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It's because most of the time, the language is not used by the template itself. {{cite book}} and {{cite web}} are exceptions in this regard (possibly because they are the most commonly used such templates with foreign languages sources). Maybe drop the field altogether? Circeus15:22, 1 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The documentation for language says 'language: language of publication (don't specify spanish" as this is the default)'. Should this be English instead? I have reverted it back to the original English version, since the person who changed it also removed the platform line and left no comment regarding the change. ScottSteiner (talk) 18:08, 27 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
At time of writing, in the article Sonic the Hedgehog (character), {{cite video game |title=[[Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)|Shadow the Hedgehog]] |developer=Sonic Team |publisher=[[Sega]] |date=2005-11-15}} produces
in the references section. I don't think this is specific to the article.
This appears to stem from the "level" field. I'd fix it, (I have previously made an esoteric template,) but I'm not letting my editing skills touch a citation template like this with a barge pole. Too much could go wrong if you let me at it. ;-) --DavidHOzAu08:05, 27 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The problem wss that the period after the "language" if was not removed along it. I solved that.
Having used this template multiple times at various articles, I was wondering if perhaps we could turn the title, developer, etc. fields all the way to language a different color or style, to differentiate between quotes and the reference. See the refs on Characters in the Halo series, for example (I don't use the quote parameter because I like the quotes before the refs, personal pref) - to try and make it more obvious where the game information started, I was using dashes. David Fuchs (talk)22:14, 19 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I was considering using this template for citing some of the Command & Conquer games. However, the trouble is that most of what's worth citing in those games occur during ingame cutscenes. Sometimes, different missions lead to the same cutscene (and sometimes they don't), so it's kind of ugly if you try to cite them as being part of a certain level. Also, the intro cutscenes for those games (the ones that play right after you launch the game) are typically cite-worthy, but don't have any level associated with it. I don't suppose that a "cutscene" field could be added to accomodate games like these? Or is there some better way to cite using the existing template in a manner that I'm not thinking of. -Thunderforge (talk) 02:35, 8 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The trouble would be that for cutscenes that aren't part of a level, you'd have something like "Level/area: Intro cutscene," which just looks weird. -Thunderforge (talk) 23:49, 8 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]
There is no consensus to update this template. The following is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section.
Here's what I have. Right now it looks like several fields, most notably developer, will need to be added to work somehow as they aren't showing up. Neither of those are within cite core and i can't find an easy equivalent like i could with disc. This brings the template in line with other similar templates.
No, use the same input with both the old and new templates, so we can see the differences. There should be no differences between the two. Gary King (talk)06:33, 7 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Well did that. Seems it doesn't like title and developer for some reason. User:Jinnai#Temp Furthermore i don't know why it insists they be in Japanese since some titles/developers aren't.陣内Jinnai02:44, 8 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ok. figured out what was wrong in the coding...except with archiveurl. For some reason it's not seeing that i have url specified. Some items aren't showing still as well.陣内Jinnai08:00, 8 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
{{Citation/core}} does not support fields such as Developer, Level or Characters, so these will not show.
By JAN, I presume you refer to Japanese Article Number, which is a barcode similar to EAN. Could I see an example of where JAN would be useful? I suspect this barcode is used for sales, thus could change for something as simple as repackaging. I am quite sure we can add them to |ID=.
The only original game box I have at hand is for Phantasmagoria, which has a UPC and an ISBN, thus the template should support ISBN; see also the request above.
The larger issue is to decide what the output should look like. We can request new fields be added to {{Citation/core}}, but there are a number that can be used as is if we look at them properly. Here are a few samples I threw together using current fields:
Well developer could possibly be piped to author. Characters could possibly be removed. However, level, scene and disc needs to be added. If they won't show on cite core, there is a serious problem with using it then for video games because core seems concerned with linear citations. Except for the most simplest video games, they cannot be cited properly for specific areas with core then as it stands do to this non-linear framework.
A good example is citing something in Persona 3 that takes place on a specific day in the community. This game goes over the same places over-and-over again throughout its game and someone wanting to cite a specific point in that game has no way to direct the person to the proper place and time to help verify it because even if they use something like the |level= field to state the place, the pre-conditions to see that scene may not have been met and it may not be on the right day, or even right time during the day.
Many older, and even more modern Japanese-only video games, use JAN. Since a majority of video games are produced in Japan, this is a major item of importance for video games.
For specific examples, Popotan visual novel has the games which were only released in Japan that either have only a JAN or ASIN. Since the JAN is not tied to one site, that one IMO is the better to use. ISBN is not as universal as people think.
However, this can apply to almost every Japanese video game released in Japan (as opposed to a Japanese video game that was translated and released in English).陣内Jinnai20:48, 19 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
For JAN/EAN/etc. it should be similar to ISBN where we render the say "JAN 12-34567-89012-3", "12-3456789-012-3" or "12-3456-7-8". I don't know if its possible, but the country code for JAN is either 45 or 49 and if possible it should recognize that and change it to JAN them. Same for EAN with their respective id codes.
For disc, the problem comes with the 2 different types of way discs are labeled. The classic format one disc 1, disc 2, etc. and the ones applicapble only to PCs of Install disc, Play disc and BGM disc. The only option I can see for redering that would keep things consistant between the two would be something like "Disk: 1" or "Disk: Install"
The problem with level is that it was being used for both levels (like levels in Super Mario Bros. and areas such as those used in RPGs. Without splitting them into two seperate codes I don't have an answer.
For scene, this would be hard to render as its is a very descriptive notation and would be a lot of text similar to |quote= field.
As for placement, JAN should be obvious. Disc should be placed before chapter and the level/scene should be placed where page numbers should be as they serve a similar function.陣内Jinnai03:07, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Nevermind what I said about developer. I should have a similar output as publisher usually immediately before publisher. There's no real way to distinquish between developer and publisher without adding a "Developed by" and "Published by" to all of them which would change how the cite works for everything because of the latter. Just doing it for developer would make it stand out because usually when you note something is developed by something you then, if applicable say its published by someone else clearly denoting the difference.陣内Jinnai03:54, 21 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
ISBNs are recognized by the MediaWiki software— see WP:ISBN. For similar support for JANs, an enhancement request would have to be opened.
I have looked around for examples on citing games and software. None discuss elements such as developer or level/scene/area/disc. We need to decide how this looks in a cite before we go further. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)talk15:59, 21 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It may be too new of a concept as well as quite difficult because of the non-linear format. I've asked for support at WP:VG, but there is generally little to no interest.陣内Jinnai20:25, 4 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have tried to have the ISSN numbers added and was told they wouldn't do it and that it should be done via template code itself.陣内Jinnai19:57, 13 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well they are all under the umbrella of the Global Trade Item Number, but like ISBN, which is also under that number, no one refers to it as such. From what the bug report said they thought it was possible to do through the template (though I could be wrong [1]). The problem would be is that no one uses GTIN, they use JAN, UPC or EAN. That's why i wanted to see if the template could check the first 3 numbers and then decide the output because not everyone knows if a code is JAN, UPC or EAN, especially the latter two.陣内Jinnai15:22, 14 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The ISBN magic passes the ISBN to another wiki page with links to various sites. We cannot pass variables from one page to another in a template in that manner. We can make the JAN link to an external site— the site needs to provide full functionality and be as neutral as possible. This is a fairly minor issue and the functionality can be added at any point. We still need to define what the cite is going to look like. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)talk15:28, 14 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
MLA doesn't have anything for citing software, let alone video games
The issue with the generic software one is a lot of that doesn't apply 1:1 for video games. FE: Developer and publisher are often different, the producer or lead designer matters more than a programmer, video games often span multiple discs, can vary wildly as things progress, and video games have a narrative structure similar to books/movies.陣内Jinnai19:45, 14 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The developer and publisher should say Developed by and Published by as that is standard practice for citing.
It the {lead) designer piped through author. The rest is mostly in core.
If we are going to have level be dealt like thar we need another field: |area= for games that are based around areas, not levels, like RPGs.陣内Jinnai19:47, 13 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Does this version have publisher listed as "Published by XXXX"? As I mentioned before, that's standard practice for citing video games. Other than that, adding in the chapter field (should be in core) and I think this be ready to bring up to a wider group at WP:VG (since they'll be most affected). They might want some more stuff, but I think the rest should be in core.∞陣内Jinnai00:45, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I say it's rather difficult using the "chapter" or makes it rather complicated. Not all games will number nor name their levels or even have chapters.Bread Ninja (talk) 08:39, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Just like {{cite book}} has tons of parameters that aren't always used, so to would this one. Just as not every book has an editor, not every video game has chapters.∞陣内Jinnai16:29, 26 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Unless there is a policy/guideline against it, I'd say title should be required because if all the other info is filled out, without the title nothing can be known. On the other hand if someone is lazy and just wants to add the title there is the possibility the info can still be extracted. We don't have a series parameter so there's no reason for people to not be using a title.∞陣内Jinnai04:48, 27 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The current template requires both. Title required added. I just noticed that with the current template |level= shows "Level/area" . Any issues with it being separated? ---— Gadget850 (Ed)talk19:58, 27 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Yea, developer is required atm, much to my frustration at times. I don't know why. Maybe its because we couldn't do an either/or of developer/publisher. However it shouldn't in the new version because there are a few older titles where the developer isn't known and you'd end up with developer needing to be filled, usually by the publisher, and thus being an inaccurate citation. As for level/area, that is because some people believe that level/area are the same. In some cases, that's true, but there are a handful of games like .hack. The problem comes in that diplaying "level:" would be inapporpaite for games that are divided into areas and vise versa for "Area:". In theory we could just combine the two and give instructions to the person to be descriptive such as "Level 5 or the Durgoth Ruins" or "Port Prospect".∞陣内Jinnai17:50, 28 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
In the sandbox version:
|title= is required, all others are optional
has |level= and |area=
noticed that most uses of {{quote}} include a period, so I removed the automatic period
My suggestion on the level/area/chapter is to default to "level" (the most common scheme) but have a second parameter, which I don't know how to best name, but would be something like "descriptor", where the user can then specify something other than "level". (eg, "area", "section"), or whatever best fits.
Alternatively, simply have a "ingame location" parameter where the user needs to spell out exactly how best to represent it, given that proper level/area names should be "quoted", while if the game simply provides chapter/act numbers, they do not need to be quoted. I think this is better than trying to fit a one-size-fits-all approach. --MASEM (t) 23:48, 12 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Well core has a seperate |chapter= field already and there are plenty of games (especially JRPGs) that are structured by chapters. I'm fine for merging level/area into ingame (although level/area should be piped to ingame). I'm not so sure about chapter as I'm not sure how that one works.
The one major problem is how to distinqush quotes from long descriptions of location at a glance (ie does not require the person to read the entire quote). This is especially problematic for games that may use chapter/level/area/location terminology in the quote.∞陣内Jinnai03:04, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I suppose it might work if we piped them altogether. The two issues I mentioned would have to be addressed.
1. How to make certain people could distinquish it from a quote at a glance for long descriptions
2. How to get consistant wording so we don't end up with 500 different ways people think is correct that will only confuse people trying to figure out what's being cited.
Also, does |disc= display (not in quotes) "Disc: 1". The reason is that there are sometimes numbered discs, but for some games, especially PC games, there are named discs and that was the only method I could think of that would work with a first disc and install disc as "Disc: 1" and "Disc: Install". Finally you may want to pipe alternate spelling for disk/disc as I'm sure if you use just 1 it'll frustrate people.∞陣内Jinnai03:26, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Unclosed uses of <p> replaced to fix subsequent paragraph formatting
1. "could distinquish it from a quote" I don't understand— what is "it."
Now, why are we changing this in the first place? I think the current version looks nice and clean. Adding all that information to clarify what each field is is unnecessary and messy looking. I would not like to see that in every video game cite. Not to mention, it would look completely different then other citations such as web, book, episode, film, etc. It looks like you two are the only ones wanting this change. Has there been an actual discussion or poll to see if consensus wants this changed? Blake(Talk·Edits)13:52, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
See {{citation}} code for use in this template above (July 2009) and the following discussions. I was asked to look at this over a year ago. There is no deadline, so changes will not be implemented until it looks right. Please let us know what issues you see. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)talk14:30, 13 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Quick question, would the first and last parameters refer to the game's writer or designer?
Also, I agree that developer should not be required. While rare, Jinnai is correct that some older games have ambiguous developer credits. Publisher seems fine to require though. (Guyinblack25talk14:37, 14 October 2011 (UTC))[reply]
|disc= should be changed to "Disc:". Disc 1 and Disc: 1 are fine either way, but Disc Install is not. Disc: Install is because the colon separates it. Normally that would read "Disc 1" and "Install Disc", but the template can't really handle that.
As for publisher, I could see that since publisher would be required for any higher-level review anyway. It may break some existing citations though so if we do it there should be a page to track them.∞陣内Jinnai03:02, 16 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Is there a format to use a truncate quote from a game? I want to cite what I think is a fairly important speech from Metal Gear Rising, as it speaks to the main villains entire motivation, but its a fairy long speech that could be cut down to include the relevant parts if there is an appropriate format for that. Using "..." didn't seem appropriate as that might actually appear in the subtitles. Darkwarriorblake (talk) 07:59, 14 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
This template’s doc specifies that the date be in YYYY-MM-DD format. Is this necessary? Does using a different (but internally consisten) format, as with other citations on a page, cause problems? —67.14.236.50 (talk) 23:03, 16 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I'm copyediting Tidus (and alerting Tintor2 to this thread), and IMO the bolding of character names in the "quote" parameter violates MOS:BOLD; italics are equally effective, and far less visually intrusive in a reflist. All the best, Miniapolis15:07, 28 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Does every single paragraph about a video game have to be cited? When describing a game’s gameplay, characters, levels, story, etc., do you need to cite the video game every time? Interqwarktalkcontribs22:47, 16 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Ideally don't cite the video game and use independent sources. You can use cite video game to add citations to plot sections if you want to cite a character's speech; the template has "quote" parameter for this. Although, generally we don't include citations in plot sections for articles and it is not necessary since the game is the primary source and the infobox provides details about the game. --The1337gamer (talk) 09:54, 17 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
It's not necessary all the time, but can be useful for certain info that's not immediately obvious to anyone who plays the game (for example, a plot point that's only stated very briefly by one character). Glades12 (talk) 18:43, 26 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
What is this template for? Other templates briefly state what their intended use is. This one does not.
Presumably, judging by fields in this template, and context of chatter, it is intended for citing only the content of a video game -- and not, for example, instructions, readmes or patch notes included with a game or patch. Thus, this smells like it needs a companion template much like Template:Cite AV media has Template:Cite AV media notes. That, or state that Template:Cite AV media notes should be used for citing this other material (which, well, might make it a strange destination for all software companion material).juanitogan (talk) 05:03, 6 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Seems that the italics in the title are not avoidable. This is fine in most cases but I noticed in the case of Pokémon RedandBlue, there’s no way to prevent “and” from italicizing. th1rt3en.talk.contribs08:05, 4 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Echoing Izno here: two different sources (even if only slightly different) should not be cited together as one. Cite the version you have played yourself. (You could technically cite both separately if you have also played the other version, but that would only be necessary for synthesis, which is disallowed either way.) Glades12 (talk) 18:55, 26 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The parameter |version= does not seem to work; {{cite video game|title=The Adventures of Foo|developer=Bar Corporation|version=2.0}} just displays as "Bar Corporation. The Adventures of Foo.". Can someone explain and/or fix this? Glades12 (talk) 19:00, 26 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
My fault! When I switched to cite book we probably should have switched to using |edition= rather than |issue=, the latter of which is unsupported in cite book. --Izno (talk) 02:10, 27 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Feel free to decide on another parameter if it meets the intent of versioning. (which is what edition does) --Izno (talk) 18:33, 28 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
