Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games/Template/

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[edit] Comments on Templates

So far, I like the bottom-most one the best. We can add a "DirectX version" row only when the game requires it. Just my $.02... —Frecklefoot 20:14, Apr 24, 2004 (UTC)

Is there a way to name each version of the template so it is clear which one we are discussing? The "bottom-most one" has changed since I made my comment above. I don't really care for the current bottom-most one—it isn't consistent with other templates used on Wikipedia. However, I do like having all the requirement in one cell instead of spread out over several cells. Am I the only one who's going to discuss these here? —Frecklefoot 16:27, Apr 26, 2004 (UTC)

Like I've said before, I also think having the requirements in one cell is better... partially because all fields don't apply for all games (DirectX version is one example). As for consistency, I've seen at least one other template - the one at Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft - that sacrifices consistency for compactness. I don't think that is a problem. Fredrik 13:44, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I've reconsidered and looked at the compact one again. I think it is my favorite now. I really like the different colored rows—it really makes picking out information easier. The only change I'd like to see is the addition of the title bar like the rest of the templates have. Perhaps that one row wouldn't have to have compact text, but regular size text since it will only contain the name of the game.

One thing still bothers me, though, and I don't know how to solve it or know if it can even be solved. Many games come out on one platform and then are released later for other platforms (e.g. DOOM, Halo, Defender of the Crown). Currently, our release date only applies to the first release and not subsequent ones. How can we address that in the template or should we even try?

Lastly, should we start using these templates now or wait until we can all agree on a format? I just wrote on article on Defender of the Crown and it would really benefit from the template (of course a cover scan would help even more, but I think the template can be adjusted if no cover scan is available). —Frecklefoot 14:41, Apr 27, 2004 (UTC)

I removed the title bar because I thought it felt a bit redundant (the article's title is nearby and possibly also in the image). Can be changed, though.
The issue with multi-platform releases irks me too. It's not only a matter of release date - publisher, system requirements, available game modes, etc, may change. One possibility is keeping only the information common for all versions in the main template, and putting version-specific information somewhere further down in the article. Fredrik 15:05, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Random brainstorming:

Platform Release date Publisher Notes
PC 2000 Games, Inc. Higher resolution
Macintosh 2000 Games, Inc. One level removed
Sony PlayStation 2 2000 Games, Inc. One level added
XBox 2000 Games, Inc. Multiplayer mode added

Or perhaps (definitely better suited for games released for at most 3-4 platforms, the former would better for e.g. DOOM):

PC version
Publisher: Games, Inc.
Release date: 2000
Notes: Higher resolution
XBox version
Publisher: Games, Inc.
Release date: 2000
Notes: Multiplayer added
PlayStation 2 version
Publisher: Games, Inc.
Release date: 2000
Notes: One level added

The markup is rather awful ATM, though :) Fredrik 15:32, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

So are you suggesting we include a second template for all the different versions? Interesting... I'll have to think about that. I guess game that were just released on one platform wouldn't need the second template. I guess the first release of the game should go in the main template. I like your first table, BTW. I think you should add those tables to the Template page for further input.

So, should we start using these templates or wait for "votes" from other members of the project? It'd be a shame if we all went off and started using different versions of the template (would kind of defeat the whole purpose of the project, wouldn't it?). So far, Fredrik and I are the only ones who've spoken up. Where's ShaunMacPherson, the guy who had the great idea for templates in the first place? —Frecklefoot 15:35, Apr 27, 2004 (UTC)

I numbered the templates. "Template 6" (multicolor rows) seems to be where the consensus is forming and is my favorite as well. Once the decision's been made, post it on the project's main page. --Mrwojo 12:04, 28 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Just to put my 2¢ in, I like Template 7 for single platform releases. For multi-platform releases, I like the templates under "Frecklefoot loses his mind" :) I like the idea of separate tables for version-specific information (requirements, release). Perhaps we could have another tables for comparing differences between versions (like names, levels, characters, etc.) Also, If there's a way to make tables one under the other, I'd like to see that used for placing the version-specific tables under the main one. DrakeCaiman 00:43, Aug 6, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for your feedback, Drake. I'll try to get the other members to cast a vote now.  :-) Please see Rock the vote! for more on this topic now. — Frecklefoot | Talk 13:59, Aug 6, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Template 7 & 7a

I just made some minor modifications to Template 6: added title bar, made the image a thumbnail and added a link from "M" to a description of that rating.

The title I think is important because not all box covers will have legible text. The thumbnail of the image is not an issue for the DOOM image, but may be for others (like the image I use in the Defender of the Crown article). The link to the rating description is debatable, but I like it. Comments? —Frecklefoot 17:38, Apr 28, 2004 (UTC)

Table 7a should be identical to 7, it just has been converted to the wikimarkup for tables. Comments on either (or both) is appreciated. —Frecklefoot 19:13, Apr 28, 2004 (UTC)

7a looks pretty good to me. I think the most important thing right now is to decide what data fields need to be included, especially in regard to games for different systems (computer and console games will obviously need different setups). Fredrik 19:16, 28 Apr 2004 (UTC)
For the most part a console game infobox could be just a cut-down computer game infobox, since it mostly would lack the "system requirements"-type info. If there would be more than one type of table (which I think would be a good idea), we should use a different color scheme for each. That reminds me: When we've decided on one, we should add it to Wikipedia:Infobox. --Mrwojo 21:56, 28 Apr 2004 (UTC)

The template isn't hard to build if it is just for video game consoles or PCs, but if it is for both it gets tricky. It gets even worse for legacy games that were released on several home computer platforms, such as Amiga, Atari ST, Apple II, etc.—all with their own individual requirements.

How about this: for each home computer system we have a seperate row in the template. We'd have to customize the box for many games, but this really isn't such a big deal. For games that are just released on consoles, we wouldn't need the "requirements" row at all (for some weird games that require special input devices—there were a small number of SNES games that did—we can just add a row in these special cases).

With the compact format Fredrik came up with, the "System requirements" text already takes up two lines, so adding "PC," "Amiga" or "Apple II" wouldn't screw up the format. I'll come up with an example and add it to the template page in a bit here.

I looked at the Wikipedia:Infobox page. We're not allowed to use any colors that are already being used? That's unfortunate. I guess we'll have to make sure our colors differ by a bit or two from the currently used colors. —Frecklefoot 14:12, Apr 29, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Template 8

The development of this template really highlighted the problems we're facing. Now that I'm done, I think we should just include "Developer," "Publisher," "Genre," "ESRB rating" and "Platform(s)" in the main template. We can expand Fredrik's "Multiple platforms" tables to include the other information (is there a way to make tables appear directly one under another?). For games released on just one platform, we can use something like template 7a. It'd be unfortunate to use different templates across the project, but I don't see any other way to resolve these issues... Anyone else? —Frecklefoot 15:01, Apr 29, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding multiple platforms

I suggest for games release for multiple platforms, a "versions" section is added to the article. It may be placed wherever feels suitable. The "versions" (or similarly titled) section contains either the list-style table or 2-3 version-specific info boxes, either way preferrably coupled with a few paragraphs of article text. In these cases, a "see below" note can be added to the main template. Fredrik 18:11, 30 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I suggest using Template 7a for single-platform released games. I'm still not sure what to do for multi-platform games. I think Fredrik's suggestion is better than slapping the version-specific tables directly underneath the template (see my rambling experiment). The only problem is that the article will have to be suitably long in order to accommodate the tables—a shorty just won't have the space. So, I guess we'll just have to make sure we're reasonably verbose. :-) —Frecklefoot 20:15, Apr 30, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Experiment with new template

I created an example article using the new templates as discussed above. I thought it might help visualizing how the template might be used in an actual article. You can take a look at it here. Please comment—I'd like to get a decision on the templates so we can start using them. NOTE: the "Platforms" link in the main template jumps to the "Versions" anchor in the article. This was my attempt to circumvent needing to use a "See also" in the template. —Frecklefoot 20:27, May 6, 2004 (UTC)

Well, this experiment has seemed to lost all steam and/or interest. I'll start using the template as it is in the latest experiment. Comments welcome. — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:09, Jul 15, 2004 (UTC)
I like the version header you added alongside the 2nd form of "Freckle..." ~ FriedMilk 05:11, 2004 Aug 7 (UTC)

[edit] Platforms

Could you please stop using PC, Mac, Amiga and others as platforms, they're not, these games run on Windows, DOS, Mac OS, Mac OS X, Amiga OS and not on the bare machines, there are many other operating systems avalible for these systems and using PC as a plaform name does not make sense like using N64. -- Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason 17:15, 2004 Sep 5 (UTC)

[edit] Templates for Characters

I was thinking that C/VG characters should get standardized templates. For example, fighting game characters could get a "Name, First Game, Company, Date/Place of Birth, Style(s)" format. I don't know how to make a template (even the tutorials are confusing), but I thought I'd throw this suggestion into the pot. DarkSoldier 29 June 2005 06:30 (UTC)

I think that creating articles for game characters, let alone a template for such, is a little bit of overkill, but I see that a few characters do have their own articles. I guess it may be appropriate for characters that span several games.
I created a template simply by examining some template code. Look at the wiki-markup for some of these templates. Their use should be easy to determine:
But the code for our own infobox is quite complex and may require some more experimentation. :-) HTH — Frecklefoot | Talk June 29, 2005 13:56 (UTC)