User:Randomran/VG

Wikipedia:Notability (video game) covers the general notability of computer and video games, including game elements such as characters, items and places within a work of fiction.

Games
A game is considered notable if it meets the general notability guideline: the game has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent from the game/developer/publisher and reliable. This criterion includes published works in all forms, such as newspaper articles, books, magazine articles, and television documentaries except for the following:
 * Media reprints of press releases from the game developer or publisher.
 * Works comprising merely trivial coverage, such as game articles that simply report the developer and release date.
 * An article in a school or university newspaper (or similar) would generally be considered trivial but should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

This required coverage is more likely for console releases than personal computer releases, since personal computer games can be programmed without acquiring any licence from a major console manufacturer. Online games are more likely to be notable if they have a higher subscriber base, but browser-based flash games are often non-notable. Homebrew, shareware, and freeware games are unlikely to be notable.

Remakes of notable games are not notable if they lack enough unique content that would require them to have their own articles. This content should have real-world significance and not be limited to new in-game features or rules. Further, writing about rule changes based on experience playing the original game and remake constitutes original research, while listing minor in-game differences qualifies as trivia; both should be strictly avoided.

Mods
A video game mod is considered notable if it meets any one of the following criteria:


 * 1) It has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent from the game/developer/publisher and reliable.
 * 2) * This criterion includes published works in all forms, such as newspaper articles, books, magazine articles, and television documentaries except for the following:
 * 3) ** Media reprints of press releases from the game developer or publisher.
 * 4) ** Works comprising merely trivial coverage, such as game articles that simply report the developer and release date.
 * 5) ** An article in a school or university newspaper (or similar) would generally be considered trivial but should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
 * 6) It has won an annual editor's choice or player's choice award at Mod DB.

Other aspects of games
Any other aspect of video games will be considered notable if it meets the general notability guideline: the game has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent from the game/developer/publisher and reliable. This criterion includes published works in all forms, such as newspaper articles, books, magazine articles, and television documentaries except for the following:
 * Media reprints of press releases from the game developer or publisher.
 * Works comprising merely trivial coverage, such as game articles that simply report the developer and release date.
 * An article in a school or university newspaper (or similar) would generally be considered trivial but should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

In cases where a notable article will only consist of a stub, or substantially most of the article will be similar to another article, it is appropriate to merge the article into a related article.

What to do with non-notable game topics
If consensus on a game element is that it is of unproven notability, editors should seek to retain the information where it can improve the encyclopedia. Such coverage may be placed as part of the main article on the game itself, or if better suited, an article on another, notable element of the game. If this makes the main article too long, per Wikipedia's article size guidelines, then there are several steps to consider:
 * Trim away unnecessary material to reduce the size of the article. The approach to covering non-notable fictional elements is more fully described in Manual of Style (Writing about Fiction), but in general, non-notable fictional elements should only be given sufficient information for the reader to understand its relationship within the entire work.
 * Transwiki material that may be of trivial, or of only highly detailed interest, to the general reader. It is still appropriate to leave some mention of non-notable elements within the Wikipedia article, while linking to the other wiki for more details.
 * Merge coverage of less-notable elements to into a list article as described below.