Wikipedia:WikiProject Mortal Kombat/Style Guide

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To keep a consistent style to all Mortal Kombat articles, these guidelines should be followed.

Also of interest would be Writing about fiction.

We need to be conscious of not writing for fans, as Wikipedia frowns on that practice and will keep our articles from achieving GA (or dare we hope FA) status. Let's avoid the label of adding to the fancruft on Wikipedia.

Contents

[edit] General

The following general guidelines reflect standard Wikipedia style policy:

  • The article name, when first mentioned, should be bold.
  • Titles for video games, films, and albums should be italicized. Such a title or name that is also the article name should be both bolded and italicized when first mentioned.
    • Titles for television episodes should be "double-quoted". Such a title that is also the article name should be both "bolded and double-quoted" when first mentioned.
  • American English spelling should be used, as these articles are about a U.S. video game series.

10/9/2006

  • Full dates (including month, date, and year) should be linked to allow preference-based formatting. Any of the following formats will accomplish this, and will be displayed exactly the same to any reader, based on their preferences:
    • [[October 9]], [[2006]] is displayed as October 9, 2006.
    • [[4 October]] [[2004]] is displayed as 4 October 2004.
    • [[November 20]] [[2002]] is displayed as November 20, 2002.
    • [[1999-09-09]] is displayed as 1999-09-09. (Less readable in edit window, so not recommended for general text.)
However, conversely, individual years, days, months should not be wikilinked.
  • Headings should only have the first word capitalized, unless the word is a proper noun (ie: "About Liu Kang" is proper, while "Appearances in Film" is not).

[edit] Article layout

Below are the standard outlines all Mortal Kombat articles should follow.

  1. Hatnote (if any)
  2. Infobox
  3. Article content (see below for specific layout requirements)
  4. References
  5. External links (where relevant; named "External link" for one site, "External links" for multiple sites)
  6. Stub tag (where relevant)
  7. Navigation table
  8. Relevant categories
  9. Interwiki links (links to other language wikis) (where relevant)

[edit] Character articles

Format for all character articles should be:

  1. Character introduction - A one sentence specifying that the article is about a Mortal Kombat character.
  2. About <character> - An overview of the character, such as known personality traits (if notable), their role in the game series, etc. No original research allowed.
  3. Storyline - describe the character's involvement in the Mortal Kombat storyline.
    1. Possible future - until Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is released, this will cover any "cliff hangers".
  4. Combat characteristics - A heading containing the following sections:
    1. Signature moves - Describe the fighting moves (with the official name) that sum up the character the best. If you have questions on whether the move is relevant, use the article's talk page.
    2. Recurring finishers - Describe the finishing moves (without an arbitrarily-decided name) that sum up the character the best. If you have questions on whether the move is relevant, use the article's talk page.
  5. Appearance - describe the character's visual attire thorughout the storyline.
  6. "Appearances in other media" - The exact name of this section will vary from character to character. Some, like Darrius, won't even have it. If a character only warrants one of these sections, title it "Appearances in <blank>". Sub-sections are as follows:
    1. Film - If the character is featured in any of the MK movies, a description of their appearance should appear here.
    2. Television - If the character is featured in any of the MK television series, a description of their appearance should appear here.
    3. Comics - If a character is featured in any of the MK comic books, a description of their appearance should appear here.
    4. Action figures - Several of the characters have had action figures made of them. The section to address this should go here.
  7. Game information - Additional information about the character and the video games.
  8. Trivia - Anecdotal information about the character, such as their place in pop culture. Trivia should be kept to a minimum, optimally being worked into the rest of the article somehow.

[edit] Game articles

This section is currently under construction.

[edit] Faction articles

Format for all character articles should be:

  1. About - A brief overview of the organization's goals and notable members.
  2. History - A more in-depth look at how the group was formed and by who.
  3. "Appearances in other media" - The exact name of this section will vary from article to article. Some may not even have it. If a group only warrants one of these sections, title it "Appearances in <blank>". Sub-sections are as follows:
    1. Film - If the faction is featured in any of the MK movies, a description of their involvement should appear here.
    2. Television - If the faction is featured in any of the MK television series, a description of their involvement should appear here.
    3. Comics - If the faction is featured in any of the MK comic books, a description of their involvement should appear here.
  4. Trivia - Bits of information that don't fall into the other categories, such as parallels with real-world organizations, people, and events. Trivia should be kept to a minimum, optimally being worked into the rest of the article somehow.

[edit] Content to be avoided

  • Codes - Whether it be the exact buttons to get a particular fatality or how to do Liu Kang's flying kick, game codes do not belong in articles; Wikipedia is not a gaming guide.

[edit] Abbreviations

Here are the standardized abbreviations for all the games.

[edit] Usage notes

  • Abbreviations should only be used in places where "short is better", such as lists of moves and in the captions for List of Mortal Kombat arenas.
  • In regular image captions, the "Mortal Kombat" should be abbreviated with "MK" and followed by the rest of the game name (for example, Mortal Kombat: Deception becomes MK: Deception).
  • When repeatedly discussing a single game, it is appropriate (and preferred) to drop the "Mortal Kombat" prefix (for example, Reptile's alternate costume for Armageddon was his primary costume in Deadly Alliance).
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