Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Assessment

WikiProject Video games
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Go to current requests for assessment

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.

FAQ

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 do so, please list it on the assessment request page.

7. Where can I get more comments about an article? 

The peer review department 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 list it on the assessment request 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 A-class rating is awarded with the informal agreement that two editors agree with the rating of 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

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:

• FA (adds articles to Category:FA-Class video game articles; should only be used for articles that are currently listed as featured articles)
• FL (adds articles to Category:FL-Class video game articles; should only be used for articles that are currently listed as featured lists)
• A (adds articles to Category:A-Class video game articles; should be agreed upon by two independent reviewers)
• GA (adds articles to Category:GA-Class video game articles; should only be used for articles that are currently listed as good articles)
• B (adds articles to Category:B-Class video game articles)
• C (adds articles to Category:C-Class video game articles)
• Start (adds articles to Category:Start-Class video game articles)
• Stub (adds articles to Category:Stub-Class video game articles)
• List (adds articles to Category:List-Class video game articles)
• Disambig (for disambiguation pages, adds articles to Category:Disambig-Class video game articles)

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, Image, Portal, Template, and NA or Non-Article (for project pages in the Wikipedia: namespace). We do not assess redirects, and all other articles should fit somewhere in the above grading scheme.

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

WikiProject article quality grading scheme

Class	Criteria	Reader's experience	Editing suggestions	Example
FA	The article has attained featured article status. More detailed criteria The article meets the featured article criteria: A featured article exemplifies our 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. It is— (a) well-written: its prose is engaging, even brilliant, and of a professional standard; (b) comprehensive: it neglects no major facts or details and places the subject in context; (c) 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; (d) neutral: it presents views fairly and without bias; and (e) 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. It follows the style guidelines, including the provision of— (a) a lead: a concise lead section that summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the detail in the subsequent sections; (b) appropriate structure: a system of hierarchical section headings and a substantial but not overwhelming table of contents; and (c) consistent citations: where required by criterion 1c, consistently formatted inline citations using either footnotes (<ref>Smith 2007, p. 1.</ref>) or Harvard referencing (Smith 2007, p. 1)—see citing sources for suggestions on formatting references; for articles with footnotes, the meta:cite format is recommended. The use of citation templates is not required. Media. It has images and other media where appropriate, with succinct captions, and acceptable copyright status. Images included follow the image use policy. Non-free images or media must satisfy the criteria for inclusion of non-free content and be labeled accordingly. Length. It stays focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).	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.	Final Fantasy Tactics Cortana Wii
A	The article is well-organized and essentially complete, having been reviewed by impartial reviewers from a WikiProject, like military history, or elsewhere. Good article status is not a requirement for A-Class. More detailed criteria The article meets the A-Class criteria: Provides a well-written, clear and complete description of the topic, as described in Wikipedia:How to write a great article. It should be of a length suitable for the subject, appropriately structured, and be well referenced by a broad array of reliable sources. It should be well illustrated, with no copyright problems. Only minor style issues and other details need to be addressed before submission as a featured article candidate. See the A-Class assessment departments of some of the larger WikiProjects (e.g. WikiProject Military history).	Very useful to readers. A fairly complete treatment of the subject. A non-expert in the subject matter would typically find nothing wanting.	Expert knowledge may be needed to tweak the article, and style issues may need addressing. Peer review may help.	Characters of StarCraft MMORPG
GA	The article has attained good article status. More detailed criteria The article meets the good article criteria: A good article is— Well-written: (a) the prose is clear and concise, respects copyright laws, and the spelling and grammar are correct; and (b) it complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation. Factually accurate and verifiable: (a) it provides references to all sources of information in the section(s) dedicated to the attribution of these sources according to the guide to layout; (b) it provides in-line citations from reliable sources for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons—science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines; and (c) it contains no original research. Broad in its coverage: (a) it addresses the main aspects of the topic; and (b) it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style). Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias, giving due weight to each. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute. Illustrated, if possible, by images: (a) images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content; and (b) images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.	Useful to nearly all readers, with no obvious problems; approaching (although not equalling) the quality of a professional encyclopedia.	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.	Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Dante Clannad
B	The article is mostly complete and without major issues, but requires some further work to reach good article standards. More detailed criteria The article meets the six B-Class criteria: The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations where necessary. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. The use of either <ref> tags or citation templates such as {{cite web}} is not required. 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. 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. The article is reasonably well-written. The prose contains no major grammatical errors and flows sensibly, but it certainly need not be "brilliant". The Manual of Style need not be followed rigorously. The article contains supporting materials where appropriate. Illustrations are encouraged, though not required. Diagrams and an infobox etc. should be included where they are relevant and useful to the content. The article presents its content in an appropriately understandable way. It is written with as broad an audience in mind as possible. Although Wikipedia is more than just a general encyclopedia, 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 also be considered if practical, and the article checked for general compliance with the Manual of Style and related style guidelines.	Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory
C	The article is substantial, but is still missing important content or contains a lot of irrelevant material. The article should have references to reliable sources, but may still have significant issues or require substantial cleanup. More detailed criteria The article is better developed in style, structure and quality than Start-Class, but fails one or more of the criteria for B-Class. It may have some gaps or missing elements; need editing for clarity, balance or flow; or contain policy violations such as bias or original research. Articles on fictional topics are likely to be marked as C-Class if they are written from an in-universe perspective.	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 address cleanup issues.	Bushido Blade (video game)
Start	An article that is developing, but which is quite incomplete and may require further reliable sources. More detailed criteria The article has a usable amount of good content but is weak in many areas. Quality of the prose may be distinctly unencyclopedic, and MoS compliance non-existent; but the article should satisfy fundamental content policies such as notability and BLP, and provide sources to establish verifiability. No Start-Class article should be in any danger of being speedily deleted.	Provides some meaningful content, but the majority of readers will need more.	Provision of references to reliable sources should be prioritised; the article will also need substantial improvements in content and organisation.	Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
Stub	A very basic description of the topic. More detailed criteria The article is either a very short article or a rough collection of information that will need much work to become a meaningful article. It is usually very short, but if the material is irrelevant or incomprehensible, an article of any length falls into this category.	Provides very little meaningful content; may be little more than a dictionary definition.	Any editing or additional material can be helpful. The provision of meaningful content should be a priority.	Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
FL	The article has attained featured list status. More detailed criteria The article meets the featured list criteria: Prose. It features professional standards of writing. Lead. It has an engaging lead that introduces the subject and defines the scope and inclusion criteria. Comprehensiveness. (a) It comprehensively covers the defined scope, providing at least all of the major items and, where practical, a complete set of items; where appropriate, it has annotations that provide useful and appropriate information about the items. (b) In length and/or topic, it meets all of the requirements for stand-alone lists; does not violate the content-forking guideline, does not largely duplicate material from another article, and could not reasonably be included as part of a related article. Structure. It is easy to navigate and includes, where helpful, section headings and table sort facilities. Style. It complies with the Manual of Style and its supplementary pages. (a) Visual appeal. It makes suitable use of text layout, formatting, tables, and colour; and a minimal proportion of items are redlinked. (b) Media files. It has images and other media, if appropriate to the topic, that follow Wikipedia's usage policies, with succinct captions. Non-free images and other media satisfy the criteria for the inclusion of non-free content and are labeled accordingly. 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.	List of Halo media List of Nintendo 64 games List of songs in Guitar Hero
List	Meets the criteria of a stand-alone list, 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

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 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, however this does not make these articles less of a priority. A list of articles ranked by pageviews is available here.

Type	Top	High	Mid
Definition	This article forms the basis of all information.	This article covers a general area of knowledge.	This article fills in general knowledge of specialized topics.
Video games and Series (Main article)	{{{1}}}	Series and games that have been shown to have a lasting impact on a genre, culture or the industry itself; typically need a few years to assess this impact. e.g. Pokémon, Final Fantasy (series), Bard's Tale	Achieved wide commercial success, critically acclaimed or had wide sub-culture effect outside of their country of origin e.g. Gran Turismo (series), Ratchet & Clank (series), Gears of War
In-game elements: characters, settings, etc.	{{{1}}}	Elements, mostly characters, that have become cultural icons outside of a series, including company mascots. e.g. Pikachu, Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog (character)	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, Solid Snake, Ivalice.
Individuals	Individuals with an essential historical influence on the medium (e.g. Nolan Bushnell, Shigeru Miyamoto)	Individuals with a career of highly influential works, or historically significant accomplishments (e.g. Hideo Kojima, Tim Schafer, David Jones)	Individuals with a career of internationally successful or critically acclaimed works (e.g. Chris Metzen, Cliff Bleszinski)
Companies, organisations, 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, Neversoft	Most other well-known companies in the industry, e.g. IGN, Gamestop, Naughty Dog
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, Grand Theft Auto clone, graphics card	Broad game concepts e.g. boss (video game), New Game Plus
Hardware	{{{1}}}	Major and significant video game platforms and hardware recognized via the "top" history articles e.g. Xbox 360, Nintendo video game consoles	Minor video game platforms e.g. Atari Jaguar, N-gage
History and events	Critical impact events or broad historical eras e.g. History of video games, North American video game crash of 1983, History of video game consoles (first generation).	Major milestone, specific eras and landmark rulings e.g. Golden Age of Video Arcade Games, Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., History of video game consoles (fourth generation)	Policies or rulings that had an impact on a specific class of games e.g. Family Entertainment Protection Act
Other topics or lists	{{{1}}}	{{{1}}}	Notable gaming phenomenons and specialized topics.

Current status

Video game articles by quality and importance
Quality	Importance
	Top	High	Mid	Low	NA	???	Total
FA	2	30	47	66			145
FL				48			48
A		9	14	13			36
GA	2	52	119	325			498
B	14	59	93	280			446
C	25	108	273	875			1,281
Start	22	226	932	7,957		1	9,138
Stub		16	246	14,767			15,029
List			2	826			828
Book					90		90
Category					2,119		2,119
Disambig					69		69
File					22,707		22,707
Portal					15		15
Project					86		86
Template					896		896
Assessed	65	500	1,726	25,157	25,982	1	53,431
Unassessed						2	2
Total	65	500	1,726	25,157	25,982	3	53,433

Assessment Tools

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 2K/XP. 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 setup 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.

Log

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