Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games/Video game characters

Shortcut

Next step: C-class Article Improvement Drive

With all the start-class articles pushed to C outside of a few lists we're still figuring out, we're moving onward and going to try and bring those C-class articles to B or higher! While this may seem daunting, consider the fact that we're almost halfway there as is. Reaching there, by the end of the year, is entirely tangible if we work together!

So to that end, Cukie has set up a list of all the C-class articles by game here: User:Cukie Gherkin/B drive

We can use this section here to develop ideas on how to approach the articles, consider any that may be worth merging, or sources that may help across the board in certain genres. We pulled off something pretty major with the previous articles: I don't think in the history of the VG project as a whole has there been no Start-class character articles overall. If that doesn't fill you with pride I don't know what will. Kung Fu Man (talk) 17:41, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

At some point in the future, I'd be willing to work with someone to improve Aloy. It's been on my to do list for awhile. -- ZooBlazer 19:46, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Two thoughts:
Shooterwalker (talk) 19:41, 22 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I know, unfortunately there's been a mixed issue with Lord British where people have been uncertain where to merge it, and trying to brute force the Ultima Online incident as making him notable.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 04:56, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The good news is there are 300 other character articles to work on. When there is no consensus, sometimes editing (or the lack thereof) allows a consensus to form. Shooterwalker (talk) 17:55, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's what I'm thinking. At some point people will have to look at the quality gap and go "why can't this improve farther"?--Kung Fu Man (talk) 23:41, 23 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Two things: y'all might want to pin this discussion so it doesn't get archived, and for motivation's sake you should note how many C-class articles there were at the start of this drive (currently, there's 280 C-class). Happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 22:53, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A little over a month later, y'all are now at 261 C-class articles. SilverTiger12 (talk) 19:24, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We are now down to 254. QuicoleJR (talk) 18:01, 24 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
And now at 190 GA, 250 B, and 230 C. No change in the number of FAs, though, which y'all should consider eventually. Happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 18:53, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'll be completely honest, I don't feel FAs are going to be a big or mainstream thing with character articles and will likely not be worth the stress for most of them.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 18:59, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Given the number of articles we still have to improve at this point, we're likely better off working on improving what's there instead of stressing ourselves with the intense scrutiny of making FAs. FAs tend to be way harder to do and have way longer processes. There's not much benefit, if I'm being honest. Has one ever considered Magneton? Pokelego999 (talk) 19:10, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think being able to present your work on the Main Page is a pretty good benefit, but I also don't envy people who nominate in the process. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:39, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see many characters necessarily having the material for a FA to be possible. Maybe having all Top-importance character articles at FA (since probably all of them have high-quality sourcing available) would be a long-term goal to consider? Easier said than done though. λ NegativeMP1 20:50, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see how that could be an issue. The comprehensiveness criteria only requires covering all the major points according to reliable sources, it doesn't require you to cover anything for which sourcing does not exist. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:58, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Update: We are currently at 231 C-Class articles, meaning the number somehow went up by one. Probably a BLAR being reverted. QuicoleJR (talk) 14:18, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Probably better to let updates be a monthly thing, but a better suggestion would be how do we start chipping down those numbers? I feel like there's definitely a point where a lot of C-class articles are definitely those people just don't want to touch. In my case I just made one, but I know I'll get it to B. But isolating which of the older ones can be improved enough to B would be the safest route.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 14:26, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, you are probably right on update frequency. As for improvements, I'm not really sure how to get those numbers down. QuicoleJR (talk) 15:14, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

(Outdenting) June update: 220 C-class, 271 B-class, and 199 GAs. The number of C-class has decreased over time. Happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 02:38, 13 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

July update (sorry I'm late!): 217 C-class, 269 B-class, and 210 GAs. The number of C-class has been hovering around that number for close to two months now. Happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 03:45, 23 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As of halfway through September, we are at 198 C-Class, 295 B-Class, and 215 GAs. The number of FAs has also increased from 9 to 10. QuicoleJR (talk) 21:20, 18 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
End of November update: We are at 190 C-Class, 317 B-Class, 221 GAs, and 12 FAs. Great work everyone! QuicoleJR (talk) 23:15, 30 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]
February 2025 update: 160 C-Class, 302 B-Class, 228 GAs, and 13 FAs. QuicoleJR (talk) 15:53, 8 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Mid-April update: 167 C-Class, 303 B-Class, 234 GAs, and 15 FAs. QuicoleJR (talk) 18:52, 13 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
July update: 175 C-class, 317 B-class, 249 GAs, and 15 FAs. The overall number of articles is going up slightly faster than the rate of overall improvement. There's also 119 Lists and 7 FLs, and at some point yall might consider checking the notability of all the lists with the same scrupulosity yall did all the characters. Kudos and happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 19:08, 9 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
October update: 249 GAs, 335 B-Class, 169 C-Class. We've almost made it to our under 150 C-Class goal. Keep up the good work, everyone! QuicoleJR (talk) 17:51, 14 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Anyone interested in low-hanging fruit: the following C-classes just need a lead:
  1. Alex (Street Fighter)
  2. Ibuki (Street Fighter)
  3. Sodom (Final Fight)
  4. Bastion (Overwatch)

- Cukie Gherkin (talk) 13:55, 16 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

So given the C-class articles are a bit harder to bulk up, some of which going to require complete rewrites, at Cukie's suggestion the goal has been refined to aim for less than 150 C-class article for the time being. This makes the overall goal feel less daunting, and honestly there's a good chance that we will never reach absolutely 0 C-class articles. Concerns also arose too that an absolute zero threshold may disaude editors from trying to do character articles.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 21:56, 16 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Image selection for video game character Infobox

Hey, I heard that some questions about video game character pages can be answered here. So, recently, I had a discussion with another editor about the infobox image for Rena Ryūgū. I think there are more refined illustrations of this character in other official works of this franchise (though they are not drawn by the original creator), so I believe it should be replaced with a better image instead of the current slightly odd one. I’d like to know if doing so is reasonable? SKBNK (talk) 03:14, 12 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Generally with the infobox you want 3 things
  • Illustrating the most well known depiction of a character, even if newer depictions come first
  • A full body image that shows all the detail of said character
  • If possible, no background.
It's okay if it's not drawn by the original creator, but it has to be an official image in some capacity and try to satisfy those guidelines. The machete one that was up on there for example didn't really illustrate the character fully, but also made the image in the lower part of the article feel redundant.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 05:31, 12 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Would [1] be more appropriate than the current one? I believe it follow these guidelines. Can I use this to replace the current one? SKBNK (talk) 06:27, 12 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Should be yeah.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 06:35, 12 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Discussion

There's a discussion about video game characters that y'all might find interesting. Take a look. Kazama16 (talk) 09:03, 20 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Occupation

If a character's in-universe occupation or job is central to who they are as a character, should it be in the infobox or not? Seeking to gain a consensus on this, especially for characters like Yae Miko. Personally I feel like it should be, because if information like that is not included we run the risk of the infobox not sufficiently summarizing information about the character. So, I'd like to poll you guys to see what you think. Gommeh 📖   🎮 17:34, 16 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Because as I pointed out with Yae, you'd end up also having to include editor in chief of a newspaper, and so forth. The same argument you're making here could be made for "why don't we include power and abilities?" At a point, you start making the infobox too big with information that, more often than not, isn't as character defining. After a point, you start making the infobox too big trying to cover all important facets of a character.
There's actually currently a discussion on the main WT:VG page suggesting a MOS for infoboxes. Heck in her case I'd argue saying her weapon is a "Catalyst" doesn't tell the reader much at all for example and that's a bigger issue.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 19:31, 16 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I would discourage trying to make a one-size-fits-all infobox for all characters. Sometimes a character's job is important. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes they literally don't have a job, like "hero of light" or "child lost in a dungeon". Follow the sources, not rigid templates. Characters have a name, and a game they appeared in. Everything else belongs in the article body. Shooterwalker (talk) 22:47, 16 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Video_games/Video_game_characters