This article covers the main character articles. For version branch-articles, see MUGEN Database:Character version articles. Just to be clear, main character articles contain information about the source character and provide links to the version branch-articles, as well as links to articles about similar characters.
A new layout?
During 2014, the MUGEN Database opted to go for a brand new character article layout that fixed all that was wrong with the old one. It is 2024 and we still haven't converted everything over.
The change
Those that have been with the MUGEN Database for a long time will remember that our original layout contained information about each version and download links in the infobox, which was great until we realised a glaring problem: it was all too complicated. The biggest problem was that categories in these articles referred to both the source character and each version, even if the categories did not apply to every version, which meant articles like Pikachu were listed under Spriteswaps, leaving readers confused as to which versions were the spriteswaps and which weren't. Other key problems included huge page sizes due to the massive amounts of animated .gifs contained within one page, which took its toll on those with limited bandwidth, and the oversized infoboxes containing dozens of download links that took up a large portion of the page. It is these problems that practically pushed us to change the layout, though fortunately for both the editors and the readers, it was for the better.
What's changed
After a while of considering how to optimise the layout so that it all made sense, we decided that every single character version should have its own individual sub-page or "branch-article" from the main one, seeing as it basically solved all our problems at once:
- Version branch-articles are categorised independently from both the main article and other version branch-articles, meaning only spriteswaps are categorised as spriteswaps, not every version.
- The main article is no longer clogged up with animated .gifs of every version's moveset. As each version gets its own branch article, these pages only contain the moveset animations for that one version. The only animations seen on the main article are the idle animations of each version (detailed below). To further help those with bandwidth limits and/or slow browsing speeds, we altered our CommandList template so that anything in the animations parameter of the template is automatically hidden by default, but can be shown with the click of a button.
- The main article contains no download links; download links can now be found on each version's individual branch-article. Because of this, the infoboxes don't become oversized.
The way our character articles now work follows this simple structure:
- Alt. pals article
- Version article >
- Edits article
Main article >
- Alt. pals article
- Version article >
- Edits article
Basically:
- The main character article is the main/parent article.
- Version articles are sub-pages (branch-articles) of the main/parent article.
- Version articles each get their own alternative palettes and edits branch-articles, providing that version has alternative palettes and/or has been edited.
Enough about why we have a new layout and what purpose it serves; onto actually explaining how to make an article using it!
The actual layout
Every article has a standard layout to it, though the layout may differ between the different types of article (characters, character versions, stages, full games, etc.). For main character articles, the layout 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 follows (click on one of them to go to its respective section):
- Infobox
- First line of text
- Second line of text
- Third line of text (aka "In M.U.G.E.N...")
- Version sections
- The "See also" section
- Categories
It is recommended that you use Wikia's Source Editor. If your default editor is Wikia's new Visual Editor, you can change it in your preferences under the Editing tab by using the drop-down box and selecting Wikia's classic rich-text editor (where available). Click the Save button at the bottom of the screen once you're done.
Infobox
As with any other article, character articles use their own infobox: infobox character. Unlike the original infobox character, this updated one replaces the |Downloadlink parameter with the |Old and |New parameters, which are explained in detail below.
To insert a character infobox, type {{Infobox character}}. All parameters go before the closing brackets, so if we were going by what we see in the Source Editor, it should look like this:
{{Infobox character
|Name =
|Image =
|Caption =
|Creator =
|Old =
|New =
|Origin = }}
And now for the parameters themselves.
Name
|Name =
Perhaps the most simple part of the infobox, all that is needed here is the source character's name. This is usually the name you gave to the article, though in same cases (such as the article name being a shortened version of the character's real name), it might be different.
EXAMPLE:
|Name = Kung Fu Man
Image
|Image =
Unlike before, only artwork, official screenshots and photographs should be used (no character portraits and idle animations please), though as a result, fan art is permitted as long as no official art exists, and as long as it is of an acceptable quality and safe for work. If nothing usable exists, leave this parameter empty, but still include it.
Because the square brackets are automatically added by the infobox, there is no need to use [[File:IMAGEFILENAME.png]], meaning you can simply write File:IMAGEFILENAME.png. As a result, however, the usual resizing method won't work; fortunately, you can substitute |200px]] with {{!}}200px. And yes, 200px is the limit for character infobox images, though for taller images, it is usually 100-150px, maybe even less if the image is really tall.
EXAMPLE:
|Image = File:Kung Fu Fanart.png|200px
Caption
|Caption =
A caption that describes the image you used above.
For official artworks, use: "Artwork from SOURCE MEDIA", or "Artwork of CHARACTER" if the source media is unknown or the character is original (and as such does not originate from anywhere). For screenshots, use: "CHARACTER as he/she/it appears in SOURCE MEDIA".
For fan art, use: "Unofficial artwork of CHARACTER by ARTIST", or just "Unofficial artwork of CHARACTER" if the original artist is unknown.
For photographs, use anything that best describes the image. Anything like "CHARACTER at Comic Con 2014" or "CHARACTER as he/she/it appears in SOURCE MEDIA".
Leave this field blank if no image is used, but unlike the Image parameter, you can remove it if you want.
EXAMPLE:
|Caption = Unofficial artwork of Kung Fu Man
Creator
|Creator =
This is where you list creators who have made versions of the source character at hand. Use <br> to separate creators' names. If there are four or more creators (not counting collaborations), you simply write "Various". For collaborations, you write the creators' names as "CREATOR1, CREATOR2, CREATOR3 & CREATOR4"; if only two creators collaborated, you just write "CREATOR1 & CREATOR2". Do not write the names of those who have edited a version, seeing as character version branch-articles each have their own edits branch-article, providing that version has been edited, as mentioned above.
EXAMPLE:
|Creator = Kung Fu Man
|Creator = GarchompMatt
KEKUWEKKA
|Creator = Various
|Creator = Balthazar & Cybaster
|Creator = O Ilusionista, Laspacho, Akito-Sama & Slowcar48
|Creator = CHOUJIN
Balthazar & Cybaster
Old and New
|Old =|New =
The Old and New parameters were implemented as a way to see which version of a character is the oldest and which one is the newest.
For the Old parameter, you place a link to the branch-article of the oldest known version of that character, followed by the year of release in brackets. Though you can write it as [[PAGENAME/CREATOR's version|CREATOR's version]] (2011), it is possible to omit the main page name entirely, giving you [[/CREATOR's version|CREATOR's version]] (2011). If you don't know when the character was released, don't write the year of release. Remember that the year of release should be the year that the character was originally released, not when it was last updated.
The New parameter is exactly the same as the Old parameter, only you link to the branch-article of the newest known version, as opposed to the oldest.
For creators who have created more than one version of a single character, you write [[/CREATOR's first version|CREATOR's first version]], [[/CREATOR's second version|CREATOR's second version]], etc.
If only one version of a character exists, you'd write the same thing for both parameters, seeing as that version would be both the oldest and newest known version.
EXAMPLE:
|Old = [[/GarchompMatt's version|GarchompMatt's version]] (2011)
|New = [[/KEKUWEKKA's version|KEKUWEKKA's version]] (2013)
|Old = [[/Elecbyte's first version|Elecbyte's first version]] (1999)
|New = [[/Elecbyte's fourth version|Elecbyte's fourth version]] (2009)
|Old = [[/Secret1056's version|Secret1056's version]] (2014)
|New = [[/Secret1056's version|Secret1056's version]] (2014)
Origin
|Origin =
Origin is the source media the character comes from (Dragon Ball, Pokémon, F-Zero, etc.). Please note that if a character comes from a series, do not write down the game they first appeared in.
For original characters, please put "Original" as the origin.
For characters based on people, animals, etc. from real life, please put N/A.
EXAMPLE:
|Origin = Pokémon
|Origin = Original
|Origin = N/A
End result
If all works out as intended, your completed infobox should look something like this:
| Kung Fu Man | |
|---|---|
 Unofficial artwork of Kung Fu Man | |
|
Creator(s) |
|
|
Oldest version |
Elecbyte's first version (1999) |
|
Newest version |
Elecbyte's fourth version (2009) |
|
Origin |
Original |
First line of text
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.
EXAMPLE:
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 line of text
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.
EXAMPLE:
Kung Fu Man's story begins with himself and his girlfriend going for a walk. Sometime during this walk, they get ambushed by Suave Dude and his minions; of course, Kung Fu Man fends of Suave Dude's minions, though as he is preoccupied, Suave Dude captures Kung Fu Man's girlfriend and retreats back to his 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 had yet to make the Suave Dude character).
Third line of text
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.
EXAMPLE:
In M.U.G.E.N, Rotom was made by GarchompMatt and KEKUWEKKA. GarchompMatt's Rotom attacks by morphing its surrounding plasma into different weapons, such as a lance or a wrecking ball, and firing various projectiles that relate to moves it can learn in the Pokémon games, whereas KEKUWEKKA's version attacks the opponent with the spherical appendages it has and does not reference the games in its moveset. Both versions use custom sprites.
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 (=={{Editnote|CREATOR's version}}==) and places a little "E" on the very end of the header line that links to that branch article's edits branch. Because of how simple this made things, we also decided to do the same thing with linking 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, though unlike the {{Editslink}} template, {{MLnote}} does not wrap around the header text, and should instead be placed after it; also unlike {{Editslink}}, {{MLnote}} has to contain a link to the Mugen Lab's article, though only the page name ({{MLnote|PAGENAME/SUBPAGENAME}}).
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
==GarchompMatt's version==
[[File:Rotomidlenew.gif]]
A strange character with no defined play style, making use of only three buttons. Has custom sprites and a moveset inspired by moves Rotom learns in the games.
{{Read|Rotom/GarchompMatt's version}}
=={{Editnote|PokeMan's version}}==
[[File:PMPikachuidle.gif]]
The very first known Pikachu character, which is better known by the edit that was made eight years later, is very basic. Using only two buttons, it lacks any real form of comboing, but to make up for it, it is quite powerful. It shares similarities with the [[Bulbasaur]], [[Charmander]] and [[Squirtle]] characters made by an [[Unknown|unknown creator]].
{{Read|Pikachu/PokeMan's version}}
==Origami Almighty's version{{MLnote|Fosh Beary/Origami Almighty's Version}}==
[[File:FoshBearyidle.gif]]
Unlike many Josh Geary parody characters, Fosh Beary is perfectly capable of holding its own and doesn't go down in just a few hits. The majority of its moveset revolves around the use of lemons (particularly combustible ones), either through shooting them out of its ''Lemon Blaster'' or excreting them with excessive force.
{{Read|Josh Geary (character)/Origami Almighty's version}}
VISUAL EXAMPLE:
GarchompMatt's version
A strange character with no defined play style, making use of only three buttons. Has custom sprites and a moveset inspired by moves Rotom learns in the games.
Template:Editnote
The very first known Pikachu character, which is better known by the edit that was made eight years later, is very basic. Using only two buttons, it lacks any real form of comboing, but to make up for it, it is quite powerful. It shares similarities with the Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle characters made by an unknown creator.
Origami Almighty's versionTemplate:MLnote
Unlike many Josh Geary parody characters, Fosh Beary is perfectly capable of holding its own and doesn't go down in just a few hits. The majority of its moveset revolves around the use of lemons (particularly combustible ones), either through shooting them out of its Lemon Blaster or excreting them with excessive force.
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; the description is written after a hyphen (-). Be aware that the list is not limited to characters, so stages can also be listed.
EXAMPLE:
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.