Help:Contents/Creating Articles

Should I Create This Article?
Only create an article if you have information to put on it. Don't make placeholder articles for games with no discoveries yet.

Also, don't create an article if the information you do have is trivial, such as a recently released update that fixes something nominal. TCRF isn't a race; we don't want either a "first edit!" attitude or a "we should have a page on Super Game 5!" attitude when it comes to new articles, because these lead to lots of very low-quality articles. This doesn't mean "don't make articles on anything new"; just don't jump in for the sake of it.

Creating Articles
Follow the steps below to begin creating an article.


 * 1) Search TCRF to see if someone has already made an article for the game.
 * 2) * You can use the Search box on the left sidebar, or click here.
 * 3) If there are no results, you will see a link that says "Create the page on this wiki!"
 * 4) * (Example)
 * 5) Click the red link, and you will arrive at an edit screen where you can begin creating your article.
 * 6) * (Example)
 * 7) Use the "Show preview" button below the Edit Summary box to preview your changes before clicking "Save page".
 * 8) * Please try to add or edit as much as possible before saving the page so you don't spam the Recent Changes page and IRC channel with notifications.
 * 9) Use the Edit Summary box to describe what you added or edited.
 * 10) * Example: "Added debug menu screenshot."

Titles
When choosing a title...


 * 1) Use the proper name for the game.
 * 2) * Example: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
 * 3) If the game was released on multiple platforms under the same title, add the platform to the title in parentheses.
 * 4) * Example: Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
 * 5) Use the American title for the game.
 * 6) * Example: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
 * 7) If the game was not released in the USA, use the Japanese title.
 * 8) * Example: BS Zelda: Inishie no Sekiban
 * 9) If the game was released in Europe but not the USA, use the European title.
 * 10) * Example: Mr. Gimmick

Redirects
Sometimes a game has more than one commonly-known name. For example, Doubutsu no Mori was only released in Japan, but English-speaking fans call the game Animal Forest. You can create a redirect, so people searching for "Animal Forest" will get to the article for Doubutsu no Mori. Add the following code to an article to create a redirect:

For example, you can add #REDIRECT Doubutsu no Mori to the Animal Forest page.

NOTE: Please don't create unnecessary redirects for uncommon misspellings or extreme abbreviations of game titles (ex: YI -> Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island).

Table of Contents
A table of contents will automatically be added to the page when there are four or more sections. However, if you need to put code directly underneath the TOC for page formatting purposes (e.g. 

), place the following code between the page intro (or bob, if there is no intro) and the first section heading:

Please do not manually add TOCs to short pages for any other reason.

Descriptions
Please put a short description of the game at the top of every article. TCRF does not require detailed summaries. A sentence is enough. If readers want to learn more about a game, they can visit Wikipedia.

Example:

Lufia II is an RPG for the SNES. It is actually a prequel to the first game in the series.

Bobs
Every article (except for articles about prototype games) needs a bob. A bob is a column with information about the game, including when it was released, its publisher, developer, and what kind of unused and debug content can be found on the article.

To create a bob, copy the code below and change the information to match your game. If your game doesn't have unused graphics, for example, simply delete the |graphics= yes line. You can see an example on the right.

If a game was released in two or more calendar years (such as 2011 and 2012), add |nocat=true to the later release dates.

Uploading Title Screens
Bobs need a picture of the game's title screen. Because you can't use box art or watermarked images from other websites, you will have to upload one. Title screenshots need to be taken with an emulator or in-game screenshot function at the game's native resolution. Visit Uploading Files for more information.

If you cannot take a title screenshot, delete this code from the bob:

The article will be added to the Missing Title Screen category. You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.

No Title Screen
If the game has no title screen, delete this code:

Then, add this code:

You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.

Arcade Games
If the game is an arcade game, delete this code from the bob:

Then, add this code:

You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.

BIOS Pages
If the article is about a BIOS, it will need a title screen, title, developer, publisher, system, release date, and a list of what unused content it contains. You can see an example on the right. Below is the code used to create this example.