Anyone can make positive contributions to the Lemmings Wiki by editing or creating pages; no special knowledge about writing is needed to do so. However, some users might be interested in learning how to make their contributions fit perfectly with the Lemmings Wiki's existing content, or how to best improve existing content. This page serves to describe all of the wiki's formatting, writing style, and quality conventions.
Sections[]
Each article on the Lemmings Wiki belongs to a particular category, depending on what kind of aspect of Lemmings it is about. All articles have an "opening" or "lead" section that introduces the subject; this area also includes the relevant "infoboxes" - templates that list properties about a level or game.
Level articles[]
Articles about levels can have the following sections:
- Strategy - Describes at least one possible set of steps that can be followed by a player to complete the level.
- Access codes - Displays access codes or passwords that can be entered in their respective ports; only necessary for games that have such a feature.
- Differences between versions - Lists distinct aspects of the level's layout in each port that contains deviations from the original version of that game; only necessary for levels in games that were made for more than one platform.
- Quotes - Recites text pop-ups displayed during levels; only necessary for levels containing such pop-ups.
Object articles[]
Articles about objects have the following sections:
- Appearance and animation - Describes the visual appearance of an object, including its animated elements.
- Function - Describes the object's behaviors in each game.
- Levels containing this feature - Lists levels from each game of the series that contain the described object.
Game articles[]
Articles about entries of the Lemmings series have the following sections:
- Gameplay - Describes gameplay, mechanics, and new features in the game.
- Controls - Describes the control scheme used to play the game.
- Style and Music - Describes the visual and musical elements of the game.
- Levels - Lists every level in the game, with a subsection for each Difficulty or Tribe.
Menu element articles[]
Articles about menu elements simply have a section for each game they appear in.
Notes[]
When there is additional information about a subject that does not fit into any existing section or infobox, an additional final section may be created to contain this information. This section is named "Notes". In the Notes section, each fact is preceded by a bullet point, rather than written in prose.
Templates[]
Templates are used on the Lemmings Wiki. Infoboxes are used to contain information about levels and Planets. Navboxes are used to let users easily find similar articles. The preferred infoboxes and navboxes depend on which game the article is related to.
Lemmings (1991 and 2006)[]
Articles about levels that appear in Lemmings or its 2006 remake use "Infobox Lemmings", which has parameters that can be set separately for each port.
"Navbox LemmingsLevels" appears at the end of these articles.
Oh No! More Lemmings[]
Articles about levels that appear in Oh No! More Lemmings use "Infobox Lemmings", which has parameters that can be set separately for each port.
"Navbox OhNoLevels" appears at the end of these articles.
Xmas Lemmings and Holiday Lemmings[]
"Navbox XmasLemmingsLevels" appears at the end of these articles.
Lemmings Paintball[]
"Navbox PaintLevels" appears at the end of these articles.
Lemmings (PS3)[]
"Navbox LemmingsPS3Levels" appears at the end of these articles.
Lemmings Touch[]
Articles about levels appearing in Lemmings Touch use "Infobox Lemmings Touch", which has parameters for the requirements set by each number of stars that can be obtained. Levels appearing in both Lemmings and Lemmings Touch use both "Infobox Lemmings" and "Infobox Lemmings Touch" to document information about it from each game.
"Navbox LemmingsTouchLevels" appears at the end of these articles.
Planets in Lemmings: The Puzzle Adventure[]
Articles about Planets in Lemmings: The Puzzle Adventure use "Infobox Planet", which has parameters for the number assigned to the Planet, the number of levels it has, the number of Missions associated with it, how many Asteroids precede it, and which Planets precede and succeed it.
Other games[]
Articles for levels in other games in the series currently use "Infobox Level", which is a generic infobox for levels and lacks parameters for specific games. Feel free to create new infoboxes or navboxes for levels in these games, or ask any of the Administrators for help.
Writing style[]
The writing style rules below apply to all aspects of writing for an article, except for text directly taken from the games (level titles, quotes, etc.), which should be kept exactly as it appears in-game.
Tone[]
Paragraph text should maintain a neutral, formal, and impartial tone. Avoid using exclamation points ("!") to end sentences, and avoid asking questions in the text. Do not make reference to yourself (I, me, my, etc.), and do not address the reader directly (you, your, etc.).
Capitalization[]
Besides the standard rule that the first letter of every sentence or proper noun begins with a capital letter, there is certain game-related terminology that should be written with a capital letter to avoid confusion with real-world subjects that share the same name. In particular, the term "Lemmings" (referring to the titular characters of the series) is to be written starting with a capital letter, to avoid confusion with the group of rodent species.
Apostrophes[]
Apostrophes are used to indicate a possessive relationship between one subject and another. Avoid using contractions (can't, doesn't, isn't, etc.), and use their full forms instead (cannot, does not, is not, etc.).
Bold and italics[]
Bold text is used to highlight the subject's name, exclusively for the first time it is used in the opening section. Italic text is used to highlight that the text represents the title of a published work, such as a game in the Lemmings series, or the Lemmings series itself. This helps distinguish it from "Lemmings" (which refers to the characters).
Subjects with multiple names[]
Some recurring features in the series have had their names changed in later entries. When a feature is referenced in an article for one game, the name used for it by the game should be used. For example, the skill that detonates Lemmings should be named "Bomber" in articles about 3D Lemmings and Lemmings Revolution levels, but "Exploder" in articles about Lemmings 2: The Tribes and Lemmings Touch levels. The title for the article about the feature itself should take after the name used by the latest-released game which contains the feature.
Conclusion[]
As with any set of guidelines, these are all only established standards for the wiki, and may not be suitable for all purposes. Feel free to tweak any of these to benefit the article. Have fun editing the Lemmings Wiki!