Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Newsletter/20200705/Feature

Feature: Let's mention the Request board

 *  Submitted by  ias :postb□x 

WikiProject Video games (WP:VG) has a page named "WikiProject Video games/Requests", also known as the "Request board", where users can request a video game article to be created. The request entry must meet the inclusion criteria, and should be accompanied by independent reliable sources that significantly cover the topic represented in the entry. If it doesn't meet the notability criterion, then it will be deleted, and users are encouraged to work on an article named on the project's to do list. However, such a formerly non-notable article will become more notable enough in the future when more reliable sources report on the subject. After the request is created, then the user may remove the entry from the list. The user will optionally sign his/their/her requests because it helps people notify the one who added the requests.

The Request board was created on April 4, 2006 by a user named CyberSkull, with an alphabetical list of several entries including Microsoft Flight Simulator X (created by Caleb09 on June 19, 2006), Barcode Battler (created by Cpuwhiz11 on July 18, 2006), and Psycho Soldier (created by Nall on April 15, 2006); these days the list isn't alphabetical, it's arranged by dates. On of the top of the page was a link that directed users to edit the source of the page; that link has now evolved to "Click here to request a video game article.". One of the entries listed in this first revision, GT Advance Championship Racing (created by Fableheroesguild on April 23, 2006), became a good article (GA) on February 22, 2008 due to the efforts of Nomader; his GAN was reviewed and promoted by David Fuchs one day after a WikiProject peer review. Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device is now a redirect to Cathode-ray tube amusement device, a good article. Gamer Unlimited (an article deleted on September 3, 2005 by Tony Sidaway per a Votes for deletion page) was accompanied by a source, which was the website gamerunlimited.com, but others didn't have sources to accompany the request. Some entries were accompanied by reasons why they were requested to be made; for example Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom (created on August 21, 2006 by PresN) has one with "Myst-like adventure game from the mid-90's", meaning that Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom is an adventure video game released in 1995 with similarities to the seminal 1993 computer game Myst. Metal Max (created by Y control on April 10, 2006) and Mytharria (deleted by Juliancolton in 2009 due to a PROD stating that it lacked notability) were the first two entries to be removed from the page; the removals were done by Andrevan on April 14, 2006. Black Lotus (Command and Conquer: Generals) was created when CyberSkull started the Request board, but was deleted shortly afterward on April 4, 2006 by Brookie with a reason: "Nonsense as no context and NN". ("NN" means "Non-Notable")

Back then there wasn't much stringent rules on requests as there is now; in 2006, the basics were needed to make an article exist. From there, the standards were raised significantly, so that meant what was a professionally written article about something worthwhile in the past hasn't been updated much since then and as a result is now simply some brief information with prose reminiscent of a start-up effort struggling for recognition, unless it's rewritten to comply with modern standards. The 2010s were full of re-evaluations of how good an requested article is, so ultimately you now see this text in the Request board that says:

If you think an article about video games should be added to Wikipedia and know that it meets the inclusion criteria above, please list it below with URL links to the reliable sources that prove its notability (e.g., reviews or dedicated coverage from IGN or Polygon, but not forum posts, blogs without a professional staff, or the official website of the subject).

That's the text, this is where the expected and necessary quality of the requested article is at now. The page also tells you that you can read Articles for creation for more information about this whole "request" thing. And there's a template of the top of the Request board page now that says the page has a backlog wanting attention from editors. We currently have to consider the inclusion criteria and several reliable sources with significant notable coverage as an utmost requirement, because there must be energy that keeps the article going. When we do this properly, we're lucky. A decent example of a recent request that has now become a GA is 868-HACK, it was created on June 21, 2017 by Zxcvbnm (who received an interview in the previous issue of this gaming-themed wiki-newspaper), and it has turned into a GA a few months ago because of the work of CAPTAIN MEDUSA; she successful nominated it for GA status back in 2019 and it was reviewed by Kingsif, who promoted it to GA-class on January 6, 2020. It has also appeared on the Did you know (DYK) section of the Wikipedia main page on January 30, 2020, saying "Did you know ...that the player controls a smiley face in 868-HACK?". (here's how it became a DYK) I think it's a good idea we can improve requested articles beyond simply creating them, we can take them to featured article (FA) status with enough skills, and possibly it can be maintained well.

If you study something like Writing better articles and extensively research the request you're creating, then quality is expected. Still, that isn't the end. Currently a lot a requests ranging from 2017 to this year are waiting for somebody to start the articles. As an option, you can do multiple requests at a time, yet you should be careful though. The standards have still been updated since 2017 and continue to grow over time, so please consider that high quality is what you should do when doing these requests, and experience is also helpful. You have to check out and read a lot of sources, and you have to make sure the articles can end up being created on good notes.

For more information about the Request board, see WikiProject Video games/Newsletter/20101022/Feature.