PikminFanon:Community guide

=Table of contents=

=Welcome!= Welcome to Pikmin Fanon! As a new user, you might be confused, scared, or even lonesome. This page will help you to get acquainted with the site known as Pikmin Fanon.

"What is a "wiki"?"
A "wiki" is an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, so long as they follow the rules and regulations of the wiki. Pikmin Fanon is run by a computer program known as MediaWiki. Wikipedia and the other member wikis of NIWA also run on various versions of MediaWiki. Thus, the language for formatting pages on all of these wikis is identical for the most part and can be interchanged between wikis. Much of the syntax used on wikis is unique to the MediaWiki, with the exception of CSS, which the software will also support. Forum codes based off BBC and most HTML codes will not work.

"What is Pikmin Fanon?"
Pikmin Fanon is the website you are on, but it is also fanon relating to Pikmin. So what is fanon? "Fanon" is a term coined by the general society on the internet. The actual word is a portmanteau of the two words "fan" and "canon". Fanon is, in our case, basically made-up creations that relate in some form to Pikmin. So, on this website, we make up the concepts of Pikmin video games, even though we tend to go much further than the probable.

"I don't know how to edit pages!"
If you don't know how to edit pages, you'll have trouble putting your fangame ideas on this wiki. Fret not, because there's an help page for that!

"How do I talk with people?"
This community is all about collaboration, and so with that comes the need to communicate. Here on Pikmin Fanon, it's fairly simple. To tell something to a certain user, go to their user page. To find a user page, one can click on a user's name, when a link to it is available, such as on the recent changes list. Users can also be found by searching for them in the search box. From there you can find the link to the user talk page usually located on the top right corner next to the user page link. Then, you can either edit the page to add a section or click the "+" on the same row of buttons at the top of that said user's talk page. This will take you to an empty box with a smaller empty box above it labeled "Subject/Headline". To make a title for the message, type the title in the smaller box. Then type the comment you wish to make in the larger box below. At the end of a message you should type three tildes, which, unless you have a custom signature, displays a default signature letting the user you messaged know who messaged them. This works with all talk pages, which can be found above the article's title. Talk pages only deal with the content of the article, if you wish to converse about its topic use the forums.

"I want to make a fangame!"
If you want to make a fangame, please read this section for details and help with your game's general layout.
 * 1) Prior to starting, it is a good idea to look around at other people's games to see the widely accepted layouts. Looking at our collection of fangames and the most detailed games in it should give you some good ideas.
 * 2) Once you have acquainted yourself with some games on the site, you should begin thinking of ideas for the game. What is the storyline? What content, such as enemies, does the game feature? What twists to the Pikmin series will it add? All of these questions and more should be taken into account before your idea will be ready to flourish.
 * 3) After the basic ideas for the game are collected, It is time to work on a title. Remember to name the game's article as if it was real, so you need to patch up any inconsistencies in your game's ideas. Try to make the title relevant to the subject of the game. "Dinosaurs in Candyland with Pikmin" is not a good name for a game dealing with two dinosaurs in the entire story and no candy, and quite frankly, the name is bad. It is unoriginal, but using "Pikmin: _______" is the commonly used structure of the Pikmin fangames' titles.
 * 4) When the title is in your mind along with the ideas, it is time to create your fangame's article. The game infobox should be put first in the article unless you already have a game banner, which goes above the infobox and the article's content. If you don't have a banner for your fangame, never mind it until it's time to ask another user to make one for you or you make it yourself. Then you need to write the beginning paragraph of the article starting below the infobox's syntax. It should start with something like this:   is a that was developed by and produced by.
 * 5) What follows should be reasons that make the game unique and miscellaneous information. Note that the sentence above is recommended for the article because, without it, there is no introduction.
 * 6) After, you should keep cleaning up and improving the content of your game. A basic structure of a Pikmin Fanon game should consist of the following, but can be customized as you see fit:
 * 7) A storyline;
 * 8) The alternate game modes featured;
 * 9) New Pikmin, two usually being a balanced amount;
 * 10) New leaders, if any;
 * 11) Areas, and, if they appear in your fangame, their caves;
 * 12) Articles, preferably separate articles, containing complete collections of the enemies, treasures or other collectibles such as upgrades, ship parts, and so on that appear in your fangame;
 * 13) And any other bit of information, like trivia or developer's notes.
 * 14) Your game will be successful if you continue to correct grammar, spelling, and continuity errors, as well as expand the game itself. You need to also continue to use in-depth details and lay out the storyline in such a way that users will enjoy reading it.