KQ Omnipedia:Canon Policy

There are three main categories of information contained in the articles of the wikipedia. The policies below show how to enter such information. Where an article contains more than one type of information, all of the appropriate policies should be followed.

If you have any queries about these policies, feel free to ask about them on the talk page.

This policy is based on SQ Omnipedia:Canon Policy.

Background
Canon (or preferred term 'continuity') refers to the official body of work related to King's Quest originally published or officially licensed by Sierra (Sierra Activision). These include the original eight Roberta Williams's KQ games, Wizard & The Princess/Adventure in Serenia, KQ1SCI remake, King's Questions, other spinoff of games (Pinball, Graham's Board Game Challenge, Hoyle, etc), and various assorted game documentation & manuals and other officially endorsed KQ-related material (including Strategy Guides and novels), or any other official material required for the complete King's Quest experience. As well as any future sequels that expand on and directly continue from the original series as well (which are unlikely to have Roberta William's direct influence). However the reliability of individual sources may very.

In general due to the nature of continuity between later games (particularly between KQ1 and KQ3) in the series and other source material, the original KQ1 is considered more reliable than the SMS port or SCI remake. The SCI remake is treated more as a 'reimagining/reboot', or at least an alternate universe. Likewise, KQ5 pc is considered more reliable than KQ5 port on the NES, etc. There may also be differences between game versions and formats (floppy vs. CD-ROM) which may be covered in articles.

The official guides by Peter Spear or Donald Trivette (authorized and endorsed by Sierra, including editorial assistance by Sierra employees and sometimes Roberta Williams herself, or other King's Quest producers/developers) are considered more reliable than the three spinoff novels which had very little Sierra involvement. But all are considered official and therefore 'canon'. However where differences in story/continuity occurs between the novels and other sources it will be mentioned in the specific articles (i.e. Three-headed Dragon for example).

Further down the list is crossover, easter egg, cameos, and homage material found in other games (what Leisure Suit Larry refers to as the 'Sierra World') as seen in official Sierra games or source material. These include Hoyle games, Rosella's First Quest, The Bookwyrm Investigates: Sierra Characters Favorite Books, Al Lowe Interviews Rosella, and other Sierra games. While some of this material adds background lore to the KQ universe as in the case of Hoyle I, much of this is simply a reference for humor sake (jokes or parodies), and not intended to fit into any shared continuity, but sometimes the its a grey area where both new 'lore' is introduced but also from a humorous perspective. Much of this kind of side material maybe added to this wiki as is, where it relates in a particular topic or be given specific articles as well.

The new King's Quest (IX) may be a special case (or in much a similar position as that of the KQ1 SCI remake), as it appears to offer retellings of some of the previous games stories but with very different events and sequences. It is yet unclear if this is perhaps just exaggerated version of the story being told to his granddaughter, or representative of a new universe altogether, see pocket universes. Depending on the quantity of this information it may require that some articles be divided to give more focus on the changes in the material.

The following policies only refer to articles in the main namespace. Pages in other namespaces (such as Help, User or Talk) are not covered.

Information Regarding King's Quest 1-8, Wizard and the Princess/Adventure in Serenia, King's Questions, associated documentation, and novels.
Information regarding official games, manuals, hint books, and novels are considered official (and canon) and can be entered normally. Any potential discrepancies can be pointed out in the "behind the scenes" section of the article. All articles must be referenced to the appropriate game or documentation as follows:

Articles relating to only one game, or with only very general information
Add the appropriate category to the end of the article. The categories are:

Articles where more than one game is referenced
Each piece of information must be referenced to its particular game. This can be achieved by referring to particular eras within the text (e.g. the KQ1 era) or by using footnotes. For more information on creating footnotes, see the quick reference guide.

King's Quest IX (KQ9)
The new King's Quest appears it will be retelling certain aspects of the old series. It will be eleased through the 'resurrected' Sierra Games, and Activison and developed by The Odd Gentleman. Articles related to the game will go to these sections as long as the game remains in development (development of KQ9 has had a troubled past); Add the appropriate category to the end of the article. The categories are:

In case the latest version has development issues (and is again cancelled), this may change.

It is not yet clear what status it will have on continuity, or if it part of the canon, or is more of a reboot or retelling. If part of the original timeline/s these will follow the same policy as the original games in the series. From the reveal it appears that parts of the game will be retellings of the original game stories. The reveal shows off for example his journey down the Ancient Well into the Dragon's Lair, although the sequence of events appears to be more action oriented, and the dragon treated as a large chase/escape sequence/boss fight. As such as this is Graham' telling his story to his Granddaughter, it maybe 'exaggerated embellishment' or set in an alternate universe from the original.

This wiki will treat the original series as the primary version of the events.

Information regarding fan fiction and fan games
Fan fiction and fan games are disputed, and are simply not officially canon. It is unlikely that any decision could be made where all fans agree. For this reason, information on fan fiction and games is restricted and allowed only within the guidelines of the following policies:

Fan fiction
Fan fiction should be categorized as. A story should be relatively complete (containing at least a single chapter) and published on a website.

Information from a fanfic may be included in related fan topic, but 'new topics' based only on a single fan fiction reference or should be avoided.

Fan game manuals or related websites are a special case and may be treated as 'part of the game' they are related to for the sake of creating new articles (see The Four Winds).

Cancelled fan games and fan games that are on hold, or vaporware
Cancelled fan games and fan games that are on hold are entitled to one article - no other information should be included in any other article. They must be categorised as. A project website being taken down (or no website to begin within) in conjunction with no active updates, may be considered a "cancellation' for the sake of categorizing things. Active updates in a forum, may count (and it is recommended that links to the updates are made in the article).

When there is no active updates, and it is unknown if the project is cancelled or not; A game may be categorized as. Having a live website related to the game, or acknowledgement that that the game is still being worked on, may be used as supporting evidence. It can't hurt for a member of a developer to add a note to the talk page for the game, with a date, so as show that there is still activity.

No game under these categories are to be listed on the Fan Material main page.

Otherwise rules are similar to fan games as work in progress. There must be a website of some sort, proof of concept work (ingame screenshots or video, not just concept 'fan art').

Fan games whose work is in progress
Fan games whose work is in progress must be categorised as.

Fan games that are expected to be completed are classed as those that have their own website, have recent updates (every 2-3 months) and have provided some form screenshot or concept art.

Fan games whose work in progress must follow the policies set out for fan games that are on hold (see above). That is entitled to one article, and no information should be included in any other article (unless a release is imminent). If updates are routine, it is also entitled to a link from the Fan Material (this will be set up by experienced omnipedia editors). If 2-3 months go by without an update the link may be removed.

Released Fan Games
Fan games that have been publically released are entitled to a Category of their own. This category must be a subcategory of. They are also entitled to a link from the Fan Material (this will be set up by experienced omnipedia editors).

Articles where more than one fan fiction or fan game is referenced
As the canonicity of fan games and fan fiction is disputed, a compromise has been reached. All information regarding sourced from fan games must be contained in its own section entitled "[topic] (unofficial)".

If the material may be split off to its own page through a direct link.

Articles relating to only one game
Articles referring to only one game do not need to use the above heading. Instead they should include the template FanArticle.

Example Usage:

Which Produces:

Meta and Non-Canon Information
This includes:
 * Information that comes from fanfiction
 * Information containing speculation
 * Information about references to the real world
 * Any other meta and non-canon information

If fan related material directly from fan fiction or fan games included in a canon topic should be put under the canon material in a section entitled "[topic] in the unofficial sources" (if it is specifically from a fan game, then sources could be replaced with "games").

Speculation from the fan community, information concerning the real world, etc, may be included in a "behind the scenes" section.

Note: If an entire article is meta or non-canon, it is sufficient to post a smaller message at the top of the article, which should say something like this:

Advertising and Off-topic discussions
King's Quest Omnipedia follows a policy similar to that of Wikipedia (though somewhat looser). But in general, keep in mind that King's Quest Omnipedia is not a soapbox, a battleground, or a vehicle for propaganda, advertising and showcasing. This applies to articles, categories, templates, talk page discussions, and user pages. Therefore, content hosted is not for:


 * 1.Advocacy, propaganda, or recruitment of any kind: commercial, political, religious, sports-related, or otherwise. Of course, an article can report objectively about such things, as long as an attempt is made to describe the topic from a neutral point of view. You might wish to start a blog or visit a forum if you want to convince people of the merits of your favorite views.


 * 2.Opinion pieces. Although some topics, particularly those concerning current affairs and politics, may stir passions and tempt people to "climb soapboxes" (for example, passionately advocate their pet point of view), wikia is not the medium for this. Articles must be balanced to put entries, especially for current events, in a reasonable perspective, and represent a neutral point of view. Furthermore, authors should strive to write articles that will not quickly become obsolete.


 * 3.Scandal mongering, something "heard through the grapevine" or gossip. Articles and content about living people are required to meet an especially high standard, as they may otherwise be libellous or infringe the subjects' right to privacy. Articles should not be written purely to attack the reputation of another person.
 * 4.Self-promotion. It can be tempting to write about yourself or projects in which you have a strong personal involvement. However, do remember that the standards for encyclopedic articles apply to such pages just like any other. This includes the requirement to maintain a neutral point of view, which is difficult when writing about yourself or about projects close to you. Creating overly abundant links and references to autobiographical sources is unacceptable.


 * 5.Advertising. All information about companies and products are written in an objective and unbiased style. All article topics must be verifiable with independent, third-party sources, so articles about very small "garage" or local companies are typically unacceptable. External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they identify major organizations which are the topic of the article. Wikia neither endorses organizations nor runs affiliate programs.

Non-disruptive statements of opinion on internal policies and guidelines may be made on user pages, as they are relevant to the current and future operation of the project.