a battle or even be defeated (e.g. Iridescent Flint Beetle), this section's name should always be "Strategy" as opposed to "Battle strategy".
For enemies that can be defeated without leader intervention (like Fiery Blowhogs with Red Pikmin), that fact should be explained on this section, along with any possible drawbacks.
Gallery
A gallery with images of the enemy, preferably including concept art and one or two "extra" images, such as prototype screenshots. There should be enough images to show the creature in all interesting angles; i.e. if there are only screenshots of the creature facing sideways, it is not enough. If possible, there should be one very high quality image, with the creature up close, so that details can be seen better – emulators like Dolphin can be tweaked to maximize the output image's quality. Images that should exist include:
- The enemy attacking; one picture per attack, preferably.
- The shaking animation.
- The creature's corpse.
- The creature while petrified.
Other necessary information
- Trivia sections should contain the origin, explanation or inspiration of the creature's name, if there is one.