Pikipedia:Glitch notes

Revision as of 16:24, November 1, 2020 by Espyo (talk | contribs) (Update for the new format.)

Pikipedia features a collection of glitch articles, gathered and written by players of the games. Seeing as glitches are the consequence of unintended behavior, there are a couple of important notes that you, as a reader, should take into consideration, before attempting any of the glitches the website details.

  • Most effects of glitches are temporary, although some can cause permanent changes in varying degrees. Some glitches can permanently alter the content of one's save file, while others can cause long-lasting changes to hardware. These potential problems are detailed along with the glitches, but please use common sense when attempting a glitch that could potentially cause damage.
  • Some glitches happen very rarely, and have only happened successfully to a few members of the fanbase. On Pikipedia, we aim to provide carefully detailed instructions so that all glitches can be executed by anyone. Sometimes, this is not possible as some of our editors cannot reproduce the glitch either. Glitches that are eventually decided to be fake will be removed, but should a glitch without a tutorial happen to you, please let us know so we can expand its information.

Glitch page standard

Glitch pages have their glitches sorted by sections that make the most sense. It's common for a glitch article to contain a "Main" section, where the most important glitches are listed, but all other sections are created as it's seen fit.

Unless specifically stated, the names of all glitches are made up by the community members.

All glitches have a table at the top, like so:

Reproducibility Danger Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
<Reproducibility level> <Danger level> <Version exclusivity> <external demonstration> <other demonstrations>

The fields are described as follows:

  • Reproducibility: How easy it is to reproduce the glitch. This level is subjective, and it's purely a pointer on the necessary effort on the player's part in order to execute it.
    • "Low" means the glitch rarely happens, even on purpose. It could require a lot of luck, or the exact steps might be hard to execute successfully.
    • "Medium" means the glitch can't always be executed on command, but it's not necessarily difficult to do so.
    • "High" means the glitch can almost always be executed by following the indicated steps.
  • Danger: Whether the glitch can cause any danger, or the exact opposite.
    • "Harmful" means that the glitch can cause problems if not handled carefully.
    • "Harmless" means the glitch has no side-effects, and normally, its effects are purely cosmetic.
    • "Helpful" means the glitch can be exploited for the player's advantage.
    • "Depends" means just that. It can be beneficial or harmful to the player, depending on their goals.
  • Version exclusivity: Whether the glitch works or not in the original GameCube version and/or the New Play Control! re-release, for the first two Pikmin games. Or whether or not it works on the original Wii U version or the Pikmin 3 Deluxe re-release, for Pikmin 3. In addition, if a glitch only works in specific regions, revisions, or update versions, that should be mentioned here as well.
  • Demonstration: In case there is a demonstration of the glitch that's not an image on the wiki, this field will contain a link to the demonstration.
  • Other demonstrations: Alternate videos or images showcasing the glitch.

After the table, five bullet points detail the glitch's information.

  • Effects: The effects the glitch causes if executed successfully.
  • Prerequisites: Necessary conditions that must be met before a player can attempt to reproduce the glitch.
  • How to: A brief guide explaining the steps required to execute the glitch.
  • Notes: Any sort of extra notes. These can detail the version exclusivity of a glitch, ways to reverse its effects, ways to avoid it, etc.
  • What would happen normally: If the normal, glitch-less behavior is not obvious, it's normally pointed out here. This helps readers who are not familiar with the underlying mechanics to understand what makes the glitch an anomaly.
  • Possible explanation: A possible explanation to the glitch's causes, given by a member of the community with experience in video game development and programming. These explanations are speculative, and only provide a theory on a possible cause for the glitch.

At the right of the glitch's info, an image demonstrating the glitch in action is shown, if it exists. At Pikipedia, we try to make it so that all glitches have an accompanying demonstration of some sort.

The explanation sections are written by members of the community who have theories on what the causes of the corresponding glitches might be, based on their own personal game development experiences. Although most of the time these are just theories, some explanations may be based on known and confirmed data, like in-game files. These explanations are not confirmed by Nintendo, unless stated otherwise, nor are they meant to be a display of superiority from their writers. Their addition to the articles are merely for trivial purposes, meant to provide an interesting insight on the internal side of the games.

Adding your own glitch

In case you come across a glitch of your own, we would appreciate it if you could add it to the corresponding article. We must request, however, that you attempt to follow these guidelines, as to make sure that the all glitches follow the same ideal level of quality. If you do not feel comfortable adding this information, please discuss the glitch on the talk page, where another editor will be able to assist you.

  • Begin by being absolutely sure about your glitch. If you have doubts on whether what you just witnessed was a glitch or not, discuss it on a talk page.
  • Do not include problems that happen when one uses cheat devices (they're not a part of the real game) or tampers with the hardware, like ejecting the CD from the drive (those always corrupt normal gameplay, and are dangerous).
  • Give your glitch a name. This name should reflect the glitch's effects well, and it should be relatively short. Read other glitch names for a general idea.
  • Add a sub-section for it in the correct section, in its correct spot, alphabetically. If you do not feel the glitch fits into any existing section, feel free to create your own, but try to make it so that more glitches can fit into that section as well: single-glitch sections are frowned upon.
  • Copy and paste the skeleton here.
  • Fill in the fields as described above, and remove the unneeded ones. Their names are self-explanatory, but if you need help understanding the template's fields better, read this, or base yourself on the wikitext of existing glitches.
    • The explanation bullet point is optional. Unless you have experience with video game development, you should leave this empty. In time, a member with sufficient experience will add a brief explanation theory to the article.
    • Use a "guide"-like style for the "how to" section, and optionally the prerequisites and notes sections, referring to the player with "you". On the effects and likely explanation sections, however, the player should be referred to as such.
    • If you are not sure about the content you should add onto one of the fields, discuss it on the talk page.

Final notes

  • Should you learn of a glitch that works in one version (or revision, or region, or re-release) of a game, but not in another, please point it down on the glitch itself, and...
    • If it can be reproduced in a certain region version of a game but not another, please add the change on the regional differences of the region article.
    • If it can be reproduced in a GameCube game but not its New Play Control! counterpart, or Pikmin 3 but not Pikmin 3 Deluxe, please add the fact that the problem was corrected/introduced on the list of changes of the corresponding re-release title's article.
    • If it can be reproduced in a certain update version of Pikmin 3 but not another, please add the fact that it was corrected/introduced in the update article.