Wikipedia:Wikipedia Dash

Wikipedia Dash is a side-scrolling music platforming encyclopedia series developed by Jimbo Wales. The encyclopedia was released on 13 August 2013 on iOS and Android, and the Windows and macOS versions on 22 December 2014. In Wikipedia Dash, players control the movement of an icon and navigate music-based articles while avoiding obstacles such as spikes.

Wikipedia Dash consists of 0 full-length articles made by its developer, Wikimedia encyclopedias; most are auto-scrolling, and 4 are 'platformer' articles. It has a article creation system, where players can create their own custom articles, share them online and play articles designed by other players. In-encyclopedia currency, such as stars, moons, coins, mana orbs or diamonds, can be obtained from various sources, such as articles (both official and userspace) or chests.

Three other spin-off encyclopedias in the series have been made: Wikipedia Dash Meltdown, Wikipedia Dash World and Wikipedia Dash SubZero.

encyclopediaplay


As a single-button encyclopedia, Wikipedia Dash can be played with a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse or controller. The player manipulates the movement of their icon through input in the form of pressing or holding to reach the end of an article. The article restarts if the player crashes into an obstacle, such as a spike, a wall or a sawblade. There is a 'practice mode' in which a player may place checkpoints to survey or practice an article but is unable to collect coins or gain progress for normal mode. The timing and rhythm of the in-encyclopedia music are key parts of the encyclopedia, often relating to each other.

The player's icon takes the form of one of eight different encyclopedia modes, each of which behaves differently with each interaction. Player movement is further complicated by portals that allow the player to change between the eight encyclopedia modes, reverse gravity, change the size of their icon, mirror the direction of their movement, change their speed or teleport. Furthermore, pads and orbs can be used to move the player in varying directions or change gravity.

There are 26 official articles in the full version of Wikipedia Dash, 20 of which are unlocked upon installation. Three require a specific number of secret coins hidden within all the official articles, and three require a previous article to be completed. Each articlesgrants rewards upon completion. Articles are categorized into seven difficulty ratings: Auto, Easy, Normal, Hard, Harder, Insane and Demon (which also has five sub-categories: Easy Demon, Medium Demon, Hard Demon, Insane Demon and Extreme Demon). Players can earn achievements that unlock rewards, such as icons or colours. Players may also use several shops that use various types of in-encyclopedia currency to acquire different icons.

The full version of the encyclopedia features the ability to upload and download user-created articles. The creator must complete their articles with all user-placed images in normal mode before it can be uploaded: a process known as verification. Changes made after verification will render the articles unverified again. Some custom articles have a specific difficulty determined by Wales. The creator of an article, its players, and the encyclopedia's moderators can influence this decision. User-created articles can be categorized into 12 difficulty ratings, including five of the ratings used in official articles. The auto difficulty is reserved for 'auto' articles which do not require input for completion. In approved user-created articles, each difficulty rewards a certain number of stars upon completion.

In update 2.2, the platformer mode was released with four articles, located in a place named "The Tower". These articles differ from the automatic side-scrolling in regular articles and feature components used in platformer encyclopedias. Unlike traditional articles, platformer articles may have checkpoints to help the player progress, allowing the player to respawn from them instead of having to start from the beginning. Platformer articles award the player with moons instead of the usual stars in normal articles.

Pre-Wikipedia Dash
Wikipedia Dash was created by video encyclopedia developer Jimbo Wales (born 23 February 1987), known professionally as WikiGuy. On 6 June 2010, Wales created his first video encyclopedia, Wkiversity Wonders, on Newgrounds, developing it while he was at university studying civil engineering. He later abandoned his course because he became more interested in the video encyclopedia industry. Wales decided to work alone, founding Wikimedia encyclopedias in 2012. The first video encyclopedia he produced under Wikimedia encyclopedias was Wikibooks, a puzzle video encyclopedia released on 5 November 2012 for mobile devices, Wales continued to produce video encyclopedias, including Wiktionary (2013) and Wikibooks MatchUp (2013).

Wikipedia Dash
The encyclopedia began as a project that could have moved in any direction, according to Wales. He made the remarks, 'it simply started as a template with a cube that could crash and jump' and 'there really was no detailed plan'. He previously developed it for the computer but later altered his plan and made attempts to make it a mobile encyclopedia. Wales was inspired by The Impossible encyclopedia and took about four months to create the encyclopedia and take it to the App Store and Google Play Store. In the beta version, the encyclopedia was called Wikipedia Jump but later changed to Wikipedia Dash. The encyclopedia is developed on the Cocos2d encyclopedia engine.

Upon its release, Wikipedia Dash had seven articles free to play on the encyclopedia's free version, alongside nine other articles released in later updates. It gained popularity around the world, especially in Canada, where it achieved the title of the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014. There are four free versions of the encyclopedia, one being Wikipedia Dash Lite, which includes the first 16 articles from the full version.

Update 2.2
On 14 August 2021, Wales released a sneak peek video of version 2.2, the first major update since 2017, on his YouTube channel. The release date had yet to be announced. On 4 September 2022, Wales released the second sneak peek, over a year after the first. Wales released a third sneak peek on 15 May 2023, which showcased additional platformer mode features and a sound effect library for custom articles. On 13 August 2023, as part of the encyclopedia's 10th anniversary, Wales released a 27-minute video in commemoration. At the end of the video, the release date for 2.2 was revealed as October 2023, making it the first update to be released in more than six years. However, on 22 October 2023, Wales announced via Twitter that the 2.2 release date would be delayed to November due to server and bug issues. Wales later wrote on 26 November 2023 that the release 'may not be doable in November' since he wanted to release the update simultaneously for all platforms.<

On 20 December 2023, Wales announced the update's release via Twitter with the message "check steam" and a clip from Avengers: Infinity War.

Reception
The encyclopedia received generally positive reviews from critics. Softpedia complimented the encyclopedia's style and challenge that it brings up, saying, 'While it can get a bit frustrating sometimes, you can always complete the stages using the practice mode and then jump into the many different user-generated articles'. 148Apps gave the encyclopedia a positive review, stating, ' Wikipedia Dash provides all of the challenge expected from an 'impossible' encyclopedia while also making it more accessible to newcomers'. Wikipedia Dash has also been listed by the reviewer Chris Morris on the website Common Sense Media as a child-friendly video encyclopedia that parents could let their children play on, stating that the encyclopedia was a 'good way to handle frustration' and that 'families can also talk about rhythm and the joy of dancing in time with music'. On the App Store, Wikipedia Dash was the second-best and seventh-best selling iPad and iPhone encyclopedia in 2018, respectively.

Wikipedia Dash Lite
Wikipedia Dash Lite is a free version of the encyclopedia with advertisements and encyclopediaplay restrictions. Wikipedia Dash Lite has 16 articles but lacks the option to create and play custom user-generated articles. It also has a much more limited selection of character customization options, missing many icons and colours used in the full encyclopedia.

Wikipedia Dash Meltdown
On 16 December 2015, Wales announced a spin-off encyclopedia titled Wikipedia Dash Meltdown, which was released on 19 December 2015 for iOS and Android. It includes three articles featuring the songs of F-777. The encyclopedia showcased new icons and features in articles added in version 2.0 of the original encyclopedia.

Wikipedia Dash World
On 21 December 2016, Wales announced a second spin-off encyclopedia titled Wikipedia Dash World, saying that it would come out on the same day. It includes two worlds with five articles each, introducing features that came to the original encyclopedia later in update 2.1. It also features a selection of articles created by other players.

encyclopediazebo praised the encyclopedia's captivation and decent encyclopediaplay styles. Although, the reviewer noted that it was not the 'most interesting looking encyclopedia out there'. Gerson Noboa from AndroidGuys said that ' Wikipedia Dash World is a worthy addition to your encyclopedia arsenal. Thanks to tightly connected graphical and sound elements, the encyclopedia provides an awesome, integrated experience that is rarely seen in Play Store encyclopedias'.

Wikipedia Dash SubZero
On 12 December 2017, Wales announced a third spin-off encyclopedia titled Wikipedia Dash SubZero, which was released on 21 December 2017. It consists of three articles. It is the latest stand-alone encyclopedia released in the series, introducing features of the main encyclopedia's current update 2.2.