Difference between revisions of "Editing Rules"

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==Home Page==
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In order to maintain a common theme and make the ''Video Game Music Preservation Foundation'' easy to read, several guidelines have been created. Please try to adhere to them as you add your video game wisdom to the Wiki.
* '''News'''
 
** News includes any topical posts about the videogame music industry. You can post when new official soundtracks have been released, when composers have been interviewed, when podcasts have been published, etc. New additions to the Wiki should be placed in the Latest Updates section. This list should be limited to 5 news updates. So, each time you add an update, delete the bottom one. You should also add a link to any relevant pages in the Wiki so the news item isn't lost as the stories cycle through.
 
* '''Latest Soundtracks'''
 
** This section is only for new soundtracks. Each time a new recording has been uploaded, add a picture of the game's box with the title below. If the game doesn't have a box, you may use the VGMPF album art. Limit this to 6 games.
 
* '''Latest Updates'''
 
** This section is to showcase major updates. Any major updates other than new soundtracks should be added here. This includes updated or re-recorded soundtracks, new composers or majorly updated composers, new formats or players, etc. Limit this list to 5.
 
  
==Music Submission==
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{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;" |
===Games===
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| style="width:16%;" | [[Editing Rules: General|General]]
* '''All games must be at least 10-years-old'''
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| style="width:16%;" | [[Editing Rules: Main Page|Main Page]]
** The majority of videogame soundtracks are still owned by their respective copyright holders, and a decade-long buffer will help alleviate legal issues. We will comply with all copyright holders to remove their intellectual property if they ask.
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| style="width:17%;" | [[Editing Rules: Recordings|Recordings]]
** This rule can be ignored only if the music's copyright holder has given expressed permission to the VGMPF to showcase their music.
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| style="width:17%;" | [[Editing Rules: Rips|Rips]]
** Also, freeware games, or games in the '''public domain'''<!-- What the..?! There are '''no''' games in a public domain, because the most authors of it as still alive, and another died less then 70 years ago (the copyright law protect author during his life and 50 - 100 years after his death in the different conuntries)! But the first game was created in 1947. So there are only games under the licensions like GNU GPL and the games under the copyright. There are only music in a public domine, not games. I think, this moment needs some corrections.--> do not need a 10-year buffer.
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| style="width:16%;" | [[Editing Rules: Graphics|Graphics]]
* '''Songs MUST be recorded from the game'''
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| style="width:16%;" | [[VGMPF Album Art]]
** The VGMPF does not allow tracks from official soundtrack CDs, remixes, arrangements, etc.
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|-
 
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| [[Editing Rules: Albums|Albums]]
===Audio Format===
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| [[Editing Rules: Companies|Companies]]
* '''Music MUST be recorded into Ogg Vorbis format'''
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| [[Editing Rules: Formats|Formats]]
** For a full explanation, see the [[Vorbis Tutorial]].
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| [[Editing Rules: Games|Games]]
** Songs should be encoded with a quality level of 4 ( -q4 ).
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| [[Editing Rules: People|People]]
** It is recommended that you keep your original recordings in FLAC format in order to have a lossless master file to work with.
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| [[Editing Rules: Platforms|Platforms]]
* '''Strive for the most accurate sound'''
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|-
** Because this site is meant to preserve videogame music as a historic media, all music should be recorded using the software that offers sound quality most accurate to the original.
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| [[Editing Rules: Software|Software]]
* '''Update the file's meta data'''
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| [[Editing Rules: Songs|Songs]]
** [[Adding Meta Data|Meta data]] gives listeners important information about the track.
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| [[Editing Rules: Series|Series]]
** It also lets you use the [[Make List]] program to quickly generate the Wiki code.
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===Track Layout===
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| [[Editing Rules: Moderators|Moderators]]
* '''Use the following naming convention for Ogg files'''
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|}
** "Track - Game Title - Platform - Song Title.ogg" The track should be two digits with leading zeroes, and the platform is all caps.
 
** For example: "05 - Chrono Trigger - SNES - Green Memories.ogg"
 
** For games that support multiple hardware outputs, add a disc number to the file name and put the highest-quality output first.
 
** For example:
 
*** 102 - Ultima 6 - DOS - Ultima Theme.ogg (Roland MT-32 recording)
 
*** 202 - Ultima 6 - DOS - Ultima Theme.ogg (AdLib recording)
 
*** 302 - Ultima 6 - DOS - Ultima Theme.ogg (Creative Music System recording)
 
* '''Timing is important'''
 
** In order to offer a nice listening length, music that is looped in a game should be recorded with two loops (one full play through, and then one full loop) and then a fade out of the first ten seconds of the third loop. However, if a single loop is over 2 minutes long, then don't bother with the second loop, just have a ten second fade out when the second loop starts. This will keep songs at a tolerable length.
 
 
 
===Rips===
 
* See [[Editing Rules: Rips]].
 
 
 
==Graphics==
 
* Screenshots must be in PNG format at the same resolution of the game in native mode (do not use scalers, anti-aliasing, color enhancement, etc.). Temporary screenshots in JPG can be added, but they should be edited and given the "Needs Pixel Perfect Screenshot" category.
 
* Box scans must be in JPG format. Large scans that are clean from watermarks are preferred. If a box is low-quality or has a watermark, you should give it a "Needs Cleaner Box Art" category.
 
 
 
==VGMPF Album Art==
 
* [[VGMPF Album Art]]
 
 
 
==Albums==
 
* If the album contains music from more than one game, include a "Game" column in the track list table.
 
 
 
==Companies==
 
 
 
==Composers==
 
* Games in the composer's gameography should be sorted by date unless the composer is not primarily a videogame music composer (for example, [[Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle]]), in which case games should be sorted by title.
 
* Dates with more accuracy should be sorted above dates with less accuracy. So, 1990-12-15 should be sorted before 1990-12-??, which should be sorted before 1990-??-??.
 
* Games with entirely unknown dates should be sorted at the bottom.
 
* The date for unreleased games should be estimated based on the released of other ports and planned released dates.
 
 
 
 
 
==Formats==
 
===Icons===
 
[[Image:Format Template.png|right|Use this template for making new format icons.]]
 
* Format icons must use the existing template (the dog-eared sheet with a graphic and extension letters at the bottom).
 
* Icons must be in PNG format with a transparent background.
 
* The font used is Verdana, 12pt, bold.
 
* The extension text must be 3 pixels from the bottom and centered horizontally.
 
* The icon graphic should be related the format in some way:
 
** If the format was used by a particular company, use their logo, like Origin's [[:File:M.png|M format]].
 
** If the format is used to store a console's audio format, use a console-related graphic, like the [[:File:NSF.png|NSF format]] for Nintendo games and the [[:File:USF.png|USF format]] for Nintendo 64 games.
 
** If the format was only used in a single game, use a graphic from the game, like God of Thunder's [[:File:GOT.png|GOT format]].
 
** For generic formats, just try to use a graphic that is fitting to the format, like the [[:File:HMI.png|HMI format]] or the [[:File:RAW.png|RAW format]].
 
* You can [[:Media:Format Template.zip|download icon templates]] for Adobe Photoshop (PSD), GIMP (XCF), Corel Photo-Paint (CDR), and standard PNG.
 
 
 
===Games===
 
Each format should have a Games section to list which games utilize the format and give samples of how the format sounds. The list should be sorted by release date to showcase the changing quality of the format. For formats with high numbers of games like [[MIDI]], list no more than 20 games. To decide which games should be included in the list, take into account these points:
 
* The first game to use the format should always be included.
 
* So should the last game (for obsolete formats).
 
* Games that were particularly influential (with high ratings on MobyGames).
 
* Those with particularly impressive soundtracks (this is subjective, so make sure the community agrees).
 
 
 
==Games==
 
* The game description should be brief detailing the style of game play and the plot.
 
* The music descriptions should detail the genres covered, the software/hardware used to make the music, game-specific composer information, and any special information about the music itself. Detailed information should be put into the individual song pages.
 
* The rip description should include the method used for extracting the music from the game's data files and the player used to record the soundtrack.
 
* The first screenshot should always be the title screen.
 
* Remaining screenshots should cover different sections of early game play including menus, dialog, action, etc. Try to avoid spoilers and limit yourself to 6 screenshots on the game page. Additional screenshots can be used on the individual song pages when they get made.
 
* Audio credits should be listed as they appear in the game, where applicable. Real names should be added when an alias is used by a composer.
 
* Release information should display the full publication name found at [http://www.mobygames.com mobygames.com] (e.g., Nintendo should be listed as "Nintendo, Co., Ltd." or "Nintendo of America, Inc.", not just "Nintendo")
 
* Accurate release dates can be obtained from [http://www.gamefaqs.com gamefaqs.com]
 
 
 
==Platforms==
 
* Each platform should begin with a brief description of the hardware, with primary focus on the audio capabilities.
 
 
 
==Software==
 
* See [[Editing Rules: Software]]
 
 
 
==Songs==
 
===Title===
 
The source of the song's title should be included if it has an official name. If no official title exists, use either "Game Location", "File Name", or "Game Title" for the origin and note that the title is unofficial. List any popular unofficial titles as well. For example, the Secret of Mana song [[Fear of the Heavens]] receives its official title from the USA soundtrack. However, before the USA release, a popular bootleg existed with the title "Angel's Fear".
 
 
 
===Length===
 
The length of the song should be the rip's length at a single play rounded to the nearest hundredth of a second. For example, the son [[Bionic Commando Theme]] is 1:03.92835 seconds long, but is rounded to 1:03.93. The length in the song page should '''not''' include the additional length of the loops or the fadeout (unless the fadeout is part of the original song). The recording of the ''Bionic Commando Theme'', with the second loop and the fadeout is 2:19 long, but the song page lists it's length as 1:03.93.
 
 
 
===Description===
 
The description of the song should include the following:
 
* A musical review of the song including which instruments are used and what musical genre the song can be assigned to. For songs made before instruments were possible, try to guess at what the composer was going for.
 
* Where in the game this song can be heard.
 
* How the song was ripped from the game, and its internal file name if applicable.
 
* Any quotes from the composer about the song.
 
* If the song has lyrics, include them.
 
* Any sheet music or tabs that can be found should be included.
 
* Links to orchestrated versions, covers, remixes, can be added as well.
 
 
 
===Screenshot===
 
Each song should have a screenshot from every major section of the game where the song is played. For example, if a song is played during the title screen, level 4, and level 7, there should be a screenshot of the title screen, and from levels 4 and 7. Limit spoilers unless it's unavoidable, for example, ending music.
 
 
 
 
 
==Date Format==
 
The VGMPF uses the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601 ISO 8601] standard for date layouts. That is YYYY-MM-DD, numbers have leading zeroes and they're separated by hyphens. So, the American format of July 15, 2013 should look like, 2013-07-15. In the past, the date hasn't had a specific format, so editors are encouraged to update any old formats.
 
 
 
===Dates In Tables===
 
When dates are displayed in a table, such as a composer's gameography or a chronological list on a series page, use the following rules:
 
 
 
* Less precise dates should be listed ''after'' precise dates. For example: 1991-05-06, 1991-09-20, 1991-09-??, 1991-??-??.
 
* Games released on the same date should be alphabetically sorted by title unless a game is known to have been released before another.
 
* These rules should only be broken when a game is known to have been released before another despite their missing precision. When games are sorted outside of the expected order above, make a note in the Discussion page to explain why.
 
  
  
 
[[Category: Guides]]
 
[[Category: Guides]]

Revision as of 11:57, 10 January 2017

In order to maintain a common theme and make the Video Game Music Preservation Foundation easy to read, several guidelines have been created. Please try to adhere to them as you add your video game wisdom to the Wiki.

General Main Page Recordings Rips Graphics VGMPF Album Art
Albums Companies Formats Games People Platforms
Software Songs Series Moderators