A game article always starts with the game's full name in both italic and bold formatting. Every instance of the game's title must then be in italic formatting. (The introduction paragraph features the game's genres, console, announcement and release date, and which series it belongs to. It might also mention other related games, such as games it is a sequel to, and games that are sequels to it. Ports and remakes are also listed here. The introduction also gives a brief overview of the game's gameplay loop, story, or unique elements.

Story

The game's story should be explained here, if it has one at all. The complexity and length of this section varies according to the focus the story gets on each game. Games which are primarily story-driven (such as the Paper Mario series), may have longer story sections, divided by chapters which go in detail about what happens in each area. Games primarily driven by gameplay, but which have an overarching story (such as mainline Super Mario games) have a description of the story's setup and conclusion here, with an abridged version of the events that happen between them. It is not necessary to describe each action the player does or each level they go through.

Gameplay

Every game article has a gameplay section, which goes into further detail about the game's gameplay loop and main mechanics. It might explains what the main collectibles are, what unique mechanics players might have, how the camera is controlled and how the player character moves. Other subsections can be added, on a case-by-case basis.

Controls

A table describing the game's controls should go here, with each colum representing a different controller. This accounts for every re-release and port the game has received, but not remakes or ports which have their own pages. (For example, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars does not list its Nintendo Switch remake's controls). The {{button}} template is used to represent each button in the table and in text.

Action	Nintendo 64 controller	Wii Classic Controller	Dual Joy-Con Pro Controller	Joy-Con (horizontal)
Action
Action
Action

Game modes

Some games can be played in a variety of different modes. These are presented here, each with their own subsection with a brief explanation of their rules or specific differences, and a link to relevant articles if they exist (using the {{main}} template). Games in the Mario Kart series, for example, have sections explaining each game's Grand Prix, VS, Time Trials and Battle modes.

Game content sections

A game article
	; An infobox must always come first.; Check {{game infobox}} for more details.

The following sections go into detail about various elements within a game. Each section is usually made up of a table which lists their respective elements, along with brief descriptions of them and other specific information. Which sections are needed and their order will vary wildly depending on the game, but broadly, the order of the most common sections should match between games in the same series. Mario Tennis Open and Mario Tennis Fever, for example, both feature sections for characters and tennis courts, but the latter also features a section for Fever Rackets between them, as these elements are more closely related to the playable characters.

While it is impossible to create a one-size-fits-all template of sections, the following list containst of the most common sections across a variety of series, and where they are placed in an article.

Worlds

Sometimes called locations, levels, or other similar names, the Worlds section is the first section seen in mainline Super Mario games and other sidescroller or 3D platformer games such as the Wario Land series.

Characters

The Characters section contains a list of playable and supporting characters, as well as notable story antagonists in the story. It should not feature every named NPC, or every enemy that can be battled. In the case of spin-off series such as Mario Kart, this section is usually named Playable characters and features stats for each of them, including their type, any in-game, manual or website descriptions, or unlock criteria they might have.

Enemies and obstacles

Following the characters section in sidescroller/3D platformer games is the section listing each enemy and obstacle which can be interacted with and pose a threat to the player. These are usually listed separately, with enemies, obstacles and bosses being their own subsections. If applicable, relevant stats and where each element first appears should also be listed here.

Items and objects

Similar to the previous section, this section contains lists of collectible items, power-ups and other objects which are generally helpful towards the player. Power-ups specifically get their own subsection, with other game-specific subsections such as Super Mario Odyssey's clothing section also being separate.

Courses or courts

Unlike the worlds section for platformers, the locations in spin-off sports titles such as Mario Kart or Mario Golf games are listed after their playable characters. Mario Kart courses are listed by cup, while tennis courts, golf courses or other similar sports locations are usually listed in simple tables.

Course/court elements

Also unlike platformer games, where enemies and obstacles have larger importance in gameplay, obstacles in courses or courts have a stronger presence, and are thus listed in the section following the lists of locations.

Game product sections

These sections generally contain information about the game as a product, such as detailing its development or public reception. Unlike the previous sections, these tend to be consistent across almost every game, with games usually having most sections presented here.

Version differences

This section describes differences in the game's contents between various releases. Some games (usually older ones) feature differences between regions, or between ports. These can be detailed here, with separate subsections if necessary.

Staff

The Staff section must have a {{Main}} link to the game's relevant "List of staff" article. In addition to that, this section can be used to point out known details about the team that developed the game, such as their size, and any connections between the game's main staff leaders and other products they were a part of. In the case of Mario Artist: Polygon Studio, for example, pointing its developement team would largely go on to create the WarioWare series is relevant to highlight how the series expanded on that game's Sound Bomber mode.

Development

A section dedicated to the development of the game. It can list details such as the inspirations which lead to its creation, how prototypes or early proofs of concept were made, and what challenges were faced during its production.

Pre-release and unused content

Main page: MarioWiki:Pre-release and unused content

A section dedicated to going into further detail about specific elements which are known to have been changed during a game's development, or that can also be found unused in the final product's files. If enough information can be collected about this topic, it should be split into its own list page.

Glitches

Main page: MarioWiki:Glitches

Similar to the previous section, any glitches and exploits, properly sourced, can be listed here, with its own dedicated list page being made if necessary.

Reception

Main page: MarioWiki:Reception and sales

The Reception section can feature reviews by large websites and other publications, as well as subsections for sales numbers, awards and controversies.

End-of-article sections

The following sections should be present in all game articles.

References to/from other games/media

Main page: MarioWiki:References

This section features references the game makes to other products released before it, and which games released after it have referenced it.

Gallery

Main page: MarioWiki:Galleries

Almost always a small collection of images related to the game, accompanying a link to the game's proper gallery page.

Multimedia

Similar to its visual counterpart, the Multimedia section, if it exists, usually has three to four themes or sound effects related to the game, along with a link to the game's multimedia page.

Names in other languages

A section dedicated to sourced names for the game as it released in various languages. This is mainly done through the {{foreign names}} template.

Notes

Main page: MarioWiki:Notes

Any extra information which was unable to be integrated into the article's text can go here.

External links

Links to official websites, store pages and officially hosted manuals online, across any language.

References

A simple section containing only <references/> for the proper placement of references in the page.

Navboxes

Main page: MarioWiki:Navigation templates

The game's main navigation template comes first, followed by other navboxes such as for the wider franchise it belongs to, and for the console it released for.

User:LadySophie17/A game article

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