Template:Infobox video game engine/doc

This is an infobox for Game engines. It is capable of pulling values from Wikidata when fields are omitted. (See WP:VG/WD for a guide to editing Wikidata).

Usage

name

caption
Original author(s)	author
Developer(s)	developer
Stable release	latest release version / latest release date
Preview release	latest preview version / latest preview date
Repository	repo
Written in	programming language
Middleware	middleware
Platform	platform
Type	genre
License	license
Website	website
List of games

The following is the base code required to generate an infobox, the first is a more minimal use while the second has extra more rarely used options. One can copy and paste the base code into an article and insert relevant information in front of the "=" signs. To avoid accidental misuse, this base code does not have a handful of parameters that must be handled with absolute care and are not normally needed, such as {{{bodystyle}}}.

Blank template with basic parameters

{{Infobox video game engine
| name                   = 
| logo                   =
| screenshot             =
| caption                = 
| developer              = 
| website                = 
| initial release version= 
| initial release date   =
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    =
| repo                   =
| programming language   = 
| middleware             = 
| tools                  =
| license                = 
| first title            = 
| first title date       =
| latest title           = 
| latest title date      =
| major                  = 
| platform               = 
| genre                  = 
| preceded by            = 
| succeeded by           = 
}}

Blank template with all parameters

{{Infobox video game engine
| name                   = 
| logo                   =
| logo alt               = 
| logo caption           = 
| screenshot             =
| screenshot size        =
| screenshot alt         = 
| caption                = 
| collapsible            =
| aka                    =
| author                 = 
| developer              = 
| alexa                  = 
| website                = 
| initial release version= 
| initial release date   =
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    =
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date    =
| repo                   =
| status                 =
| programming language   = 
| middleware             = 
| tools                  =
| license                = 
| first title            = 
| first title date       =
| latest title           = 
| latest title date      =
| major                  = 
| platform               = 
| genre                  = 
| fork of                = 
| preceded by            = 
| succeeded by           = 
| games list             =
}}

Example

The following markup is included only for illustration purposes. It is not intended to provide up-to-date information about the Source engine and should not be updated for the sake of truth.

Source

Developer(s)	Valve
Initial release	June 2004 (2004-06)
Written in	C++
Middleware	Bink video Havok Physics
Platform	Windows OS X Linux Android PlayStation 3 Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One
Type	First-person shooter
License	Proprietary

{{Infobox video game engine
| name = Source
| logo = File:Source engine logo and wordmark.svg
| logo caption =
| screenshot = 
| caption = A screenshot from ''[[Portal 2]]'' (2011), powered by Source.
| developer = [[Valve Corporation|Valve]]
| released = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2004|June}}
| preceded by = [[GoldSrc]]
| succeeded by = [[Source 2]]
| first title = [[Counter-Strike: Source]]
| first title date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2004|November|1}}
| latest title = [[Day of Infamy]]
| latest title date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2017|March|23}}
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2019|October|8}}
| notable = {{unbulleted list|[[Half-Life 2]]|[[Dota 2]]|[[Counter-Strike Global Offensive]]|[[Team Fortress 2]]}}
| middleware = {{unbulleted list|[[Bink video]]|[[Havok Physics]]}}
| tools = [[Source (game engine)#Source SDK|Source SDK]] (Hammer Editor, Model Viewer, Face Poser)
| programming language = [[C++]]
| platform = {{unbulleted list|[[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]|[[OS X]]|[[Linux]]|[[Android (operating system)|Android]]|[[PlayStation 3]]|[[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]|[[Xbox 360]]|[[Xbox One]]}}
| genre = [[First-person shooter]]
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
}}

Parameters

All parameters are optional. This infobox is based in-part upon Template:Infobox software, but specialised for Video Game engines.

name

Name of the infobox. Can affect the title of the infobox but its primary use is to help retrieve release data from outside the article. In such cases, if you want to edit the title at the top of the infobox, use the |title= parameter instead.

Attention: Please do not include a wikilink, hyperlink or image in this parameter. This parameter should be composed of pure text.

bodystyle

CSS styling for the infobox as a whole

title

Name of the engine as displayed above the infobox. When not specified, contents of |name= parameter will be displayed instead.

Important note: Please do not include an image in this field. Wikipedia accessibility requirements mandates that this field should contain text that can be read by screen readers.

aka

Popular other names the engine is known by.

logo

Code for a small image to be displayed as engine's logo or computer icon. You may specify a file name, with or without namespace prefix. In other words, the following examples are all acceptable:

logo size

Size of the logo. Defaults to 64px.

logo caption

Caption of the logo that appears below it. Should not be used to provide trivial captions, such as "This is the logo of X", which is automatically assumed. Reserved for special cases when a description beyond telling the obvious is needed, or for inserting {{ffdc}} or {{deletable image-caption}}.

logo alt

Alternative text of the logo; very important.

screenshot

Code for an image to be displayed as engine's screenshot. You may specify a file name, with or without namespace prefix. In other words, the following examples are all acceptable:

caption

A caption for screenshot that appears below it. Please include this parameter only when there is an image to display.

screenshot size

Size of the screenshot. Defaults to 300px.

screenshot alt

Alternative text of the screenshot; very important. Defaults to image caption.

collapsible

Whether this screenshot is by default hidden and is only shown when user clicks on a minuscule "Expand" button. Can be set to "yes". Especially useful in case of long vertical screenshot

author

Name of the original author(s) or publisher(s) of the engine. It can be an individual or organization. Most of the time, it only needs to be specified when |developer= field is populated.

developer

Name of the current developer of the engine. It can be an individual or organization.

first title

The name of the earliest released game with this engine. If game has a corresponding article in Wikipedia, please link to it. These titles must be listed either in an in-article list or table, or if there exists a separate article for games using the engine, the title must be listed there.

first title date

The release date of the earliest released game. The content of this field should look like the following:

{{Start date and age|year|month|day}}

In case the article uses DMY as date format, use this code instead:

{{Start date and age|year|month|day|df=yes}}

If you are unsure which date format to use, please consult WP:MOSDATES.

latest title

The name of the most-recent released game with this engine. If game has a corresponding article in Wikipedia, please link to it. These titles must be listed either in an in-article list or table, or if there exists a separate article for games using the engine, the title must be listed there.

latest title date

The release date of the earliest released game. The content of this field should look like the following:

{{Start date and age|year|month|day}}

In case the article uses DMY as date format, use this code instead:

{{Start date and age|year|month|day|df=yes}}

If you are unsure which date format to use, please consult WP:MOSDATES.

major

A list of other notable games this engine is known for. Not an exhaustive list, and should only contain games that are well-known. These titles must be listed either in an in-article list or table, or if there exists a separate article for games using the engine, the title must be listed there.

latest release version

The version number of the latest release of the engine. Please observe the following examples:

Example #1: If the article is about a engine called Example Engine whose latest version is 1.5, specify:

1.5

Example #2: If the article is about a engine called Example Engine whose latest release is called Example Engine 2008 and whose latest version number is 12.2, specify:

2008 (12.2)

Example #3: If the article is about Example Engine 2010, which is a significant release of a engine called Example Engine and whose latest version number is 14.0.0.25, just specify:

14.0.0.25

Example #4: If the article is about Example Engine 2010 for which no update is released since its initial release-to-manufacturing (RTM), please omit this parameter unless there is an evidence that it is necessary for the reader to know this number. One reason would be the presence of preview releases of the engine which can only be distinguished from the RTM by their version number.

latest release date

The release date of the latest released version. If no update is released for the software since its initial release, please omit this field; filling in the released field would be enough. The content of this field should look like the following:

{{Start date and age|year|month|day}}

In case the article uses DMY as date format, use this code instead:

{{Start date and age|year|month|day|df=yes}}

If you are unsure which date format to use, please consult WP:MOSDATES.

initial release version

The version number of the first version. Please consult descriptions for latest release version provided above for best practices of specifying this parameter.

initial release date

Specifies the release date of the first version. Please consult descriptions for latest release date provided above for best practices of specifying this parameter.

latest preview version

The version number of the latest preview version or development branch. Should only be specified when development of a new version of the engine in question (newer than one specified in latest release version) is in progress. Please consult descriptions for latest release version provided above for best practices of specifying this parameter.

latest preview date

Specifies the release date of the latest preview version or development branch. Should only be specified when development of a new version of the engine in question (newer than one specified in latest release version) is in progress. Please consult descriptions for latest release date provided above for best practices of specifying this parameter.

programming language

The programming language of that subject of the article. If the program language of the engine has a corresponding article in Wikipedia, please link to it. Here is an example:

Code: [[C++]] and [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]]

Result: C++ and C#

When specifying the name of the programming language please make sure that you cite your source. Unreferenced assertions in Wikipedia may be challenged or removed. If you do not have a source, do not include this parameter.

preceded by

If the engine effectively replaces an earlier engine, it should be named here. If game has a corresponding article in Wikipedia, please link to it.

succeeded by

If the engine is effectively replaced by a later engine, it should be named here. If game has a corresponding article in Wikipedia, please link to it.

fork of

If the engine is derived from another, but is not believed to be a direct successor, the engine should be named here. If game has a corresponding article in Wikipedia, please link to it.

middleware

List of middleware used by the engine.

tools

List of tools that shipped with, or are commonly associated with, the engine.

platform

A list of platforms the engine supports. If it is not known which platforms are supported by the engine code-base and which were ported in another manner, all released platforms should be included.

Should include operating systems (Microsoft Windows, Linux) in place of vague terms such as PC.

Peripherals that are believed to significantly alter game and technical design should also be included here along-side the platform(s) these run on. For example, Xbox Kinect would not reach this criteria as it is an alternative input device for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, but Steam VR would qualify as it is distinguished from PC Gaming alone.

Digital ditribution and networking platforms such as Steam and Xbox Live should not be included here. Similarly, Cloud gaming services should not be listed here.

genre

The main genre(s) the engine is known for. Should not be used if the engine doesn't have any main genres, such as Unity 3D.

license

The software license under which the consumer is allowed to use the engine. You may specify a specific license or the more general category of license to which it belongs. See Category:Engine licenses. For example:

• • Proprietary commercial software ([[Proprietary license|Proprietary]] [[commercial software]]): engines which are licensed for use for a price. (As in this example, please be sure to link to [[Proprietary license]], which is an article about this type of software, and not to [[Proprietary]], which is a disambiguation page.)
  • Trialware/Shareware: Same as proprietary commercial, but the user may try the engine for limited time. Most software today are published under this license type.
  • GNU General Public License, GNU Lesser General Public License and BSD License: three forms of free and open-source software.

licence

Same as |license=. Pick either license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English), not both - select the one which matches the content of the article the template is used in.

alexa

The website's current Alexa ranking (find on Alexa.com; make sure to cite Alexa's page for this info.)

• Put {{Increase}} () OR {{Steady}} () OR {{Decrease}} () BEFORE the ranking number to indicate the change of ranking compared with the previous month.
• Mention the date of putting the ranking number AFTER the ranking number. Put the date in parenthesis, for example: (July 2012). If you update the ranking number, update the date as well.
• At User talk:Riley Huntley/AlexaBot.js you can request that a bot will monthly update the rank.

website

The web site URL of the engine. This URL must be readable in print. Therefore, you should use {{URL}} template like this: "{{URL|http://www.example.com}}". Avoid using printer-hostile forms like "[http://www.example.com Example website]". In absence of this parameter, infobox attempts to acquire the website link from Wikidata. This parameter overrides the Wikidata link. (It is useful when a second infobox for something different is defined on a page.) In addition, the special value "hide" suppresses this field, even in presence of a Wikidata link. This is useful for articles with several infoboxes, to avoid repeating one Wikidata link.

repo

The online source code repository, if available. For example, the sourceforge or github project page. As with the website parameter, this should use the {{URL}} template. In the absence of this parameter, infobox attempts to acquire the repository link from Wikidata. This parameter overrides the Wikidata link.

games list

If there exists a separate article on a list of games for the engine, games list should contain the name of this article.