Article format for setting wiki? - Page 2

~~Peter Knutsen~~ · 03-11-2011, 12:29 AM

Next month, unless I get a nasty surprise (such things can happen), it's time to start the wiki for my Ärth historical fantasy setting, the URL of which will be announced at a much later date (once I have sufficient material; it should be interesting to people who play GURPS Banestorm, Celtic Myth, Vikings or Middle Ages 1, or even Arabian Nights).

With my Sagatafl RPG system wiki (which still doesn't have enough content to be worth announcing), I found that having a standard article formt, a sort of skeleton with a number of bones, in the form of sections and subsections that I'd then "hang" content on, was really helpful.

It just so happened that the original article skeleton I created was lacking, and over the months I've added about 3 or 4 new major sections, and some subsections.

Therefore, I'd like to get things right from day one, with this wiki, thinking the structure through first. I can always change it later, but it's a bother if I forget something crucial and then have to go back to all the old articles and add it in. In a way, such an article skeleton is just a reminder to myself (neither this wiki nor the Sagatafl wiki are "open" for others to edit, although Sagatafl now has a co-designer) of what to remember to include.

So, what should be there? It's a setting wiki only, all game mecahnics are in the Sagatafl wiki, e.g. the magic system, with Ärth wiki articles linking to the Sagatafl wiki for this as needed, so it's all "soft" or "theoretically generic" information, about characters, places, cultures, religions and organizations, and history.

Should I have one article skeleton for each of those six kinds of articles, or one universal skeleton that's a bit more elaborate, but which fits them all, and where I can just prune irrelevant sections or subsections?

Clearly some articles will need to be without this structure, but I've found that in the Sagatafl wiki, so far, 98% of the game mechanic articles fits in the structure I've made for that wiki.

Have any of you tried anything like this? Documenting a setting via a series of interlinked articles? Using a wiki or some other kind of CMS system? If so, can I see it? How did you do it? What mistakes did you make that you're willing to caution me about repeating?

03-11-2011, 12:29 AM	#1
~~Peter Knutsen~~ Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Europe	Article format for setting wiki? Next month, unless I get a nasty surprise (such things can happen), it's time to start the wiki for my Ärth historical fantasy setting, the URL of which will be announced at a much later date (once I have sufficient material; it should be interesting to people who play GURPS Banestorm, Celtic Myth, Vikings or Middle Ages 1, or even Arabian Nights). With my Sagatafl RPG system wiki (which still doesn't have enough content to be worth announcing), I found that having a standard article formt, a sort of skeleton with a number of bones, in the form of sections and subsections that I'd then "hang" content on, was really helpful. It just so happened that the original article skeleton I created was lacking, and over the months I've added about 3 or 4 new major sections, and some subsections. Therefore, I'd like to get things right from day one, with this wiki, thinking the structure through first. I can always change it later, but it's a bother if I forget something crucial and then have to go back to all the old articles and add it in. In a way, such an article skeleton is just a reminder to myself (neither this wiki nor the Sagatafl wiki are "open" for others to edit, although Sagatafl now has a co-designer) of what to remember to include. So, what should be there? It's a setting wiki only, all game mecahnics are in the Sagatafl wiki, e.g. the magic system, with Ärth wiki articles linking to the Sagatafl wiki for this as needed, so it's all "soft" or "theoretically generic" information, about characters, places, cultures, religions and organizations, and history. Should I have one article skeleton for each of those six kinds of articles, or one universal skeleton that's a bit more elaborate, but which fits them all, and where I can just prune irrelevant sections or subsections? Clearly some articles will need to be without this structure, but I've found that in the Sagatafl wiki, so far, 98% of the game mechanic articles fits in the structure I've made for that wiki. Have any of you tried anything like this? Documenting a setting via a series of interlinked articles? Using a wiki or some other kind of CMS system? If so, can I see it? How did you do it? What mistakes did you make that you're willing to caution me about repeating?