Template:Introduction/Documentation

Overview

Project

Andytizer is leading this project. To discuss further please visit our Discord on the #taxonomy channel.

Aims

More relevant qualitative information for gamers researching a new PC game that is not constrained to single bullet points.
- Replaces the previous "key points" in almost all scenarios.
Information about the history and current state of the game.
Additional natural content for improving search engine ranking.
See discussion in these threads: 1 2 3 4

Guidelines

This is the first free text area on PCGamingWiki and our aim is to describe the game in a neutral technical manner constrained by facts and not driven by criticism, outrage or bias.
It is important to consider undue weight and only include issues that have affected/will affect a significant number of players.
Any issues (e.g. platform issues) mentioned must be proven with multiple original sources otherwise they will be removed.
Issues that are fixed within a 48 hour period after launch should not to be included unless particularly notable.
When discussing platform 'exclusivity', be as objective as possible and refer to direct concrete statements and release dates rather than conjecture.
Delays should be mentioned but only if longer than one month. Multiple delays can be grouped together in one or two sentences.
Try to avoid 'relative time expressions' where possible e.g. The game currently has X bug. Try to rephrase as something that is more timeless, e.g. As of May 2020, the game has X bug. Some relative time expressions are unavoidable, so don't go out of your way to avoid them and spoil the readability of the writing.

Style

Entire section should be concise and ideally less than 500 words total, not including references.
Every claim should be individually referenced, ideally with a snippet e.g. <ref>{{Refurl|url=|title=|date=2020-05-09|snippet=}}</ref>
Prefer trustworthy sources e.g. publications, detailed written articles, databases, first-party sources, etc. and only refer to forum posts, social media, videos or streams if no other sources are available.
The first Introduction parameter does not need referencing, as the developer/publisher/taxonomy etc. should be self-evident
One is allowed to space out the |introduction, |release history and |current state parameters for clarity, it will not affect viewability on the page.
The first instance of the game title (directly at the start of the introduction parameter) should be written using both italic ''Title'' as well as bold '''Title''', meaning it should be surrounded on both sides by five apostrophes '''''Title'''''. Subsequent mentions of the game title only needs to be styled in italic ''Title''.
Linking should not be distracting, there should be a maximum of x1 link per type per section, e.g. linking the word [[Steam]] only once per |introduction, subsequent mentions of Steam within the section should be unlinked.
Introduction is designed to be freeform and so the template is a guideline, and sometimes paragraphs can be combined, e.g. |release history and |current state could have overlapping content that can be combined into a single paragraph in either field.
Separate paragraphs where appropriate for the sake of readability and style, e.g. technical reception might be its own full paragraph, or modding might be its own full paragraph depending on how much there is to state on the matter.
Genres/taxonomy tags can be linked to by transcluding the underlying glossary page for that term, as this: action (source: {{Glossary:Action}}). This will create a category link with a tooltip of the genre/taxonomy definition. The tag is automatically shown in lowercase unless its an abbreviation such as MMORPG (source: {{Glossary:MMORPG}}).

Avoid

Extended plot details - for example Maneater can be described as a game where the player controls a shark - this is concise gameplay information. However, we don't need to know that the plot is about killing the fisherman who killed the protaganist's mother.
Celebrities - article does not need to state that Norman Reedus stars in Death Stranding. However it would be relevant to include details about the game's creator Hideo Kojima, and how the game related to other games he has created like Metal Gear Solid.
Consoles - it is not necessary to go into a lot of detail about individual console releases, you can refer to them as generic 'consoles'. The exception to this is when referring to PC-relevant specific features like cross-platform play where one might refer to PC and Xbox One cross-platform play.

Introduction section

Syntax

{{Introduction
|introduction      = 

|release history   = 

|current state     = 

}}

Examples

See list of pages using the template.

introduction

The introduction parameter may cover such things as:

A basic introduction to the game, its modes/perspectives/genres/series, and which studios developed and published it.
- Reference taxonomies using {{Glossary:XXX}}, such as {{Glossary:FPS}}, as this will automatically create a link to the taxonomy category as well as add an short definition of the tag on mouse hover, e.g. FPS.
This row has a basic structure that is autofilled, as long as the modes/perspectives/genres/series is entered into {{Infobox game}} with the relevant Taxonomy rows, however it should be overridden where possible.
Common examples:
- Gamename is a taxonomy/perspective/mode/genre etc. featuring key/unique gameplay features developed by company published by company.
- Game is a sequel/prequel in the series or related series or is a spiritual successor.
- Game uses engine plus any noteworthy engine information compared to other entries in the series.
- Game is important/noteworthy for any other reason.

release history

The release history parameter may cover such things as:

Noteworthy information about the initial release of the game on PC, on which platform(s) it were released on, and how the reception of the PC version was.
- It may also describe the reception to the game on a technical level with quotes/references, e.g. it was a good/bad port, it had X issue on launch. This may include critic reviews.
- As PCGamingWiki focuses on the technical aspect of PC games, general "Wikipedia-style" information should not be included, e.g. how reviewers found the game/gameplay itself, and what they liked/criticized — that sort of information is not within the scope of the site.
Noteworthy information leading up to the initial release, such as pre-release information, early access, crowdfunding, closed beta, or similar.
Any subsequent platform (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG etc.) the game was released on and when, and noteworthy things about that platform release, such as if it experienced any release delays or technical issues, or technical or content differences from the existing releases.
The section can also include noteworthy historical information such as:
- Account/concurrent user milestones (only include if describing a game that is primarily multiplayer, no more than 2 sentences)
- Major bugs
- Inability to access the game (e.g. server queues, delays etc.)
- DRM history and changes
- Missing advertised features
- Features missing from console counterpart
- Missing endings, content that has been notably cut. These should be described in a neutral way, avoid using terms like 'censorship' which are charged descriptions.
- Whether any of these problems were fixed.
Common examples:
- Game was first released on platform on date.
- Launch was successful/had issues

current state

The current state parameter may cover such things as:

Current major issues that have not been resolved yet.
Updates/support that the game receives, if it is regularly updated technically (patches etc.) or content (DLC, expansions, microtransactions or free content updates). Roadmap of future content or features.
Multiplayer situation, such as updates on number of current players, possibility of finding games, etc.
Modding scene, if there are any official tools, how are mods distributed?
Improvements such as essential mods or quality of life improvements, with a link to any relevant sections covered further below on the article.