Kompas Productions:Summertime Saga Wiki:Manual of Style

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Revision as of 14:53, 10 June 2020 by Casiope (talk | contribs) (General writing advice)
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Summertime Saga Wiki is a collaborative publication designed to provide players with relevant information about the visual novel. However, it’s not intended to detail the game’s storytelling in its entirety, but to serve useful resources for its apprehension. The manual of style is the guidelines applied on the wiki. It helps editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting, making the wiki easier and more intuitive for users.

General writing advice

The articles must be easy to understand, both in their structure and in the vocabulary used, as the readers may be not native English speakers. It’s encouraged to mention the main character in the third person, with the exceptions of the Walkthrough and Getting started pages where the steps must be written in the second person since they give direct recommendations for the player to be followed.

The introductory sentence that opens the article and precedes the first section defines the title of the article.

Capitalization

Article titles and section headings use sentence case, not title case, to avoid unnecessary capitalization.

Correct: Diane appreciates The Breeder Guide reading.
Incorrect: Diane appreciates the breeder guide reading.
  • Capitalize proper nouns
Correct: Hillside Mall is the local mall where the main character is used to go.
Incorrect: Hillside mall is the local mall where the main character is used to go.
  • But don’t capitalize generic locations
Correct: Harold serves at the police station.
Incorrect: Harold serves at the Police Station.

Abbreviations

Prevent abbreviations if the expressions are commonly unknown.

Correct: The main character is heavily endowed.
Incorrect: MC is heavily endowed.

Italic

Italics are used for emphasis and titles of work.

Correct: Summertime Saga is the game’s title.
Incorrect: Summertime Saga is the game’s title.

Punctuation

Consistent use of the curly (or typographic) apostrophe ( ) is recommended, as opposed to the straight (or typewriter) apostrophe ( ' ). Same rule exists for the quotation marks.

Correct: Jenny doesn’t do anything for free.
Incorrect: Jenny doesn't do anything for free.

You can use both the precomposed ellipsis character () or the three unspaced periods (...) for the ellipses. The three spaced periods or (. . .) is not recommended because it requires non‐breaking spaces to keep it from breaking at the end of a line.

Correct: A fresh fish! A bit smelly…
Incorrect: A fresh fish! A bit smelly. . .

En dash () is preferred to em dash ().

Correct: Martinez – whose first name is Camila – is Consuela’s daughter.
Incorrect: Martinez — whose first name is Camila — is Consuela’s daughter.

Hyphens (‐) indicate conjunction. They should not be confused with dashes, or with the minus sign (−).

Correct: Missy’s outfit is made up of a pink off‐the‐shoulder short‐sleeve crop top and dark‐navy low‐waist pleated miniskirt.
Incorrect: Missy’s outfit is made up of a pink off the shoulder short sleeve crop top and dark navy low waist pleated miniskirt.

Grammar

For the possessive of singular nouns ending with just one s, add just an apostrophe.

Correct: Ms. Ross’ office
Incorrect: Ms. Ross’s office
Incorrect: Ms. Ross office

For a normal plural noun, ending with a pronounced s, form the possessive by adding just an apostrophe.

Correct: Boys’ locker room
Incorrect: Boys’s locker room
Incorrect: Boys locker room

Numbers

Integers greater than nine expressible in one or two words may be expressed either in numerals or in words. When written as words, numbers from 21 to 99 are hyphenated.

Correct: Presenting herself as a twenty‐four‐year‐old goddess, Jenny is a pretty tall girl with a curvaceous figure.

Left of the decimal point, five or more digits are grouped into threes separated by commas.

Correct: The player needs $5,000 to purchase the beachhouse.

Dates and time

Use of the term “current” should be avoided. What is current today may not be on the next release; game is changing over time. Instead, use date and number‐specific version.

Prefer to specify a full date format Day–month–year. Please avoid the full‐numeric format as it creates confusion.

Correct: Version 0.18.6 – 5 June 2019
Incorrect: Version 0.18.6 – 5th June 2019
Incorrect: Version 0.18.6 – 2019-6-5
Incorrect: Version 0.18.6 – 2019/06/05

Links

  • Make links only where they are relevant and helpful in the context: hyperlinks are distracting, and may slow the reader down. If a content is already linked in the page, please don’t adjoin another one. A link to the main character’s page is useless as the readers are supposed to know who is the protagonist.
  • Do not add external links to other Summertime Saga‐related sites without permission.
  • Do not use external links in the body of an article.

Names

In order not to confuse readers who may not be familiar with the game characters, consider using their common titles for one-time references.

Correct: No one likes Coach Bridget except Ronda.
Incorrect: No one likes Ms. Bridget except Ronda.

Infoboxes

Infoboxes present a set of universal information for all characters, locations and items. If a type of information is not shared by the majority of them, then it has no place here. Schedule are exclusively places where the player can meet the character the very first time, or just after being unlocked – so not limited in a route or from a route. Example: Helen moves to the church location at a later point in Mia and Helen’s route; this info should not be in the infobox.

A new feature in the Character Infobox validates the characters who can be pregnant. This category also includes the future dating system. The reference color is the own dedicated color used for each character in the game.

Character pages

Please use the short name for the title of the main page of each character, and the complete or long name inside the Character Infobox. Example: Priya (page title) / Dr. Priya Singh (infobox title). Don’t forget to redirect page if needed.

The Appearance section starts with the physical characteristics; face type, haircut, gaze, chest size or general look are often the missing features; they allow the readers to create a mental picture. Please do not indicate who is the inspiration because this comment must be written inside the Easter eggs page; we assume the wiki to be small enough for its repetition to be dispensable.

The Personality section specifies the character’s feelings and behavior with his/her entourage, and how he/she reacts to certain situations. Also, what does he/she like to do, what does he/she dislike.

The Story section must only give a context to Summertime Saga stories. Most of the characters portrayed in the game have a backstory, a family, a place where they live or work, hobby or activity. His/Her name or surname should be explained. Some details may be delivered during DarkCookie’s streams, such as his/her age or origins. Depending on their pertinence, they have their place in the article.

A forelook of the events can be used as an introduction for the Event section. First, not every events should be on the pages as the walkthrough page is more appropriate; but, because Summertime Saga is an adult game, a good compromise is a quick overview of the sexy scenes encountered. Priority is given to additional scenes that are stand‐alone from the walkthrough. Curiosity should be aroused and makes the reader want to discover the events in‐game. Moreover, please make sure to use the collapsible element to hide the contents that spoil the story.

Location pages

The Description section focuses on the building layout, the rooms decoration, atmosphere and particularities that say a lot about who live, work or have their habits there. These characters, whose place constitutes their original location, are alphabetically ordered in the People section. In the same way, the items that can be purchased have to be listed with their price in the Products section. Link must be appended if the place includes a subplace that justifies a separate article.

The notes reveal further information on how to unlock the place, and the minigame(s) that can be played there.

Finally the screens of each individual room are catalogued inside the Screens section.

Minigame pages

These articles follow a same structure with an introduction, the minigame instructions and rewards. Don’t hide the hints inside spoiler tags because they are the main motivation for users to visit the page. Pictures are always welcome as long as they are associated with a descriptive text.

Walkthrough pages

The first section is always reserved for the requirements: they include anything that can be unlocked or acquired beforehand – such as items (but not the quest objects), locations, the main character’s statistics, or how much money is asked during the route.

The step‐by‐step guide is written inside the Story section. This purpose requires several writing efforts:

  • The quests are written in distinctive paragraphs and titled, so the readers know where they have to look for. Quests often extend over multiple steps. The steps list each new day devoted to the route.
  • Write using the second‐person singular point of view, as if you were explaining the game to a friend.
  • What: The objective(s) may be mentioned – for example if they give direction to the story – but they should not be generalized everywhere.
  • When: Time of day and day of the week are two essential elements.
  • Where: Location is not mandatory if it has already been visited by the players previously. You don’t need to repeat that Sister Angelica is in the room located on the second floor of the church for the third time since it’s her usual place.
  • Who: If a character has been introduced by his/her name to the player in the previous steps, writing the name is not required. Adjective or term that refers to this character can be used instead. Keep in mind that he/she should not be confound with somebody else.
  • Hyperlinks! The walkthrough should not be exhaustive but send readers to other articles. Items must always redirect to their pages. There is no reason to put the same link several times in the same page.
  • Finally, read you again. If a passage seems confusing to you, there is a good chance that it will also be confusing to readers.

Due to the wiki page format, please refrain to add too many or too big images. The illustrations are not limited to gameplay elements, but also accept funny or memorable scenes that the players encounter in the game. Prefer the thumbnail format option and don’t forget a caption text. The full syntax for displaying an image is:

[[File:filename.extension|options|caption]]

The presence of numerous sub‐items in the walkthrough, such as titles or specific indications – both with indentations – systematically breaks the order of steps and makes impossible to use the basic lists. But the HTML syntax allows to indicate the starting value for each one:

Wikitext Rendering
<ol start="3">
<li>'''Step 3'''</li>
<li>'''Step 4'''</li>
<li>'''Step 5'''</li>
</ol>
  1. Step 3
  2. Step 4
  3. Step 5

And with the sub‐items:

Wikitext Rendering
'''Title A'''
<ol start="3"><li>Step 3</li></ol>
'''Title B'''
{{Note|Allow X days to pass.}}
<ol start="4"><li>Step 4</li></ol>
'''Title C'''
<ol start="5"><li>Step 5</li></ol>

Title A

  1. Step 3

Title B

Allow X days to pass.
  1. Step 4

Title C

  1. Step 5

Pregnancies that are part of the route, are written individually in a last section. They cover the period from the moment of conception to the moment the newborn is at daycare.

Main page

The wiki home page is a protected page. This means that only wiki administrators can update it. This page has been redesigned to list the main articles by category. The effort is put into ensuring its accessibility.

Message boxes

Message boxes have been implemented to offer better readability. Please use them sparingly for important reminders.

Information icon.pngThis is an informational message.
Important icon orange.pngThis is an important message.
Warning red icon.pngThis is a warning message.
Protected icon.pngThis is a message about a protected article.

Color chart

Figuring a color chart for Summertime Saga Wiki is not easy task because the game is using navy blue and dark blue as backgrounds colors and white as writing color.

Color HTML Code Use
#FFF Text on dark backgrounds
#3F4562 Header
#8B94AA Border and line
#3F4454 Background
Table without line titles
Header 1 Header 2
Content 1.1 Content 1.2
Content 2.1 Content 2.2
Table with line titles
Header 1 Header 2
Title 1.1 Content 1.2
Title 2.2 Content 2.2

Your opinion and help

Feel free to let me know your opinions on these subjects. Your help is welcome. Casiope (talk)