Template talk:Infobox Arcade Game

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Associated optional templates:

• Template:Infobox Arcade Game/designer
• Template:Infobox Arcade Game/cabinet
• Template:Infobox Arcade Game/arcade system
• Template:Infobox Arcade Game/monitor
• Template:Infobox Arcade Game/input
• Template:Infobox Arcade Game/ports

[edit] Usage

Pac-Man
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Midway Games
Designer(s)	Toru Iwatani - Game Designer Hideyuki Mokajima - Programmer Toshio Kai - Sound & Music
Release date(s)	1980
Genre(s)	Maze
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Platform(s)
Input	Joystick
Arcade cabinet	Standard upright, mini-upright, and cocktail
Arcade system(s)	CPU: Z80 3.072 MHz and a Namco 3-channel PSG for sounds.

This infobox template is based off Template:Infobox CVG (see that template's talk page for credits), and was modified to include fields relevant to arcade games. It is designed to replace the previous non-template infobox designed by Frecklefoot. Because this template may be used on a large number of articles, any changes that affect its appearance should first be discussed at WikiProject Arcade games/Infobox.

Certain fields are optional; just leave them blank if they do not apply to the game, or if the information is not available.

The Notes field of the former infobox has been removed due to a consensus on the infobox discussion page. When converting the old infobox to the new template, the contents of the Notes field should be incorporated into the main article text, if it is not already present. The lead section is a good place to place pertinent information.

The use of the infobox is not compulsory, it is strictly voluntary and provided here for convenience. Many variations on this archetype are in use in various articles.

[edit] Explanation

Most of the information for the infobox can be obtained from the Killer List of Videogames. For more hardware data, check the Arcade History Database or System16 - The Arcade Museum.

• Title: The top of the infobox contains the game's name.
• Image: (optional) Use an example image of gameplay if one is available (using MAME to capture screenshots is one good method). If not, omit this section. If you upload an image, upload the full-size version in a lossless format like PNG, because the images are relatively small and formats like JPEG do not work very well with video game graphics. It should show gameplay, and not the title — the title does not help the user getting an impression of the game. Use the "225 px" attribute for the image so it fits into the infobox. Do not forget to mark the screenshot as fair use. There is a special tag {{game-screenshot}} that can be used instead of the standard {{fairuse}} tag.
• Developer: The company that developed the game. This is not necessarily the game that manufactured the game.
• Publisher: This is really the company that manufactured the game. In this example, Midway licensed the game from Namco and manufactured it.
• Designer: (optional) The designer of the game. For the example here, the designer is notable and famous for creating the most popular arcade game of all time. Another example would be the designer of Donkey Kong. This can be omitted if the game has multiple designers, or the designer is unknown.
• Release date: An exact date is preferable, but a year will suffice if it is not available. Multiple release dates for different countries may be listed here — just place short links such as (NA) or ([[Japan|JA) to designate the country.
• Genre: A list of most accepted genres can be found at Computer and video game genres. Link to a section on that page that describes the genre. If the game fits into two genres, list them both separated by a slash (/).
• Modes: Usually the number of players supported by the game, such as single player, two player alternating turns, two player cooperative or two player versus. If a game has to be played with two players, say so.
• Cabinet: Just a short description of the game's cabinet. The usual choices are Standard, Sit-down, Cocktail and Custom. Details on the cabinet (if any) should go in the Description section.
• Arcade system: (optional) Specific technical information related to the arcade hardware.
• Monitor: Information on the monitor. I debated whether or not to have this section which just discusses the game's monitor(s). Since the information on these is usually on the MAME or KLOV, I decided to have it.
• Input: On this line, just mention the number of controls. Details should go in the Description section.
• Ports: A list of consoles the game has been ported to. "Arcade game" should not be listed as a platform in this section; leave this line blank if the game is only available in arcade form.

[edit] Infobox code

Copy and paste the following code into an article and simply fill out the fields.

Note: The following fields must be present for the template to function properly:

• title
• image
• developer
• publisher
• release
• genre
• modes

{{Infobox Arcade Game
| title         = 
| image         = 
| developer     = 
| publisher     = 
| designer      = 
| release       = 
| genre         = 
| modes         = 
| cabinet       = 
| arcade system = 
| cpu           = 
| sound         = 
| resolution    = 
| monitor       = 
| input         = 
| ports         = 
}}

[edit] WTF

This got screwed up somehow, and I'm not sure how. See Dance Dance Revolution. --SPUI (talk) 00:41, 27 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It's due to the edit war on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Arcade games/Infobox. I've mostly fixed the fields for DDR; the Notes field code might still show up. --Poiuyt Man ^talk 28 June 2005 03:56 (UTC)

[edit] Cosmetic changes

I've made a few minor/cosmetic changes to the table (no fields added or removed). I didn't notice the talk page had a warning with regard to changes, so hopefully these are agreeable and/or go unnoticed. :P It makes the table, code-size-wise, smaller. If you notice any problems, please discuss here or revert if necessary. --Locke Cole 08:17, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Notes

A user added a "notes" section to the template. Unless I missed a discussion somewhere (which is very possible), this was voted down a long time ago when we first came up with the template. We decided it would just be used for subjective information, which is contrary to NPOV. Everything else in the box is strictly factual (dates, other facts). So unless another discussion took place somewhere deciding that it needs to be in there, it should stay out. Peace. :-) — Frecklefoot | Talk 19:36, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

That's my understanding too. Pagrashtak 22:59, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Input gone

I don't know when this happend, but I just noticed the "Input" line doesn't display, even when it contains information. I don't know how to fix it--templates confound me. Anyone else? — Frecklefoot | Talk 18:54, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

It seems something broke it. All the uses of it seem to not display many of the fields. I don't know how to fix this myself; can someone who does help? MrLeo 10:01, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

I've reverted the hatchet job done on the template. It should be working fine now. Dread Lord CyberSkull ✎☠ 13:44, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Convert?

Could someone help me out with what's going on with the Arcade Infobox converting to the CVG infobox? Is this something in progress? I ask because much of the information is not being displayed properly in many articles. MrLeo 17:41, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Check WP:CVG/T. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 18:44, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if this is new, but the "ports" aren't showing up in the infobox at all--even when it has entries. See Paperboy for an example of this. — Frecklefoot | Talk 05:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Old issue. Ports works after the template has been converted; I recall discussing whether to add a legacy field to cover the old, unconverted implementations and deciding not on someone's advice. - A Man In Bl♟ck (conspire | past ops) 01:16, 5 September 2006 (UTC)