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Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Assessment

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Welcome to the assessment department of the WikiProject Video games! This department focuses on assessing the quality of Wikipedia's video games articles. The resulting article ratings are used within the project to aid in recognizing excellent contributions and identifying topics in need of further work, and are also expected to play a role in the WP:1.0 program, and more specifically in the Video games essential articles page.

The assessment is done in a distributed fashion through parameters in the {{WikiProject Video games}} project banner; this causes the articles to be placed in the appropriate sub-categories of Category:Video game articles by quality, which serve as the foundation for an automatically generated worklist.

To request reassessment, add |reassess=y to the {{WikiProject Video games}} banner on the article's talk page. Articles needing reassessment are listed in Category:Wikipedia video game articles for reassessment.

FAQ

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See also the general assessment FAQ.
1. What is the purpose of the article ratings?
The rating system allows the project to monitor the quality of articles in our subject areas, and to prioritize work on these articles. It is also utilized by the Wikipedia 1.0 program to prepare for static releases of Wikipedia content. Please note, however, that these ratings are primarily intended for the internal use of the project, and do not necessarily imply any official standing within Wikipedia as a whole.
2. How do I add an article to the WikiProject?
Just add {{WikiProject Video games}} to the talk page; there's no need to do anything else.
3. Someone put a {{WikiProject Video games}} template on an article, but it doesn't seem to be within the project's scope. What should I do?
Because of the large number of articles we deal with, we occasionally make mistakes and add tags to articles that shouldn't have them. If you notice one, feel free to remove the tag, and optionally leave a note on the talk page of this department (or directly with the person who tagged the article).
4. Who can assess articles?
Any member of the Video games WikiProject is free to add—or change—the rating of an article. Editors who are not participants in this project are also welcome to assess articles, but should defer to consensus within the project in case of procedural disputes.
5. How do I rate an article?
Check the quality scale and select the level that best matches the state of the article; then, follow the instructions below to add the rating to the project banner on the article's talk page. Please note that some of the available levels have an associated formal review process that must be followed; this is documented in the assessment instructions.
6. Can I request that someone else rate an article?
Of course. To request reassessment, add |reassess=y to the {{WikiProject Video games}} banner on the article's talk page.
7. Where can I get more comments about an article?
Peer reviews can conduct more thorough examination of articles; please submit it for review there.
8. What if I don't agree with a rating?
You can request reassessment (by adding |reassess=y to the {{WikiProject Video games}} banner on the article's talk page), and someone will take a look at it. Alternately, you can ask any member of the project to rate the article again. Please note that some of the available levels have an associated formal review process that must be followed—this is documented in the assessment instructions.
9. Aren't the ratings subjective?
Yes, they are somewhat subjective, but it's the best system we've been able to devise. If you have a better idea, please don't hesitate to let us know!
10. What if I have a question not listed here?
If your question concerns the article assessment process specifically, please refer to the discussion page for this department; for any other issues, you can go to the main project discussion page.
11. What is the difference between video games assessment and general assessment?
At WikiProject Video games, we do things a little differently than normal assessment. You will find most of the below in other sections as well, but this is a summary for those familiar with the assessment procedure in general:
  • Our project doesn't assess A-class.
  • Comments and suggestions are usually placed as a list on the talk page of the article, not here.
  • We have some specific standards based upon the guidelines, see the table below.

Assessment instructions

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Shortcuts

An article's assessment is generated from the class parameter in the {{WikiProject Video games}} project banner on its talk page:

{{WikiProject Video games| ... | class=??? | ...}}

The following values may be used:

There are other classes used by WP:VG which are automatically assessed by the template based on namespace, and should not be rated manually. These classes are Category, File, Portal, Template, Project, Book, Draft, and NA or Non-Article (for pages in the User, Help and Mediawiki namespace). All other articles should fit somewhere in the above grading scheme. A full list of valid class names and abbreviations can be found at Template:WikiProject Video games/class.

Articles for which a valid class is not provided are listed in Category:Unassessed video game articles. The class should be assigned according to the quality scale below.

Quality scale

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WikiProject content quality grading scheme
Class Criteria Reader's experience Editing suggestions Example
 FA The article has attained featured article status by passing an in-depth examination by impartial reviewers from WP:Featured article candidates.
More detailed criteria
The article meets the featured article criteria:

A featured article exemplifies Wikipedia's very best work and is distinguished by professional standards of writing, presentation, and sourcing. In addition to meeting the policies regarding content for all Wikipedia articles, it has the following attributes.

  1. It is:
    1. well-written: its prose is engaging and of a professional standard;
    2. comprehensive: it neglects no major facts or details and places the subject in context;
    3. well-researched: it is a thorough and representative survey of the relevant literature; claims are verifiable against high-quality reliable sources and are supported by inline citations where appropriate;
    4. neutral: it presents views fairly and without bias;
    5. stable: it is not subject to ongoing edit wars and its content does not change significantly from day to day, except in response to the featured article process; and
    6. compliant with Wikipedia's copyright policy and free of plagiarism or too-close paraphrasing.
  2. It follows the style guidelines, including the provision of:
    1. a lead: a concise lead section that summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the detail in the subsequent sections;
    2. appropriate structure: a substantial but not overwhelming system of hierarchical section headings; and
    3. consistent citations: where required by criterion 1c, consistently formatted inline citations using footnotes—see citing sources for suggestions on formatting references. Citation templates are not required.
  3. Media. It has images and other media, where appropriate, with succinct captions and acceptable copyright status. Images follow the image use policy. Non-free images or media must satisfy the criteria for inclusion of non-free content and be labeled accordingly.
  4. Length. It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail and uses summary style where appropriate.
 Professional, outstanding, and thorough; a definitive source for encyclopedic information. No further content additions should be necessary unless new information becomes available; further improvements to the prose quality are often possible. Doom (1993 video game)
Jill Valentine
Wii
 FL The article has attained featured list status by passing an in-depth examination by impartial reviewers from WP:Featured list candidates.
More detailed criteria
The article meets the featured list criteria:
  1. Prose. It features professional standards of writing.
  2. Lead. It has an engaging lead that introduces the subject and defines the scope and inclusion criteria.
  3. Comprehensiveness.
  4. Structure. It is easy to navigate and includes, where helpful, section headings and table sort facilities.
  5. Style. It complies with the Manual of Style and its supplementary pages.
  6. Stability. It is not the subject of ongoing edit wars and its content does not change significantly from day to day, except in response to the featured list process.
 Professional standard; it comprehensively covers the defined scope, usually providing a complete set of items, and has annotations that provide useful and appropriate information about those items. No further content additions should be necessary unless new information becomes available; further improvements to the prose quality are often possible. List of Halo media
List of Nintendo 64 games
List of songs in Guitar Hero
 GA The article meets all of the good article criteria, and has been examined by one or more impartial reviewers from WP:Good article nominations.
More detailed criteria
A good article is:
  1. Well-written:
    1. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct; and
    2. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.
  2. Verifiable with no original research:
    1. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline;
    2. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose);
    3. it contains no original research; and
    4. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism.
  3. Broad in its coverage:
    1. it addresses the main aspects of the topic; and
    2. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).
  4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.
  5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.
  6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
    1. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content; and
    2. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.
 Useful to nearly all readers, with no obvious problems; approaching (though not necessarily equalling) the quality of a professional publication. Some editing by subject and style experts is helpful; comparison with an existing featured article on a similar topic may highlight areas where content is weak or missing. The Last of Us Part II
Waluigi
Clannad
Rain World
B The article meets all of the B-Class criteria. It is mostly complete and does not have major problems, but requires some further work to reach good article standards.
More detailed criteria
  1. The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. Any format of inline citation is acceptable: the use of <ref> tags and citation templates such as {{cite web}} is optional.
  2. The article reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain obvious omissions or inaccuracies. It contains a large proportion of the material necessary for an A-Class article, although some sections may need expansion, and some less important topics may be missing.
  3. The article has a defined structure. Content should be organized into groups of related material, including a lead section and all the sections that can reasonably be included in an article of its kind.
  4. The article is reasonably well-written. The prose contains no major grammatical errors and flows sensibly, but does not need to be of the standard of featured articles. The Manual of Style does not need to be followed rigorously.
  5. The article contains supporting materials where appropriate. Illustrations are encouraged, though not required. Diagrams, an infobox etc. should be included where they are relevant and useful to the content.
  6. The article presents its content in an appropriately understandable way. It is written with as broad an audience in mind as possible. The article should not assume unnecessary technical background and technical terms should be explained or avoided where possible.
 Readers are not left wanting, although the content may not be complete enough to satisfy a serious student or researcher. A few aspects of content and style need to be addressed. Expert knowledge may be needed. The inclusion of supporting materials should be considered if practical, and the article checked for general compliance with the Manual of Style and related style guidelines. Plok!
Blizzard Entertainment
C The article is substantial but is still missing important content or contains irrelevant material. The article should have some references to reliable sources, but may still have significant problems or require substantial cleanup.
More detailed criteria
The article cites more than one reliable source and is better developed in style, structure, and quality than Start-Class, but it fails one or more of the criteria for B-Class. It may have some gaps or missing elements, or need editing for clarity, balance, or flow.
 Useful to a casual reader, but would not provide a complete picture for even a moderately detailed study. Considerable editing is needed to close gaps in content and solve cleanup problems. Bushido Blade
Buckshot Roulette
Start An article that is developing but still quite incomplete. It may or may not cite adequate reliable sources.
More detailed criteria
The article has a meaningful amount of good content, but it is still weak in many areas. The article has one or more of the following:
  • A useful picture or graphic
  • Multiple links that help explain or illustrate the topic
  • A subheading that fully treats an element of the topic
  • Multiple subheadings that indicate material that could be added to complete the article
 Provides some meaningful content, but most readers will need more. Providing references to reliable sources should come first; the article also needs substantial improvement in content and organisation. Also improve the grammar, spelling, writing style and improve the jargon use. Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
Attack of the Earthlings
Stub A very basic description of the topic. Meets none of the Start-Class criteria. Provides very little meaningful content; may be little more than a dictionary definition. Readers probably see insufficiently developed features of the topic and may not see how the features of the topic are significant. Any editing or additional material can be helpful. The provision of meaningful content should be a priority. The best solution for a Stub-class Article to step up to a Start-class Article is to add in referenced reasons of why the topic is significant. Airfight
As of August 22 2024
List Meets the criteria of a stand-alone list or set index article, which is an article that contains primarily a list, usually consisting of links to articles in a particular subject area. There is no set format for a list, but its organization should be logical and useful to the reader. Lists should be lists of live links to Wikipedia articles, appropriately named and organized. List of Star Wars video games

Importance scale

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  • Top importance articles reflect the basis of video gaming and not so much the hallmarks of the fields. Such hallmark games and other aspects are typically treated in Top articles, but they are not their sole content.
  • Low importance articles and almost all lists cover very specific or obscure knowledge. Any other notable article or list not described in the table below is of low importance. A low importance article is not the same as a bad or unnecessary article. But in some cases there is more value to merging it under the umbrella of a larger article, as this will enhance both topics.
  • Importance is not necessarily related to the popularity of an article. A list of articles ranked by pageviews is available here.
Importance scale
Type Top
This article forms the basis of all information. 		High
This article covers a general area of knowledge. 		Mid
This article fills in general knowledge of specialized topics.
Game genres and vocabulary Core genres and vocabulary (e.g., action game, role-playing video game, video game console) Broad sub- and cross-genres and gaming hardware (e.g., 4X, action role-playing game, tactical role-playing game, Grand Theft Auto clone, video card, level) Broad game concepts (e.g., boss, New Game Plus, 1-up)
History and events Critical impact events or broad historical eras (e.g., history of video games, first generation of video game consoles) Major milestone, specific eras and landmark rulings (e.g., Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., golden age of arcade video games, video game crash of 1983) Policies or rulings that had an impact on a specific class of games (e.g., Family Entertainment Protection Act, Sega v. Accolade)
Companies, organizations, websites Highly influential companies, particularly the major Japanese, American, and European companies involved in video game production (e.g., Blizzard Entertainment, Capcom, Nintendo) Top developers and publishers (e.g., Epic Games, Ubisoft, Atari, Inc.), top events and non-production companies (e.g., Electronic Entertainment Expo) Most other well-known companies in the industry (e.g., IGN, Game Informer)
Video games and series (main article) Series and games that have been shown to have a lasting impact on a genre, culture or the industry itself; typically a few years are needed to assess this impact. (e.g., Pokémon, Final Fantasy, Super Mario 64, Tetris, Metroid, Minecraft) Achieved wide commercial success, critically acclaimed or had wide sub-culture effect outside of their country of origin (e.g., Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Alone in the Dark, Cuphead, Grim Fandango, Super Meat Boy)
In-game elements: characters, settings, etc. Elements, mostly characters, that have become cultural icons outside of a series, including company mascots (e.g., Pikachu, Mario, Sonic) and other widely recognized or significant characters (e.g., Luigi, Zelda, Kratos, Lara Croft, Master Chief, GLaDOS) Well known, individually or as list, characters, settings and items typically appearing as the primary protagonist/antagonist, main location, or staple item in a long-running game series (e.g., Fox McCloud, Jin Kazama, Ivalice), or playing a somewhat less major role in a more major series (e.g. Wario, Knuckles)
Individuals Individuals with a career of highly influential works, or historically significant accomplishments (e.g., Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, Tim Schafer, David Jones) Individuals with a career of internationally successful or critically acclaimed works (e.g., Chris Metzen, Cliff Bleszinski)
Hardware Major and significant video game platforms and hardware recognized via the "top" history articles (e.g., Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy, Nintendo video game consoles) Minor video game platforms (e.g., Atari Jaguar, N-Gage, Sega 32X)
Other topics or lists Notable gaming phenomenons and specialized topics. (e.g., Video games as an art form, Let's Play)

Current status

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Video game articles by quality and importance
Quality Importance
Top High Mid Low NA Total
FA 2 63 104 112 281
FL 1 3 98 102
GA 7 125 517 1,572 2,221
B 20 154 395 1,329 1,898
C 34 322 1,164 4,812 6,332
Start 66 641 20,383 21,090
Stub 40 8,418 8,458
List 80 1,365 1,445
Disambig 7 7
NA 68,502 68,502
Assessed 63 731 2,944 38,089 68,509 110,336
Unassessed 2 2
Total 63 731 2,944 38,089 68,511 110,338
WikiWork factors (?) ω = 191,662 Ω = 4.76

Assessment tools

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The process of going through unassessed articles can become mundane quickly. To speed up the process you can use the Kingbotk plugin for the AutoWikiBrowser if you are running Windows. This tool requires admin approval (generally, only users with over 500 edits in the mainspace are accepted) before a user can make edits with the tool. After approval, the Kingbotk plugin can be set up to make assessments with the {{WikiProject Video games}} tag. For further details on installation and setup visit the pages for AutoWikiBrowser, Kingbotk plugin, and Generic WikiProject templates.

For editors who do not have AWB permission or who would like to be able to assess individual articles without launching AWB, Evad37's userscript Rater is still much faster than manually copying and pasting templates on talk pages. This is the updated version of Kephir's script, and is actively maintained and significantly improved. It includes ORES-generated quality suggestions to assist users as well as several hotkeys and other improvements. Users of Kephir's script are recommended to try the newer script.

Log

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A full log of assessment changes for the recent past is available; unfortunately, due to its extreme size, it cannot be transcluded directly.

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