Wikipedia:WikiProject Square Enix/Style advice

The following is a style guide for Final Fantasy related articles. For general article guidelines, see Manual of Style.

The following is a style guide for editors who contribute to Final Fantasy-related articles and identify themselves as part of WikiProject Final Fantasy. Please remember, this is simply a guide, and may change depending on Wikipolicy or participant consensus. Additionally, all Wikipedia policies must be followed; there is no exception.

Participants may quote this style guide by using the numerical system in effect (e.g. 3.1.7)

  Please consult the style guide's talk page before making any changes below, and develop a good participant consensus.

Article naming

Please refer to the official style guide for article naming.

General

1. If possible, make the title the subject of the first sentence of the article (as opposed to putting it in the predicate). In any case, the title should appear as early as possible in the article — preferably in the first sentence.
2. The first time the title is mentioned in the article, put it in bold using three apostrophes. Here's an example: '''article title''' produces article title. Do not put links in the title.
3. Do not capitalize second and subsequent words unless the title is a proper noun (such as a name) or is otherwise almost always capitalized (for example: Cloud Strife, but Buster sword).
4. In general only create page titles that are in the singular (Key item not Key items).
5. Except in titles of works or in official names, avoid the definite ("the") and indefinite ("a"/"an") articles at the beginning of a page name. This applies even if the subject of the page is usually preceded by the definite article "the" in speech or writing: Thus, for example, City of the Ancients is preferred over The City of the Ancients.
6. If names are common (e.g. Lulu) we must apply a tag in parathesis. Tag the article name with the title the subject is originally related to, or where he/she first featured (e.g. Lulu (Final Fantasy X)), or, if the subject appears across titles, use (Final Fantasy) (e.g. Cid (Final Fantasy))

Character profiles

1. Each character profile page uses a template specific to the title the character appears in. For a full list of titles, see WPFF Templates.

Lists

1. A list article's title should be descriptive of the article's content.
2. Lists should be named "List of...". (e.g. List of Final Fantasy titles)

Article introduction

1. In every article there should be a lead section that gives a brief description of what the subject of the article is, or what the article is about. See WP:LEAD for further details.
2. The first mention of the subject of the article should be in bold, and italicized thereafter if applicable.
3. The first sentence should include the subject of the article and describe what the article is in a bare-bones way so a user can easily understand whether they have found the right article or not.
4. The lead section includes only very minor spoilers, if any.

General rules

1. All Wikipedia policies must be followed, especially those outlined at attribution, which states that material should be attributable to a reliable source. In video gaming, this includes sites like IGN, GameSpot, magazine and newspaper articles, strategy guides, and, when necessary, the game script. Please read the policy carefully.
2. Always consider notability (general importance) of a piece of information before adding it to an article. As a general-purpose encyclopedia, Wikipedia is not the ideal place to include any possible information that could be considered useful. Consider using the Final Fantasy wiki on Wikicities for indepth information.
3. Always italicise any Final Fantasy title mentioned in the game, or the name Final Fantasy itself.
4. Album titles should placed in italics.
5. Song titles should be placed in "double quotes".
6. Character names, production staff or other names should not be italicised unless used to highlight them.
7. A wikilink only needs to appear in the article once - at the first mention. (e.g. if Cloud Strife is linked early on, it does not need to be linked anywhere else in the article)
   1. The only exception to this rule is when using the following templates: {{details}}, {{main}}, {{further}} and {{see also}}.
8. In general, abbreviations or other shorthand should be avoided.
   1. When referring to Final Fantasy V, spell out the full title of the game, and do not abbreviate it as FFV or FF5.
   2. PS2 should be PlayStation 2.
   3. The same goes for role-playing game abbreviated as RPG. Even though most editors will likely understand what you mean, Wikipedia is a general interest encyclopedia, and the casual user may not be familiar enough with gaming terminology to make sense of what many of us take for granted.
9. Games in the Final Fantasy series are numbered using Roman numerals, not Arabic numerals. In other words, you should refer to Final Fantasy IX, not Final Fantasy 9.
10. Articles should be categorized in the correct subcategory of Category:Final Fantasy. Remember, categories are inherited: an article placed in Category:Final Fantasy gameplay does not also need to be placed in Category:Final Fantasy, with exceptions handled on a case by case basis.
    1. When you upload a Final Fantasy image or music sample, you should place it in Category:Final Fantasy media. Limit use of music or image samples: Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia, and should not be using excessive non-free content.
11. Per consensus, Spoiler warnings will not be used for any article associated with this WikiProject.

Specific article types

Game articles

1. All game articles are named Final Fantasy ??, where ?? is the numeral of the game in question (usually the capitalised Roman numeral, e.g., Final Fantasy VIII)
2. The lead paragraph(s) include the name of the title, bold and italicized, and a declaration that it is made by Square Enix, Square Soft, etc., depending upon the nature of the company at the time of release
   (e.g. Final Fantasy VII is a role-playing video game released by Square Co., Ltd. in 1997.)
   1. This is followed by concise general interest information such as the game's sales reception, innovative features and cultural references, if they can be identified (all of these can be expanded on later in the article).
3. The following is a general subsection skeleton for game articles, with optional subheadings.

• Gameplay
• Plot

• Setting
• Characters
• Story

• Development
• Audio
• Re-releases/Spinoffs
• Merchandise
• Reception and criticism
• See also
• Notes and/or references
• External links

1. This order may be rearranged depending on the article and the situation.
2. Articles conclude with two navigational aid templates and a list of categories.
   1. The first navigation aid is the title template, named after the shortform of the game title (e.g., {{FFVII}} or {{FFX}}).
   2. The second is series template, {{Final Fantasy series}}.
3. Finally, categorise the article appropriately, primarily listing categories for the title itself, the computer and video games category of the year of release, and the category(ies) of the platform(s) on which the title has been released.

Collective character articles

1. Articles are named Characters of Final Fantasy ?, where ? is the Roman numeral of the game being described.
2. Add the character article template ({{Final Fantasy characters}}) at the top of the page; it will auto-format.
3. Split the article into eight sections:
   • Creation and influences
   • Main playable characters
   • Other major characters
   • Minor characters
   • Cultural impact
     • Merchandise
     • Reception and criticism
   • See also
   • Notes and/or references
   • External links

An external link to the Final Fantasy Wikia's category on the specific game's characters should be provided.

1. Playable characters should have an acceptable image and a succinct summary of their role in the plot. Image alignment may vary according to the requirements of the page. If the summary of relevant, encyclopedic information grows too large and out of universe information is available, the character may be split to its own article (in which case direct the reader to the main page using the {{main|character_name}} template, placed at the start of the character's summary). This should be used sparingly and only where applicable.
2. Other major characters mainly consist of a just a suitable summary. If the character is a primary antagonist or otherwise particularly important, an image may be added. It is generally unlikely that other major characters would require a separate article, mainly because of the lack of out of universe information available for most Final Fantasy topics.
3. Minor characters are listed with a short summary and invariably require neither images nor separate articles. Extremely minor characters should not be mentioned whatsoever.
4. These general character articles should not be exhaustive, particularly in the latter two sections. As always, material must be attributed to reliable sources, whether it be interviews about character creation, game script, character information in strategy guides or manuals, and magazine articles.
5. For every character section, list the character's name in bold lettering the first time it appears in the article.

Location/Setting articles

1. Articles are named World of Final Fantasy ?, where ? is the Roman numeral of the game being described.
2. Add the settings and locations template ({{Final Fantasy locations}}) at the top of the page, it will auto-format.
3. An image of the game's world map should appear after the introductory paragraph(s).
4. When creating a new entry, bold the first mention of the term as you would with a regular article.
5. Split the article into the following sections, or variations thereof:
   • Creation and influences
   • Geography (can be placed in the lead section if short)
   • Creatures and races
   • History
   • Reception and criticism
   • See also
   • Notes and/or references
   • External links

An external link to the Final Fantasy Wikia's category on the specific game's locations should be provided.

Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia

Therefore, articles should be encyclopaedic.

1. When referring to the player of a game, use the player instead of you. A person may read the article with no intention of ever playing the game in his life.
2. Wikipedia is not GameFAQs:
   1. For example, Vincent Valentine should not include his stat levels, his weapon guide or how he is obtained as a character out of encyclopaedic terms.
   2. For example, we should not include how to achieve Barret as a date at Gold Saucer.
3. Articles should not be a collection of quotes, cheats, or external links.
4. Try to organize information and topics so that it ensures real-world coverage throughout (thereby establishing notability). For example, if you can only find a couple sentences worth of real-world information for each main character of a game, then everything belongs in a cast of characters article to ensure encyclopedic coverage. Plot/character/gameplay summaries can be consolidated with the help of a good writer, so there is no true excuse for lengthy in-universe subarticles.

Fair use rationale

This is intended as a quick and simple guide to upholding the claims of fair use of media in our project articles. Please correct any errors and omissions, and update to reflect current Wikipedia policy.

Images

1. If slightly modified (cropping, brightness adjustment) but still not damaging the original art, fair use may still be claimed.
2. You can't change seriously a copyrighted image without the author's permission and then, again, you have rights only on the modifications themselves, not on the image as a whole.
3. No more than 5 fair use illustrations or photographs from the same artist can be used in a work.
4. For published collective works (a game like Final Fantasy is a collective work, not just one person's own) no more than 10% or 15 images from the original whichever is least (15 images in our case).
5. They must be low resolution (image size) and at 72 pixels/inch, to be certain that someone could not use them as piracy.
   1. For example, an image exactly the same resolution as, say, an original movie poster could easily be used for piracy .
6. Most images must be accompanied by a commentary:
   1. Cover art - Cover art from various items, for identification and critical commentary (not for identification without critical commentary).
   2. Team and corporate logos - for identification. See Wikipedia:Logos
   3. Other promotional material - such as posters, programs, billboards, ads, for critical commentary.
   4. Film and television stills - for critical commentary and discussion of cinematic and televisual history.
   5. Screen shots from software products - for critical commentary.
   6. Paintings and other works of visual art - for critical commentary, including images illustrative of a particular technique or school.
   7. Publicity photos - for identification. See Wikipedia:Publicity photos

Audio

1. Audio samples should be at most 30 seconds or 10% of the original, whichever is least.
2. For an album, the same rule applies and 30 seconds should not be exceeded for the whole album.
3. The sample should preserve the same value as the original, not adding your own material or modyfing it in a way that its not recognizable.
4. A sample should not contain the heart of the work, such as a famous guitar solo in a song.

External link guidelines

The following are types of external links permitted on Final Fantasy articles:

1. Official websites per WP:EL 3.1(1) - the media's website, if not the organization's website,
2. Open wikis that follow WP:EL 4.0(12) - key words are: 1.stable, 2.active, and 3.comprehensive,
3. Official resources following WP:EL 3.1(3) - related to the organization responsible for the media.