Style Guide Poll #3: Game Titles

[tripredacus]

Please read the entire thread before choosing a poll option. Poll will run for 7 days (give or take) and the results will win out and become the rule. Rules in the Style Guide can be voted on again in the future or new ones can be brought. You can submit additional ideas to bring up for voting in this thread:
https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,8361.0.html

This poll is specifically to put into the Style Guide what names for games we should actually be using. This is to clarify the "regional release title" as specified in the Style Guide. This will not change any of our existing formatting rules for descriptors, packs, TLDs or transliteration. This is due to the current inference that items in the database need to use the full front title, using blanket conditions created by the practice of putting Disney/Pixar onto titles where they commonly are not used on other websites. This had led to confusion among many as to what names should actually be used on games, as often the name a game is known as does not match what is printed on the cover.

Games using stylized logos that may merge two words into one.
Example: Mega Man X4 uses a logo that has no space, effective cover title is Megaman X4.
https://vgcollect.com/item/6971

Games using a front title that has a full title that is not used in common practice.
Example: .hack//Quarantine has a front title of .hack Part 4: Quarantine: The Final Chapter
https://vgcollect.com/item/22240
https://vgcollect.com/item/1325

Games that have a logo design that does not match the game's actual title:
Example: Resident Evil 4 has a stylized logo as 4 Resident Evil
https://vgcollect.com/item/1065

Games that have extra text in titles that are used for copyright or advertising purposes.
Example: The Last Airbender to avoice confusion with other Avatar (but not James Cameron Avatar) title is
M. Night Shyamalan The Last Airbender
https://vgcollect.com/item/29485
This also applies to games that have the company logo on or near the title, including Disney or Dreamworks or whoever else.

The example list can go on forever.

Current Style Guide:

Game Titles:

Use the item's regional release title, written in the language written on the case, but in the Latin alphabet (the letters we commonly use). If the title is in Japanese, use the most recognized transliteration.

• Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (NA)
• Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King (EU)
• Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi (JP)

*Option 1 in the poll would enforce the rule that all video game titles would use the full title as represented on the front of the box or case. You can see examples of this in the previous examples above the quote box.

**Option 2 in the poll would enforce common names with exceptions. Common names will be referenced to other sources of reference. This would also eliminate "colon gate" situations... hopefully...

Exceptions would need to be added for certain titles such as these examples:
- Resident Evil VII: English logo clearly has the roman numeral VII in the name and does not use the number 7. Game is known on most websites as Resident Evil 7. Example:
https://vgcollect.com/item/133930

- Mega Man Legacy Collection + Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is usually referred to online as Mega Man Legacy Collection 1+2.
https://vgcollect.com/item/143739

- .hack//Quarantine is referred to online as .hack//Quarantine Part 4. This is an error as it is Part 4 of the .hack// series not Part 4 of the Quarantine series. So Part 4 would be omitted in our title.

Other examples. Games with studio marks in titles would not be required, with the exception that there would be two games with the same title. Disney typically gets to refer to their movies as Disney's Whatever because they often make movies based on properties in the public domain. Disney did not make Aladdin, as anyone can make an Aladdin movie, cartoon, video game, but Disney's Aladdin is their own thing with unique blah blah blah.

Disney, Disney/Pixar, Dreamworks, M Night Shamalamabingbong, etc would not be required in item titles. Author possessives would be, such as James Cameron's Avatar or Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six.

Marketing descriptors for game titles would not be required. These are used by the rights holder to eliminate confusion when they release video games based on other properties (such as movies) that are selling in the same region at the same time. Again, the only exception of this would be if we had two different games in the same category with the same name, so one would need to be "The Game" if it does says so on the packaging. Otherwise, the year or publisher descriptor should be used.
Example:
Iron Man not Iron Man: The Game
James Cameron's Avatar not James Cameron's Avatar: The Game

These particular errors in titles from other websites, as well as full front titles (in addition to spine, cart or in-game menu titles) should be put into alt-name and not be on the main item title.

If you have any recommendations for other game title sources, feel free to post them. We specifically would need sources for specific platforms not already covered.

[rayne315]

i prefer the title written on the front cover simply for the fact that if you were to buy the game and try and enter it you only have to write the title. but there are plenty of games that have different titles on the cart/disc than on the cover of the box which will make it slightly difficult for people to add game only additions.

One thing that i do not like about the box art though is that then you have games like Aladdin becoming Disney's Aladdin or something like Madden NFL 2004 becoming EA Sports: Madden NFL 2004 or whatever it would be. but i still believe it to be the better option.

[telly]

While I think both options are fine and won't change most of the games in the database anyway, the issue is the remaining 20% (or whatever it is), and that's where the imperfections of both systems start to show.

i prefer the title written on the front cover simply for the fact that if you were to buy the game and try and enter it you only have to write the title. but there are plenty of games that have different titles on the cart/disc than on the cover of the box which will make it slightly difficult for people to add game only additions.

Going with the title as it shows on the case actually strays more away from that than towards it. You mentioned the Disney/Pixar stuff which is very relevant, but if someone is entering Resident Evil 4 into the database, even though they know the game is called that, it will not show up like that. It will be 4 Resident Evil. The search function as it stands should be able to handle most of these, but I can guarantee that some games will get shunted down the list of search results because they'll become so much more different than what their being entered as by users.

In my opinion the problem with going with the box title only is that it trades off database functionality and appearance for item consistensy, and that's it. While going by the box title sounds good on paper, it becomes maladaptive when it directly changes game titles that are clearly supposed to be a certain name. I'm reminded of that old video MJR did of the site where he couldn't even find games to add because of the restricted search options. I'm worried the database will seem off to new users in that same capacity, and that's a far bigger priority in my opinion.

[desocietas]

Waiting to see Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII 

[totallycrushed]

.

[telly]

Waiting to see Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII 

     

[Agozer]

I would use common names backed by trusted sources, with exceptions. The reasoning being the same with what telly said earlier.

I really like Resident Evil VII over Resident Evil 7 though. I'm a sucker for roman numerals.

[ignition365]

Technically, Resident Evil 7 would be written as Resident Evil: Biohazard or Resident EVIIL/EVIL: Biohazard.

[desocietas]

Also, after all these years of owning the .hack series, I never knew how messed up the titles were. 

[ignition365]

Cover actually says .hack Part 4: Quarantine: The Final Chapter.  Technically the "Part #" is between .hack and the subtitle.  dot hack if you want to include the fact that the '.' has "dot" written inside of it.

[tripredacus]

Cover actually says .hack Part 4: Quarantine: The Final Chapter.  Technically the "Part #" is between .hack and the subtitle.  dot hack if you want to include the fact that the '.' has "dot" written inside of it.

Oh right, I forgot US box art has the word "dot" written in the logo as opposed to the Japanese title. 

[pizzasafari]

99% of the time I order games on my shelves by the name as it is on the box and it's convenient for me personally to have the games on my shelves and the games in my VGCollect in the same order. But that's just me.

[desocietas]

99% of the time I order games on my shelves by the name as it is on the box and it's convenient for me personally to have the games on my shelves and the games in my VGCollect in the same order. But that's just me.

Yes, I like to be able to audit my collection that way, too, in case I missed a new addition!

[aliensstudios]

Shouldn't this really vary on a case by case basis? Are you really going to call it DRX Mario?


If that's the case I'd like to change my vote because I figured at first the title should be what's on the spine, not the front cover. In retrospect I think I'd rather see the common name by trusted sources.

Or just keep it with the way it is now, a hodgepodge of the two. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

Is there a way to change my vote? 

[desocietas]

I'm not going to mess with trip's poll, but he can edit it to allow for user edits of their choice. Hopefully he'll do that for you