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Next step: C-class Article Improvement Drive[edit]

With all the start-class articles pushed to C outside of a few lists we're still figuring out, we're moving onward and going to try and bring those C-class articles to B or higher! While this may seem daunting, consider the fact that we're almost halfway there as is. Reaching there, by the end of the year, is entirely tangible if we work together!

So to that end, Cukie has set up a list of all the C-class articles by game here: User:Cukie Gherkin/B drive

We can use this section here to develop ideas on how to approach the articles, consider any that may be worth merging, or sources that may help across the board in certain genres. We pulled off something pretty major with the previous articles: I don't think in the history of the VG project as a whole has there been no Start-class character articles overall. If that doesn't fill you with pride I don't know what will. Kung Fu Man (talk) 17:41, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

At some point in the future, I'd be willing to work with someone to improve Aloy. It's been on my to do list for awhile. -- ZooBlazer 19:46, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Two thoughts:
Shooterwalker (talk) 19:41, 22 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I know, unfortunately there's been a mixed issue with Lord British where people have been uncertain where to merge it, and trying to brute force the Ultima Online incident as making him notable.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 04:56, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The good news is there are 300 other character articles to work on. When there is no consensus, sometimes editing (or the lack thereof) allows a consensus to form. Shooterwalker (talk) 17:55, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's what I'm thinking. At some point people will have to look at the quality gap and go "why can't this improve farther"?--Kung Fu Man (talk) 23:41, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Two things: y'all might want to pin this discussion so it doesn't get archived, and for motivation's sake you should note how many C-class articles there were at the start of this drive (currently, there's 280 C-class). Happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 22:53, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A little over a month later, y'all are now at 261 C-class articles. SilverTiger12 (talk) 19:24, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Pro-Tip: How to not have "Portrayed by" take priority over "Voiced by"[edit]

So for those of you working on character articles, you probably have noticed if the character you're working on appeared in a live action adaptation of the related work and you add that to the infobox, it takes priority over the voice actors. That's usually less than ideal, as most people's introduction to these characters are going to be through their voice.

So here's a workaround: 

lbl1 = Voiced by
data1 = soandso
lbl2 = Portrayed by
data2 = soandso

With this setup, "Voiced by" will appear above "Portrayed by". Keep in mind if you have a motion capture actor listed, you'll want to make that one lbl2/data2 and the portrayed param #3 instead, otherwise the motion actor will appear above these. Kung Fu Man (talk) 10:47, 20 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Notification[edit]

Just letting everyone know that the main Video Games project is considering trying to get Mario to GA. The discussion is here. QuicoleJR (talk) 14:00, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Development info and the subject of notability[edit]

This is a subject I've been thinking about, but a lot of our notability standards rely on notability: showing that there is some degree of reaction or commentary on the design or character itself, usually in a varied manner and to a significant degree.

But we've also seen cases where development info on how a character was made through articles devoted to the subject have counted as SIGCOV, and it's led me to wonder just how much that can apply in the long run to notability. Like does it extend to third party artbooks? Magazine articles where character designs are explored? Obvious a reception section is still a necessity, but how could such make up for this content in a way we'd all be satisfied with? Kung Fu Man (talk) 23:15, 5 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Art books in the sense of books that license the IP and showcase the art from a game are useful for getting some insight into the creation, but not independent enough from the game and its creators to do anything for notability, the same way that a dev log doesn't count toward meeting GNG. A book, magazine, web source, etc, independently discussing and analyzing the art is a different story.--AlexandraIDV 23:48, 5 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's what I mean more like a Japanese artbook going into a blow by blow as to why things were made a certain way, or stuff like Undisputed Street Fighter as a book discussing character origins (Zxcvbnm mentioned that before, and at the time I was dismissive but I can see some merit in retrospect).--Kung Fu Man (talk) 23:58, 5 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The trouble is, finding development info these days is even harder than it is to find good reception for most characters. But in the rare case a character gets really good and detailed development info, I think that can make up for reception that is more on the lackluster side, just as long its published by third-party sources. MoonJet (talk) 13:12, 6 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's great how ambitious this group is. But as I've tried to remind people in the past, reception sections are not the only route to notability. It's generally the most common/easy path to it. But all we need is significant coverage from third party sources, and enough content to warrant a split from the game. It should be meaningful, but it can take any form, as long as it's from a third party. Concept/creation coverage is no more or less valid than anything else. Sergecross73 msg me 21:13, 6 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It would be rare to see an independent source cover the making of a character if they didn't also say something about why that character was important. Still, the key is the independence of the source. I agree with people who say that a licensed guide or behind the scenes is basically a devlog with higher production value. Shooterwalker (talk) 19:32, 7 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Task force importance ratings[edit]

Hey y'all, NegativeMP1 asked on Discord if I could set you guys up with task force importance ratings, so I've done so! Adding e.g. |characters-importance=Mid to the talk page template will add articles to the correct category of Category:Video game characters articles by importance; right now I stuck Doomguy as Mid to test it. The User:WP 1.0 bot/Tables/Project/Video game characters table should update with them the next time the bot runs. Let me know if you want me to change or revert anything! --PresN 17:26, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Importance ratings

I feel like we should have a discussion about how important a character must be for each level of importance. I feel like several characters have been listed higher than they deserve, and I have already reduced the level of a few. Many characters who were listed as Mid-Importance should be knocked down to Low, and there are likely a few in Low that can be brought up to Mid. Keep in mind that Low is the default, and Top, High, and Mid are all above average. Pinging @Cukie Gherkin and Greenish Pickle!: as participants in a previous discussion on the latter's talk page. QuicoleJR (talk) 00:09, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I don't mind the discussion, but I also want to caution not getting too "obsessed" (for lack of a better word) with where things land. I think it can prove to be too great a distraction, especially when the purpose of this is to help find important articles to improve. - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 00:12, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I know this is Mii thing again. It is not a "top" importance. I feel like you have a personal bias going here, but no. I also thought that it should be actually "mid" not "high", but I think rating it as high would be fine? Greenish Pickle! (🔔) 00:15, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I also disagree with Samus being ranked so low. She's quite well-known and a highly influential character overall. In terms of Video Games characters, I'd say Top Importance is justified. Has one ever considered Magneton? Pokelego999 (talk) 00:18, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That is not the reason I started this discussion. The Mid-Importance and Low-Importance sections should not be the same size. Besides, the main project has a guideline for importance, and I think it would be useful here as well. QuicoleJR (talk) 00:43, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I was planning on starting a discussion for this before too long. Gonna chip in with my own opinions on how to assess importance in this regard:
  • Top: Iconic to millions beyond gaming, and easily recognizable to a gamer of any sort. Could also be applied to characters that were influential to the gaming industry in terms of representation. This would be for characters like Mario, Sonic, Link, and Pac-Man.
  • High: Recognizable to most gamers or still known to general audience, but significantly less than ones at Top-importance. Could also be applied to characters that received vast amounts of critical acclaim. This would be for characters like Ellie (The Last of Us), Solid Snake, Doomguy, and Charizard.
  • Mid: Supporting characters in a larger franchise, main characters of a smaller game, or only known to a smaller audience. This would be for characters like Paimon (Genshin Impact), Raiden (Metal Gear), or the Arbiter (Halo).
  • Low: Extremely niche, not very well known characters. Too many examples to pick from.
Based on this criteria, I'd argue that Mii would be High, while Samus could be either High or Top. I want to know what y'all think of this. λ NegativeMP1 00:42, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That makes sense. I agree with those criteria. QuicoleJR (talk) 00:45, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I have a suggestion on this matter: omit Mid, and go with just Top, High and Low. Mid is going to be contentious because unlike Top and High there's not as much definition between it and High/Low, and it'll rely more on a user's own views and perspectives. High and Low by themselves are much easier to define.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 02:28, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Importance is a distraction. Mid is a fine importance level for any character to be at. Don't worry about it too much, we all know well how significant certain characters are to many of us. ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 07:26, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't quite realize until just now that this taskforce now has its own importance rating system separate from the general video game one. I don't think this adds anything to our project, and I think importance on WP:VG normal was clear enough as is. (Very fast and nice technical setup tho, PresN!) ~Maplestrip/Mable (chat) 08:59, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It feels a little redundant in most cases. I suppose there's not much harm in adding it, but if it becomes a distraction, we can discuss removing / merging it back to the main Wikiproject rating. Shooterwalker (talk) 16:40, 12 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Feel free, btw- it's easy to turn back off in the main WPVG template. I personally agree with KFM- "obviously super important", "important", and "the rest" makes sense to me for all projects, and any amount of time spent arguing over what bucket to put a start/C-class article into is wasted time. That in turn implies that arguing over what the buckets should be is also wasted time though, so, I'll leave it there. --PresN 23:04, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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