Pikipedia:Area article guidelines
The following policy applies to articles about areas in the series. The following sections should exist, with the names and order provided.
Opening text
The opening text (not a section) should describe what the area is like in the broadest terms possible: how the area is reached, what are the most important events that take place in it, and other basic points about the area. If it's a Pikmin area, it should also have a paragraph or two explaining the Challenge Mode version: the differences between it and the story mode variant, as well as the most notable gimmicks and exclusive features in the Challenge Mode version. Finally, it should list how many Pokos or bottle of juice it has in total, both on the overworld alone, and overworld + caves.
Plot
If there's any relevant plot events regarding this area, list them here. This mostly applies to Pikmin 3, where the reason for going to an area is clearly defined, whereas in the previous games, an area is mostly only accessed because an otherwise-unremarkable object got recovered.
Overview
The first section in the article should have this name. It explains the geographical properties of the level, like the following:
- Its size
- Its theme (garden-like, artificial, etc.)
- Its structure (maze-like, open-ended, etc.)
- Type and distribution of the terrain
- Types of structures of interest (several tree stumps, several lakes, etc.)
- Its linearity (whether it is mostly open with equal exploration on all points of the land, or if it's mostly linear, with clear start and end points)
- How much vertical variation there is
- If it's surrounded by water, pits, etc.
Key sections
This section should explain with more detail the different sections of the area, including cardinal direction references. For example: "To the north, there is a large circular arena accessible at a higher ground level. The Armored Cannon Beetle here guards the Radiation Canopy, which resides on a small alcove in the arena." Use paragraph breaks generously, to make sure the text isn't hard to follow. Basically, try to split up the area so that readers can understand reference points by comparing them to different rooms in a house. Amongst the different sections, you should at least describe the landing site and any major boss arenas.
Caves
Only for Pikmin 2 areas, this section should list and link to the caves the area contains.
Objects
A section listing the objects that can be found here. It should follow the object listing policy, except that every category (enemies, fruits, etc.) should be its own sub-section. Unless impractical, have the list in two columns, using {{columns}}.
Guide
Two or three broad guides should exist: a basic one, a speed one, and a Challenge Mode one, if applicable. The story mode guides explain how to "complete" the area, meaning discovering all Pikmin types within, collecting all collectibles (ship part, treasures, spacesuit upgrades, etc.), and clearing all caves. The guides shouldn't explain how to clear a cave, however.
The basic guide helps explain how to complete the area, and what requisites there are for each of the area's events. It should be placed under a section titled "Basic guide".
The speed guide should give an overview on the general order of events that need to be done in order to complete the area as quickly as possible. It should be placed under a section titled "Speed completion".
The Challenge Mode guide should provide a strategy on how to complete the area with the best score possible.
Pikmin drawings
For Pikmin 3 areas, this section should contain a gallery with screenshots of the Pikmin drawings, and their locations on the gallery's description. The name shouldn't have an uppercase D in drawings, and the section should start with {{main|Pikmin drawings}}.
Quotes
If there are any quotes about this area (Olimar's monologues, Olimar's notes, etc.), add them here, using {{transcript}}.
Gallery
The gallery should contain some screenshots showing most of the points of interest and notable sections in the area, as well as link to a category containing more images of the level, by use of the template {{see more}} below the gallery. The gallery should also include the map shown on the infobox, because users that are not running Javascript won't be able to open the map using the infobox.