| The Sims Wiki style guidelines | |
|---|---|
| Manual of Style | |
| Game articles MoS | |
| Sim articles MoS | |
| The Sims Wiki:Image guidelines | |
| The Sims Wiki:Categorization |
On The Sims Wiki there are a few rules of style that will help this place run smoothly and create a standard feel to all of our articles. In addition to The Sims Wiki:Manual of Style, articles related to Sim biographies should follow these style guidelines. Here are a few specifically regarding, feel free to discuss anything on the talk page or at Forum:Sim Page Standardization.
Layout template[]
Like all articles, a Sim biography should have an introduction. An introduction for a Sim article may include the game the character first appeared in, general information about his family and his story at the beginning of the game. == Biography == A description of his life up to the beginning of the game he appears in. ===Sub-section=== If the character appears in more than one game it may be helpful to divide the biography by game. == Section == Other sections can include trivia, an image gallery, and notes about whether the Sim can be resurrected.
Categories[]
If one of the Sim bio infobox templates is used, most of the categories required should already be added. Some categories that needed to added manually are Category:Abducted Sims, Category:Adopted Sims, Category:Illegitimate Sims, Category:Orphaned Sims, and Category:Pregnant Sims.
Sorting[]
All characters on The Sims Wiki are sorted by last name then first name in the Sims categories. To do this we can use {{DEFAULTSORT:last name, first name}}, where last name and first name are changed to the names of the Sim. This is not necessary if the Sim only has one name.
Templates[]
Which infobox template to use[]
Sim articles use infobox templates based on {{Infobox Sim}}. The specific infobox template to use depends on which game(s) a Sim appears in. Use these templates in the following cases:
- {{Infobox Sim1}} for The Sims Sims (and its expansion packs or downloadable content), as well as Sims from The Sims Bustin' Out.
- {{Infobox Sim2}} for The Sims 2 Sims (and its expansion packs or downloadable content), as well as Sims from The Sims Stories series.
- {{Infobox Urb}} for Sims appearing in The Urbz: Sims in the City, on any game platform.
- {{Infobox Sim3}} for The Sims 3 Sims (and its expansion packs or downloadable content).
- {{Infobox medsim}} for The Sims Medieval Sims.
- {{Infobox Sim4}} for The Sims 4 Sims (and its expansion packs, game packs, or downloadable content).
If a Sim appears in multiple games, include multiple infoboxes.
When to use the "state" parameter[]
- If the Sim is a life state other than normal.
- If the Sim is deceased and their grave was visible at some point.
Ambiguous genders or ages[]
If a Sim's apparent gender or age conflicts with game data (as determined by SimPE or other software), the Sim's age or gender should be given as 'ambiguous'. This will categorize the article into Category:Sims with an ambiguous gender/Category:Sims with an ambiguous age.
Note that this guideline is different from the prior method of handling these situations. This change is based off this discussion.
Playable vs. Resurrectable[]
The play parameter describes the ability of the player to play the character from game start. This means that the Sim is in a house in the neighborhood or can be moved to a house from the family bin or house and lots bin for immediate play, or becomes playable during normal play, such as a pregnant Sim giving birth. The player should not have to use cheats, mods or special objects like the Resurrect-O-Nomitron before playing the Sim.
Use resurrection templates to display information on resurrecting the Sim.
Templates within the infobox[]
Several templates can be use inside the infobox.
- Use {{Spouse|<name>|<status>|<...>}} in the spouse parameter to display up to three spouses of a Sim and their marital status with images. Status is optional and the default status is "married". This template also generates the correct martial status category.
- Use {{Relative|<name>|<relationship>}} in the child, sibling or parents parameter to display information about their relationship
Resurrection templates[]
Resurrection templates add information about how the Sim can be brought back to life (if at all) and links to step-by-step instructions if necessary. These templates also generate the correct Resurrection category.
- If the Sim can be resurrected using in-game mechanics use {{Resurrect-in-game}}.
- If the Sim can be resurrected using cheats use {{Tombld}}.
- If the Sim can be resurrected using SimPE use {{No character data}} or {{Fix obj type}}.
- If the Sim cannot be resurrected use {{No resurrect}}.
Player stories[]
Player stories should not be included on the main page of a Sim's article, but should be placed in the fanon namespace instead.
Player stories were initially placed in a subpage of the main article — see The Sims Wiki:Player stories. This feature was retired in 2012.
Theories[]
Theories that are not widely accepted by the community should not be included on the main page of a Sim's article, and should instead be placed in the player theories forum.
Historically, a sub-page of the article, titled ArticleName/theories, was used.