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This article covers the source character articles. For version branch-articles, see MUGEN Database:Character version articles.

It is highly recommended that you use Source Editor when creating and editing articles; if your default editor is VisualEditor, you can change it in your preferences under the Editing tab by clicking the drop-down box under Preferred editor and selecting Source Editor or VisualEditor - source mode, then clicking the Save button at the bottom of the screen once you're done. For the purpose of this wiki and its documentation, 'source character articles' and 'main character articles' are the same thing and are often used interchangeably.

The purpose of source character articles is to detail some information about the source character and provide links to the character version branch-articles, as well as links to articles about similar characters. The layout for source character articles is relatively simple, though that does mean the information on them is perhaps not as plentiful as it is on some of the other article types; regardless, this is the typical layout a main character article should follow. Clicking on one of the following links will make the page jump to the corresponding section in this tutorial:

  1. Infobox
    1. Parameter explanations
    2. End result
  2. Source text
    1. First paragraph
    2. Second paragraph
    3. Third paragraph (aka "In M.U.G.E.N...")
  3. Version sections
  4. The "See also" section
  5. Categories

Infobox

The first non-notice template item that should be placed into a source character article is the infobox. When inserting a character infobox onto an article, it should be written as what it shown belowl alternatively, highlighting what's shown below and copying/pasting it into an article will serve the same purpose. For the Origin parameter, make sure any text is written before the double curly brace, as anything written after will be considered outside the infobox.

{{Infobox character
|Name=
|Image=
|Caption=
|Creator=
|Old=
|New=
|Origin=}}


Be aware that some older articles have a legacy infobox that was used prior to 24th October 2014 when an updated layout was implemented, which is not to be used on any new articles, and should be replaced on any articles that are being changed to the updated layout; this older infobox used a |Downloadlink parameter which was replaced by the |Old and |New parameters in the current infobox.

Parameter explanations

The following section gives a general explanation as to what the functions are for each infobox parameter. If you are converting the legacy infobox to the updated one, remember that merely changing the name of the infobox won't cause the contents of the |Downloadlink parameter to be automatically migrated over to the |Old and |New parameters; the content of the |Downloadlink parameter should instead be temporarily migrated over to the Branch template in preparation for when those versions are ready to be documented.

Note that anything described as a parameter refers to what is to the left of the '=' sign, while anything described as a function refers to what is to the right of the '=' sign.

Name -- The name that will be displayed at the top of the infobox, which should match the name of the character being documented. The parameter defaults to using the article's title if omitted, so it is mandatory for articles with titles that have additional information in parenthesis resulting from there being two different documented characters with the same name, but for the purposes of future-proofing and general good practice, it's recommended that this parameter be included regardless.
Image -- The image that will be displayed in the infobox. Because the square brackets normally used for images ([[ and ]]) are already integrated into the infobox's coding, it is not necessary to include them in the parameter function. Images that are larger than 280px in width should be scaled down to a reasonable size by placing {{!}}280px after the image filename, and disproportionately tall images need to be scaled down even further so they don't make the infobox unreasonably tall. If there are multiple images to display in the infobox at the same time, such as is the case here, separate the images files with {{!!}} and scale the images down to 135px.
|Image=File:Image1.png{{!}}200px
|Image=File:Image1.png{{!}}135px{{!!}}File:Image2.png{{!}}135px
Caption -- A small bit of text that describes the image.
Creator -- The name of the creator(s) that has/have created the character. Names should be listed exactly as they are usually written, adhering to any letter casing, accenting, and punctuation quirks typically present in that creator's name (an example being the alternating letter casing in NeOaNkH); also remember to link names to their creator articles (if they have one). If exactly two or three different creators have created different versions the character, all names should be written on the same line and separated with break tags (<br>), with the names being listed in chronological order of when each character version was released (oldest to newest); should the number of different creators exceeds three, 'Various' should be written instead of any creator names to prevent overfilling the parameter.
|Creator=[[Creator1]]
|Creator=[[Creator1]]<br>Creator2<br>[[Creator3]]
|Creator=Various
When it comes to a character collaboration, which is defined as a character version having been created by more than one creator, either use the team name that they fall under, or if they don't have one, list all of the creator names involved with the making of that character version; correct formatting of the latter involves the last two names being separate with '&' (even if there only two names), and all other preceding names being separated with a comma.
|Creator=[[ShinRyoga]] & NeOaNkH<br>[[Team Z2]]
|Creator=[[O Ilusionista]], [[Laspacho]], Akito-Sama & Slowcar48
Old -- The branch article link to the oldest version of the character and the year it was made. The text and link are formatted as [[/Creator's version/]] or, if the creator's name ends in an 's', [[/Creators' version/]]; if the year of which the character version was made is known, it is placed in parenthesis after the link, leaving a space between the link and the opening bracket. In the event that the branch article for the oldest version of the character doesn't currently exist, text denoting the oldest version should be written anyway, but without the link or slashes. If the same character has been created more than once by the same creator and the oldest version is one of that creator's characters, the word 'first' is added in between the creator's name and 'version'.
New -- Functionally identical to the Old parameter, but links to the newest version of the character instead of the oldest, unless there is only one version of a character that has been made, in which case, what's used in the |Old parameter should also used for this parameter as well. If a new version of a character is made, this parameter will need updating so that it denotes the newest character version, and as with the |Old parameter, the branch article should only be linked to once it has been created. Be aware that because It is physically impossible for a creator to have made two versions of a character and the first version be the newest, this parameter can only list the second/third/fourth etc version.
|Old=[[/PotS' version/]] (2010)
|New=[[/PotS' version/]] (2010)
|Old=[[/GarchompMatt's version/]] (2011)
|New=[[/KEKUWEKKA's version/]] (2013)
|Old=[[/Elecbyte's first version/]] (1999)
|New=[[/Elecbyte's fourth version/]] (2009)
|Old=[[/Daniel9999999's version/]] (2013)
|New=[[/MattTheBiscuit's second version/]] (2015)
Origin -- The source media series that the character is most known to originate from, emphasising the term series and not the individual name of the game/episode/film etc. that the character first appeared in. 'Original' should be used for characters that are original creations, while 'N/A' should be used for characters that depict a real-world person, animal, inanimate object etc.
|Origin=Street Fighter
|Origin=Dragon Ball
|Origin=My Little Pony
|Origin=Original
|Origin=N/A

End result

The following is an example of how a finished infobox appears in the editor and on a article respectively, this one being Kung Fu Man's infobox:

{{Infobox character
|Name = Kung Fu Man
|Image = File:Kung_Fu_Fanart.png{{!}}200px
|Caption = Unofficial artwork of Kung Fu Man by esaka
|Creator = [[Elecbyte]]
|Old = [[/Elecbyte's first version/]] (1999)
|New = [[/DivineWolf's version/]] (2012)
|Origin = Original}}


Kung Fu Man
Kung Fu Fanart
Unofficial artwork of Kung Fu Man by esaka

Creator(s)

Elecbyte

Oldest version

Elecbyte's first version (1999)

Newest version

DivineWolf's version (2012)

Origin

Original

Source Text

First paragraph

The first line of text is just introductory text, giving a brief description about the source character. It is here that you write about name, age, sex, family, what source media they're from, etc. Nothing too in-depth.

'''Kung Fu Man''' (often abbreviated to '''KFM''') is the very first [[M.U.G.E.N]] character ever made and comes pre-installed with all versions of the M.U.G.E.N engine when downloaded from Elecbyte's website.


Second paragraph

The second line of text is where you provide a bit more background information about the character. Of course, though a reasonable amount of information is expected, please don't go writing up everything about the character; we are not an "everything wiki", so try to keep it condensed, but still informative.

Kung Fu Man's story begins with himself and his [[Kung Fu Man's Girlfriend|girlfriend]] going for a walk. Sometime during this walk, they are ambushed by [[Suave Dude]] and his minions; of course, Kung Fu Man fends off Suave Dude's minions, though while he is preoccupied, Suave Dude captures Kung Fu Man's girlfriend and retreats back to his [[Mountainside Temple|secret hideout]]. In order to get his girlfriend back, Kung Fu Man sets off for Suave Dude's hideout, letting nothing stand in his way (other than the fact that Elecbyte has yet to make the Suave Dude character).


Third paragraph

Also known as the "In M.U.G.E.N..." piece of text, this is where you list who made versions of the character, what sprites/sounds they use and how they attack. When there are many creators, simply state that the character has been made several times, or something akin to that.

In [[M.U.G.E.N]], Kung Fu Man has been made four times by [[Elecbyte]], the creators of M.U.G.E.N. All four versions are fundamentally the same, using simple attacks based around Chinese martial arts and presumably original sound effects; each version highlights some of the new features of an engine version that weren't present in previous versions, such as the third and fourth versions using localcoord, a feature introduced in M.U.G.E.N 1.0. Due to its nature as a template, many edits of Kung Fu Man exist that change its gameplay, moveset and/or even its name.

Version sections

The version sections are what link to the version branch-articles. The section header should be named "CREATOR's version", or in the case of a creator making more than one version of the same character, "CREATOR's first version", "CREATOR's second version", etc. Beneath that should be the character version's idle animation, followed by a brief summary about the character. Lastly, using the {{Read}} template, link to the branch article about the version the section is about.

To better-elaborate on the brief summary, it should be a relatively short (about 2-4 lines), but you are permitted to write in an informal manner as long as you don't write personal opinions or in first-person (me, myself, I). In regards to what should be written, try to talk about sprite quality, source-accuracy (if applicable), interesting features, what's bad about it (if applicable), etc. Basically, you're trying to describe the character in a way that helps the reader decide whether they want to download it or not.

A point raised when we were discussing the new article layout was how we were going to identify which versions had been edited or not, seeing as it would be inconvenient having to go through each and every version's branch-article just to see which ones were edited. As a result, we added a little template that wraps around the header text (=={{Headernote|CREATOR's version}}==) and not only allows for versions that have been edited to be flagged by placing a little "E" on the very end of the header line that links to that branch article's edits branch, but also a few other version-specific flags we wished to implement, such as NSFW material, profane language and seizurific animations. The template also allows editors to link to the Mugen Lab's articles, so instead of having a large template take up space underneath the header, we condensed it to a small gear icon that goes on the end of the header line.

==N64Mario's version==
[[File:N64Guileidle.gif]]

Colonel William Guile...and combos; the greatest friends in the world devastate the opponent with ease. This Guile doesn't need to play defensively, instead preferring to get up-close and personal with the opponent using its easy to pull off combos and high damage output; that said, it can be configured to play like its less cheap ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'' counterpart.

{{Read|/N64Mario's version}}
==HANBAHAN's version==
[[File:HANBAHANFatTonyidle.gif]]

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, though this tiger seems to have eaten breakfast ''all day''. Being as obese as it is, Fat_Tony is rather sluggish and isn't particularly good at comboing, but what it lacks in speed and comboability, it certainly makes up for with sheer power. There seems to be a little bit of [[Sagat]] in this character.

{{Read|/HANBAHAN's version}}
=={{Headernote|Edit=Ria Corst's version}}==
[[File:RCPikamanidle.gif]]

This creepy-looking humanoid [[Pikachu]] is quite the powerhouse, having an array of different moves that can be used to start powerful juggle combos or simply dish out massive amounts of damage on their own, though the unconventional button layout takes a while to get used to. Kick it into ''Overdrive'' to make juggling the opponent a breeze and then finish them off with a mighty ''Warlock Punch'', providing you've got a maxed-out powerbar.

{{Read|/Ria Corst's version}}
=={{Headernote|Origami Almighty's version|Lab=Fosh Beary/Origami Almighty's Version|Profanity=1|Seizure=1}}==
[[File:OrigamiFoshBeary-Idle.gif]]

Unlike many Josh Geary parody characters, Fosh Beary is perfectly capable of holding his own and doesn't go down in just a few hits. The majority of his moveset revolves around the use of lemons (particularly combustible ones), either through shooting them out of his ''Lemon Blaster'' or excreting them with excessive force.

{{Read|/Origami Almighty's version}}

N64Mario's version

N64Guileidle

Colonel William Guile...and combos; the greatest friends in the world devastate the opponent with ease. This Guile doesn't need to play defensively, instead preferring to get up-close and personal with the opponent using its easy to pull off combos and high damage output; that said, it can be configured to play like its less cheap Street Fighter Alpha 3 counterpart.

Read more...

HANBAHAN's version

HANBAHANFatTonyidle

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, though this tiger seems to have eaten breakfast all day. Being as obese as it is, Fat_Tony is rather sluggish and isn't particularly good at comboing, but what it lacks in speed and comboability, it certainly makes up for with sheer power. There seems to be a little bit of Sagat in this character.

Read more...

Ria Corst's versionThis version has been edited

RCPikamanidle

This creepy-looking humanoid Pikachu is quite the powerhouse, having an array of different moves that can be used to start powerful juggle combos or simply dish out massive amounts of damage on their own, though the unconventional button layout takes a while to get used to. Kick it into Overdrive to make juggling the opponent a breeze and then finish them off with a mighty Warlock Punch, providing you've got a maxed-out powerbar.

Read more...

This version has a more in-depth article on the Mugen LabOrigami Almighty's versionProfanityiconSeizureicon

OrigamiFoshBeary-Idle

Unlike many Josh Geary parody characters, Fosh Beary is perfectly capable of holding his own and doesn't go down in just a few hits. The majority of his moveset revolves around the use of lemons (particularly combustible ones), either through shooting them out of his Lemon Blaster or excreting them with excessive force.

Read more...

See also

The See also section contains a list of articles relating to the character with a reason as to why they're related next to each entry. As shown here, the articles are linked to and put in bullet form, with the description written after a hyphen (-). Be aware that the list is not limited to characters, so stages can also be listed.

See also

  • Suave Dude - Kung Fu Man's arch-nemesis
  • Evil Kung Fu Man - An evil clone of Kung Fu Man created by Suave Dude, supposedly defeated at the end of Kung Fu Man's Arcade mode story
  • Kung Fu Girl - A female variant of Kung Fu Man with her own powers and attacks
  • Kung Fu Man's Girlfriend - A non-playable character that briefly appears during Kung Fu Man's Arcade intro

Categories

As with any other article, main character articles have their own set of categories, which can be all be found within this category. One category that applies to all character articles is Category:Characters, which should always be added.

Closing notes

Naturally, this is a guide on how to make character articles using the current article layout, but it does not necessarily explain what was removed/added with the new layout. For the original announcement blog regarding the layout change, please go here.

Additionally, this article does not highlight some of the things editors get wrong/overlook when creating these sorts of articles, which is why this blog was created. Please go there, as it also goes over certain things that were missed in the original layout change blog.

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