User:The Jacketed Terrapin/Third-Party Universe Catalog/Guidelines

Before adding a universe to this project, it is strongly recommended to read these guidelines.

General guidelines:

• Outside of the "What isn't allowed" list, there are no limits on which universes are allowed for this project. They can have worldwide fame or be obscure to the point almost no one has heard of them; they can spawn an entire franchise or only have one standalone game; they can be exclusive to Nintendo hardware or not have a single release on Nintendo hardware; they can be serious additions you think should be represented in Smash or simply be added for the sake of comedy (i.e. a "joke addition"); anything goes for this project.
• Stuff like descriptions, infobox info, or even adding universes to this project is free for anyone to edit, but only I decide what can stay and what goes.
• If there's a universe you want to see added, but you don't feel like adding it yourself, feel free to suggest it to me. To suggest a universe, go to this page's talk page and suggest it there; just make sure it doesn't break any of the "What isn't allowed" guidelines. Do note that any suggested universe is not guaranteed to be added to this project right away, so please be patient if your suggestion isn't added yet.
• If there's a universe you want to add to this project, but you're unsure on whether it qualifies or not, ask about it on this page's talk page. Similarly, you can also use the talk page to point out any potential mistakes or if you have concerns about a certain universe's inclusion to this project.
• Should a universe listed on any of this project's sub-pages actually get representation in the Smash series, it should be removed from that respective page.

Structure:

• When adding a universe, make sure to mark it with <big>'''Added by *insert your username here*'''</big>; this should go below the universe's title header and above its infobox.
• Out of respect for the "image hosting service" policy, images for universe logos are not to be uploaded for this project. Instead, these should be externally displayed via an outside website (such as Imgur).
  • If available, the ideal image quality for universe logos are that they are at least 250 pixels big and they have transparent backgrounds (i.e. no white background or any background fluff that isn't naturally part of the logo).
  • If there is a universe logo you want to show me or you have a better version of one already on the project, then let me know via this page's talk page.
• The "Console/platform of origin" parameter should only consist of the consoles the first installment was released for on its very first day of release. Additionally, any console listed should be ordered by their release date (e.g. Windows in 1985 -> iOS in 2007 -> 3DS in 2011 -> Wii U in 2012 -> PlayStation 4 on 11/15/2013 -> Xbox One on 11/22/2013 -> Switch in 2017); if two consoles happen to release on the very same day (e.g. Famicom and SG-1000 both released on 7/15/1983), then list them in alphabetical order.
  • On a related note, any universe that debuted on an operating system (whether it's on PC or mobile) should use the then current name of the operating system at the time of the first installment's release (e.g. any Apple Mac game released between 2001-2011 should be labeled with "Mac OS X", 2012-2015 should use "OS X", and 2016-onward should use "macOS").
• Because the nature of this project would make it very difficult to keep track of upcoming installments for each universe, only the first installment of a universe should be listed in its infobox.
• While this project isn't necessarily tied to any universe type (whether it be major, secondary, or minor), universe descriptions may only be written like how they would appear on the minor universes pages (i.e. a brief description instead of several paragraphs explaining its entire history and/or cultural impact).

What isn't allowed:

• Third-party universes that already have representation in the Super Smash Bros. series. The dependent universes that are listed on the List of minor third-party universes page are fair game, however, as those do not have the standard infoboxes that the other universes share.
• Any universe that is already added to my List of unrepresented universes or List of Chronicle universes pages. You can, however, add anything that is listed on this page, but only if it doesn't fall under the "Based on non-gaming media" or "Applications/hardware" categories.
• Any primarily non-video game property (Dragon Ball, Shrek, SpongeBob, you name it). Franchises that technically started out as non-gaming media, but are primarily video game franchises (such as Megami Tensei or Strider), are fair game, however. Games based on public domain works are also valid, though the original work must have been in the public domain by the time the video game adaptation came out.
  • Also worth noting, just because a non-gaming property is owned by a video game company (such as Gundam via Bandai Namco or Fullmetal Alchemist via Square Enix) does not mean it is eligible for this project. The video game series has to have far higher priority over the other types of media in order to qualify for this project.
• Unreleased or cancelled games. While Smash does often reference content from then upcoming games (with Melee even having a trophy of an IP that wasn't even released yet), allowing unreleased games is more likely than not going to open the floodgates for a ton of universes that may very well never see the light of day. To keep things a lot more simple, only include games that have had at least one installment officially released.
• Explicitly erotic games or games that blatantly promote bigoted views (e.g. white supremacy, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, ableism, etc.). These ones are obvious, so no need to go in-depth about them.

Some other notes:

• There may be times a universe is removed from the project for reasons that don't really fall under any of the examples listed under the "What isn't allowed" section. For cases like these, I will provide the reason for its removal in an edit summary.
• The company categories are not necessarily a way of saying that these companies should have representation in Smash (especially if some of them have a problematic history), but rather serve as an easy categorization for certain universes; and besides, IPs are still subject to change ownership and this project is only really focused on the IPs themselves, anyway.
• Some universes may be categorized under a certain company not necessarily because said company may own the IP, but more because they are the main publisher of that IP. This is especially in cases where the true ownership of the IP is very uncertain.