MarioWiki:New articles

This page goes over the policy that determines what things receive a dedicated article.

Games
Video games with a unique title receive their own article. For example, even though Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64 DS are remakes of existing games, they receive their own articles because their titles differ from the original release. In cases such as the Classic NES release of Donkey Kong or the 3-in-1 Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet bundle, a dedicated article is not created because these are merely cases of the exact same game being released in a different package.

Compilations such as Super Mario All-Stars receive their own articles and are not to be confused with bundles because these are more than just a bundle of existing games—new features and graphical updates have been added, making the compilation a "title" of its own. In the same way that Super Mario 64 DS is more than just a repackaged game, Super Mario All-Stars is more than just a bundle.

Games sharing the same title which are inherently different also receive separate articles, such as in the case of Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) and Mario Golf (Game Boy Color).

Consoles
Home consoles and handheld systems created or endorsed by Nintendo receive articles. Third-party systems on which Mario series or related content appears receive articles only if that content is original and exclusive to those systems (i.e. Philips CD-i). Systems with content that only consists of ports do not receive articles and are instead mentioned in the articles of the games that are ported (i.e. Commodore 64, Atari 2600, etc.). If an original Mario game is initially released on one third-party system, but later appears on multiple third-party systems with no exclusive Mario titles of their own, only the system of origin receives an article (i.e. for Punch Ball Mario Bros., only the PC-88 gets a page).

Level articles
In general, all individual game levels and stages should have a dedicated article. This includes game levels/courses/galaxies/kingdoms, 3D game missions/episodes, Mario Kart courses, Mario Party boards, sports courts and stadiums, etc. For new games, all levels and stages receive a dedicated article right from the start. For articles established before this policy was enacted, splits occur if and when the level/stage section has grown large enough to justify its own article (i.e. at least one substantial paragraph of content). When a split occurs away from a "place" article, should be used to link to the stage with a short description left behind (something like this).

Naming conventions
Article names should match the in-game level name as closely as possible. For names which include a graphic, the most appropriate word is used to replace the graphic (e.g. World 1-Castle). If a name is shared across multiple games or areas, an article identifier is used for clarification. The article name without parenthesis should be a general page about the subject (e.g. Rainbow Road) or a disambiguation page (e.g. World 1-1).

For 3D game missions, the article title is the mission name. If the name is repeated, the greater zone is used in parenthesis (e.g. "Green Star 1 (Spin-Dig Galaxy)"). The Star or Episode number is left out of the article title (e.g. Petey Piranha Strikes Back), but this information should be included within the article text/infobox.

Content
Using this system, level pages should contain an infobox, a detailed description of the level (including how the level progresses, collectibles, etc.), and multiple pictures. A navigation template should be included at the bottom of the page which links to other levels in the same game, and which is color-coded by series (see here).