MarioWiki:Navigation templates: Difference between revisions

Keep in mind that the easiest way to learn how to make a proper template is by looking at other templates and repurposing their designs, and while this page itself does not discuss the coding specifics behind templates, it ''does'' list a number of examples that can be copied and investigated. [[:Category:Navigation Templates]] can be used to find additional examples.

While the overall structure and use of navigation templates is constant, templates cover a range of subjects, and different material needs to be organized in different ways. Templates can be grouped into three basic classes: game-specific, series-wide and species templates (note that the last one includes various non-species-based templates, however species-based are the most numerous and this, along with historical usage, lends the class its name). These three types of templates are described in the following sections, followed by some more general instructions about template design.

These are the most fundamental templates. In theory, every game should have one, although many of the more minor, obscure and/or data deficient titles do not. Game-specific templates should include links to all articles pertaining to the game in question, including the characters, enemies, bosses, items, worlds and levels. Game-specific templates are colour-coded based on the series that the game hails from: see the colouration instructions below.

Another situation is when one or more of the subjects has been taken out of the main game template and given their own template. For example, {{tem|NSMB2 Levels}} and {{tem|MPDS Minigames}} are separate from the main {{tem|NSMB2}} and {{tem|MPDS}} templates, respectively. This partitioning should generally be avoided except for levels, and other cases where including the subject would greatly increase the size of the template, as in the case of ''Mario Party'' series minigames (which are too major and require too much organization to simply put in categories like NPCs). These auxiliary game-specific templates only need to go on the articles of subjects that concern them (e.g. the ''NSMB2'' level articles) and the game page itself, however the main template has to go on the subject pages along with the auxiliary template. Like the main game-specific templates, auxiliary templates are colour-coded based on series.

There are two types of series-wide templates, both of which are colour-coded like the game templates. The first type simply lists all the games in a series, usually subdivided into sub-series, such as in {{tem|WarioGames}}. Non-game series can also have templates, such as {{tem|ClubNintendo}}, which lists the comics by year. Console-based templates like {{tem|SNES}}, {{tem|Consoles}} and {{tem|Game & Watch}} (which is both console- and series-based) are also considered to be series-specific templates.

The second type is similar to the auxiliary game-specific templates in that it focuses on a single subject, but as its name suggests, follows it all across a series, rather than within a single game. These types of templates are highly discouraged except in cases where listing them apart from the game templates would help streamline navigation. For example, {{tem|Racecourses}} lists all the ''Mario Kart'' racecourses by game, but does not re-list courses when they reappear in later titles, whereas the game-specific templates do re-list retro courses; this means the at-a-glance list of racecourses is more compact than a simple assemblage of the game-specific templates' lists. It is also quite likely that readers will want to browse the courses across the entire spin-off series, whereas something more specialized like the Karts do not need a series-wide template. Please note that even in cases where a series-wide template is used, this should not be a substitute for a corresponding section in the game-specific templates: as mentioned before, the specific ''Mario Kart'' game templates also listed the courses (i.e. {{tem|MK64}}). Series-wide templates should not be created to replace game-specific templates: they should merely be supplemental templates. The only exception is when a subject is so numerous and minor, it would not be included in a game-specific template, and would likely only be given a category, in which case, the series-wide template would be standing in as an auxiliary game-specific template in itself, and provide sufficient organization for the minor subject. {{tem|Recipes}} is an example of this.

Species templates organize subjects based on what they are, rather than what game they come from. Most of these templates are built around a group of related species, listing all the species and characters within that group, as in {{tem|Koopa Troopas}}. Generally, differentiating between the species and the characters is all the subdivision that is found in these templates, although there are exceptions, such as {{tem|Human}}, where separating major series and alternate media is necessary for navigating the large list. As they are not game- or series-based, species templates are not bound by the same colour-coding setup as the other two types of templates, and should instead be given colours befitting of their subject matter (i.e. brown for {{tem|MontyMole}}s and yellow for {{tem|Pokey}}s).

For the most part, however, major subjects that deserve templates have already been given templates, and users should carefully assess the situation before creating more. This applies to species as well as miscellaneous subjects: if a group of species only has a few members, a template might be excessive, especially if it is only a minor assortment of species and characters. Conversely, very loose (and often large) groupings such as [[:Category:Fish|Fish]] or [[:Category:Undead|Undead]] should be saved for categories, not templates, as the need for such templates is far less than for specific species groupings like {{tem|Koopas}} or {{tem|Thwomp}}, and creating too many overlapping templates can clutter up pages.

The basic layout of a template features a banner across the top of the template bearing a descriptive title, below which are the lists of links, organized into sections by headers. The number and types of sections are different from template to template (see the above sections for more information), and many templates require sub-headers to further subdivide their sections. However, while template length is quite variable, all templates should be given the same width of 100%.

No matter the size of the template, it must be completely collapsible - in other words, all the content must be hidden by default, with only the banner visible, until the "[show]" link is clicked on. It is much easier to find a specific template when only the headers have to be skimmed through, and not the lists of links as well, and collapsing the templates also saves on space. Furthermore, if a page has 10 or more navigation templates, they should all be collapsed through the use of [[Template:Navtemplate]].

The lists of links should be grouped in a way that makes finding entries simple; generally this means alphabetical order should be used, however worlds and levels should be sequential, and characters are usually arranged by descending order of importance (i.e. Mario first, followed by Luigi, then Peach, then Bowser, etc.). Places and bosses can be organized alphabetically, like in {{tem|Super Mario RPG}}, or sequentially like in {{tem|SPM}}, depending on what makes sense given the structure of the game (i.e. do the places correspond to the levels?), the length of the sections (longer lists are better served by alphabetical order), and the personal taste of whoever made the template. If a high level of organization is needed, many templates make liberal use of subheaders, creating many small lists rather than a few big ones, such as {{tem|ML:BIS}}. Other templates use symbols to denote specific subjects in a list, such as {{tem|SM64}}'s use of asterisks to mark ''SM64DS''-exclusive content. {{tem|MASATOWG}} uses both subheaders and symbols to help organize its content, whereas {{tem|SPP}} uses different types of dividers to group vibe-infused enemies with their regular counterparts which provides the overall alphabetical order. Some templates even colour-code their lists, such as {{tem|Yoshis}}, although this is more about aesthetic appeal than organization.

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In most articles, species templates should come first, followed by game-specific and series-wide templates, which are arranged in pure chronological order. This means that rather than being grouped into series, games will be listed separately according to their individual release dates, with their colouration being used to find all the members of a given series. Subject-based series-wide templates (the second type, like {{tem|RPG Attacks}}) will be placed directly under the first game template from that series. Auxiliary game-specific templates should come after the main game template. Above the game- and series-based templates, any family templates (i.e. {{tem|MarioFamily}} and {{tem|Koopa}}) should come first, followed by the actual species template, and then any other non-species-based species templates, in order of decreasing importance. Usually, however, only the actual species template (or the equivalent item- or place-based template) will be present.

:<code><nowiki><noinclude>[[Category:Navigation Templates|{{PAGENAME}}]]</noinclude></nowiki></code>

*[[MarioWiki:Notice Templates]]

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