Being Top Editor on a Wiki Page and Why

This blog isn't so much about flaunting the pages you have the most points on, but rather, why?

I'm sure a lot of us have dumped hours into a certain page (or multiple pages) until it's just right. Is it because you're passionate about the game or characters? Or is it just because it was something that needed to be done?

I have 1,702 points for my work on the Melty Blood: Actress Again: Current Code page. Looking at that you might think that I must be crazy good at that game or obsessed with the fiction but in reality I'm mediocre at best. I was playing it one day and thought I'd go see if there was anything interesting in the wiki to find it was pretty much blank. I was surprised, I thought there would have been someone out there who was a fan of the game who would fill out the page. Suddenly it felt like it was my duty to fill in that page and try my best to make an informative and detailed description of the game's mechanics and characters, etc... I felt a little out of my league, having to start from scratch but I think I got there in the end. I went through multiple revisions of paragraphs and different formatting, uploading images (especially getting the character images to stay where I wanted them). Honestly I've learned much more about the game writing that page than all of the hours I spent playing the game and feel like I have a new found love for it... At least I see it in a different way. Also having my name on the left side of the page feels pretty good too, even if not many people get to see it.

I'd be interested in hearing why other people put time and effort into pages they've contributed to and whether it changed the way they perceive those games.

And if you haven't took a shot at editing a page yet I recommend it, it's definitely a fulfilling experience.

This blog isn't so much about flaunting the pages you have the most points on, but rather, why?

I'm sure a lot of us have dumped hours into a certain page (or multiple pages) until it's just right. Is it because you're passionate about the game or characters? Or is it just because it was something that needed to be done?

I have 1,702 points for my work on the Melty Blood: Actress Again: Current Code page. Looking at that you might think that I must be crazy good at that game or obsessed with the fiction but in reality I'm mediocre at best. I was playing it one day and thought I'd go see if there was anything interesting in the wiki to find it was pretty much blank. I was surprised, I thought there would have been someone out there who was a fan of the game who would fill out the page. Suddenly it felt like it was my duty to fill in that page and try my best to make an informative and detailed description of the game's mechanics and characters, etc... I felt a little out of my league, having to start from scratch but I think I got there in the end. I went through multiple revisions of paragraphs and different formatting, uploading images (especially getting the character images to stay where I wanted them). Honestly I've learned much more about the game writing that page than all of the hours I spent playing the game and feel like I have a new found love for it... At least I see it in a different way. Also having my name on the left side of the page feels pretty good too, even if not many people get to see it.

I'd be interested in hearing why other people put time and effort into pages they've contributed to and whether it changed the way they perceive those games.

And if you haven't took a shot at editing a page yet I recommend it, it's definitely a fulfilling experience.

I made the Goal Storm page because I really liked switching to everybody on my team and slide tackling super fast to beat my brothers when that game came out.

Totally valid strategy!

I'm number one on a few pages, most notably the page for Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman. I created that page, actually.

Oh, and I guess I'm number one on the Choplifter HD page with over a thousand points, but in retrospect, I kinda regret spending that much time playing the game and then writing about it.

Real talk: the Sonic 4: Episode I page that I have spent way too much time on (and will continue to spend time on since I vow that I will give that page a top-down rewrite... eventually) is essentially a grudge-fuck. That Leaks section exists for two reasons: because I think that whole story is fascinating and needed to be told as it happened, and because it gave me an outlet to passive-aggressively shit all over that terrible game in the most objective way possible.

I'm top on pretty much all Banjo-Kazooie series pages, if not I'm on the list somewhere.

I'm top on Magna Mundi because I was the only one who actually filled in information for it.

I kinda do it just for either games I really enjoy, or indies that I feel deserve the stuff on there. I did a lot for Spelunky and WADF, and I pretty much wrote the entire Persona 4 page before mass wiki griefing forced people to reupload my stuff. It's just something to do for the love

Because I know a lot about Creatures, and no one else had done anything. They arnt the best pages, and need a lot of copy editing. But the information is good.

3,779 points on the Dragon Age franchise page. Why? Because I genuinely believed that I was the only one capable of doing that page and the Dragon Age universe and lore justice. In other words, I'm very passionate about my video games.

I did a fair bit for Pokémon Rumble Blast, why? I was bored. Very bored.

And for something like Whizz, even though there isn't a lot there (my SNES is broken so I was going by memory). I think very few people actually know about that game so I felt like I was adding to the collective knowledge of the site.

Only one I'm the top editor for is Gundam Battlegrounds. That was mostly just because no ones really played it. If anyone feels like "dethroning" me feel free, I'm hardly an expert on that game but would love more US people to play it so maybe we can get a US release.

I'm most proud of my top on the Joshua Graham and Adam Jensen articles, I like both characters a lot. I found Graham to be the most memorable character in New Vegas, and I had/have a video game crush on Jensen :D

Quake II page was empty due to plagiarism so I refilled it.....I'm a big fan of Super Metroid so that's why I have done so much work on it and its related pages.

Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes. this is pretty much just because nobody AT ALL cares about this game and when it was in beta/just coming out I was filling in all kinds of stuff on what modes were in the game, heroes and their powers, and so on. I stopped when the game 1) lost any and all interest and 2) didn't put a hero out in a week (as until then they had released a hero a week, giving me something to do with it every week.)

Gogandantess! He's just my favorite character from the Onimusha series and I had seen that he had zero information on him and I felt like that was a tragedy that needed to be righted.

Dream Devourer. I had just finished the DS version of CT and got the bonus ending. While I hate Chrono Cross and felt like the ending that featured the Dream Devourer was pretty much just awful in terms of any normal ending, it still fascinated me that they retroactively added an ending to the game to try and make Chrono Cross make more sense/add more of a connection between the two games. And to that end, I felt like it was a really good end. Then I discovered that no one had a Dream Devourer page and since the Dream Devourer and Time Devourer are different bosses in different games and are slightly different, I decided to give him a page all his own.

If I can get myself around to playing the Breath of Fire games again I'd love to add a page for Tyr/whatever her alternate name in BoF3 is. Same for the main boss in Alundra. They both fill a similar role that I find really interesting when it comes to storytelling, but neither has a page here on GB and that makes me sad. But since I really need to finish Diablo 3, and am currently also playing the Mists of Pandaria beta, and with the steam summer sale now.. I feel like it may be quite a ways off still.

Edit: I also have second contributor on Suikoden just for linking a whole shit load of pages to the characters in that game. I always found that one funny, but then I think about how I never want to go back and do that again and realize why I probably got so many points for it...

Crane Simulator because I think it's pretty funny.

Varok Saurfang because I care too much about Warcraft lore.

Blazing Angels 2 because there was literally no text there. I played it and enjoyed it a few years ago. Love games like that and Crimson Skies.

FTL: While I could probably add more info at this point, I'm happy with how it turned out. If somebody else with the Kickstarter beta wanted to contribute and knock me off the top editor spot, that would be cool, too :P

Comic Sans: While this page definitely needs more, I think it's a pretty great concept (please add games if you know of any!).

I'm also sitting at the #3 spot for the Team Fortress 2 page. I'm sure there's still a huge backlog of stuff to add but I haven't had the free time/drive to fill in the more recent gaps.

@Ravenlight said:

Comic Sans: While this page definitely needs more, I think it's a pretty great concept (please add games if you know of any!).

Ha that's a great idea, does the game have to have Comic Sans on it's cover art or as long as it's anywhere in the game? I might be able to find a few.

@Morrow said:

I had/have a video game crush on Jensen :D

You and me both. *o*

@FLStyle said:

In other words, I'm very passionate about my video games.

That's just the sort of response I was looking for! :D

@MooseyMcMan said:

Oh, and I guess I'm number one on the Choplifter HD page with over a thousand points, but in retrospect, I kinda regret spending that much time playing the game and then writing about it.

You shouldn't regret that! Just imagine how many people will look at the page you've worked on, even if it's just one person you'll have made their quest for Choplifter HD info all that much easier.

@Hizang said:

I'm top on pretty much all Banjo-Kazooie series pages, if not I'm on the list somewhere.

I checked the Gruntilda page and was not disappointed.

@mscupcakes: Well, the problem is that it's just not a very good game.

@mscupcakes said:

@Ravenlight said:

Comic Sans: While this page definitely needs more, I think it's a pretty great concept (please add games if you know of any!).

Ha that's a great idea, does the game have to have Comic Sans on it's cover art or as long as it's anywhere in the game?

I guess as long as Comic Sans is used at all (cover art included) I'd associate with the that page. I want to have all the games with Comic Sans in them all in one place so I can avoid them all at once.

I'm the top editor on the Persona 4 Arena page (currently 6,195 points) just because I am very passionate about that game. My most anticipated game yet and I wanted to make sure it contained all of the information that anyone would want to know about it (minus the more technical stuff such as character combos, health or frame data which is covered in more appropriate wiki sites or guides).

@Hizang said:

I'm top on pretty much all Banjo-Kazooie series pages, if not I'm on the list somewhere.

Ob-jec-tion.

Inversion. I don't know why, I saw the bounty on the wiki tasks page for the game and thought, yeah sure I can do that, and basically went nuts. Only after the submission was approved did I realize I sorta put in a lot of effort into a game I didn't even care for.

Also I am the sole contributor to Stephane D'Astous page.

Also Thief Deadly Shadows. I remember filling out that page when the wiki was still in it's early days, a time when I had recently gone back and played the game over again. No one has topped me on that page so far.

Saw the Thief 2 page and was surprised how rather lacking it was so naturally someone had to work on it. Granted, a thousand points isn't a lot but I didn't add too much since most of it would've been fluff information anyway. I would fill out more pages but most of the games I wanted to work on are already quite substantial. Even the the more obscure ones. Occasionally it does give me an incentive to play some older games though when I come across pages that are oddly barren.

I'm rather proud of my work on Retro Game Challenge. I really like what that game tried to do, and felt it was executed pretty well. The page was pretty bare when I started, consisting of little more than a short introduction and of course Jeff's review. Most of what you see there now is my work, but Austin's later work on the page is also much appreciated. The end result is thorough and objective article, and I hope it will encourage others to give the game a shot despite Jeff's review. The sequel is probably a lost cause by now though.

I have a few, but the one I am probably the most proud of is Donkey Konga 3: Tabe-houdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku. The game was a wiki task that I just decided to undertake, and literally knew nothing about until then. I learned much while researching this game, and I now wish it had come out here in America.

I filled out some WoW lore pages a couple years back.

In retrospect, they probably suck.

I'm not going to look at them.

When the site launched I spent five hours writing about Killzone Liberation. I was at one point the number 10 ranked player in North America. The editor didn't play well with my browser and I lost all my work with the press of a backspace. So I redid it in a word processor. The editor remained broken and hindered my ability to post on the forums too so I didn't use the site again until quests were added.

A couple weeks ago I looked up Deer Hunter 3 Gold, which was mostly empty and was a game I played a lot of even though I didn't like it too much. I figured I'd try to get the tactical nuke/major fan quests done and that filling out the page would be good research. I looked up a bunch about the game, submitted my edits and was able to determine that you get about 1 point for every 2 words.

Next I looked for a game that I owned but that didn't have a lot of content on the site. I found that the Liberty City Stories page was basically empty. I figured it would be easy to write 2000 words about it. I did play through the game again as part of the research and that's why it took about three weeks to do. I wrote the final 1000 words this morning and when I hit submit I was pleased to see my name at the top of the page with 1001 points. Quest complete.

I'd rather not write big edits though. I'd much rather go through and fix things with small edits like grammar and typos. Unfortunately you don't get very many points for that. Sometimes even zero if you only do deletions.

Some of my favorite highlights:

• Metroid: Other M: I started editing this page shortly after the game was announced and continuously updated well beyond its release. It's easily the page I've put the most effort in on the site.
• Fire Emblem: I gave the franchise page a rather major overhaul fairly recently, just because I was in the mood to do so and it frankly needed to be better. There was already some pretty good content in it (the section on random number generation, for example), but there wasn't anything on the classes found in the games, and it just needed more detail throughout.
• Ginchiyo Tachibana: My favorite character in the Samurai Warriors series, and also an interesting figure from a historical perspective even though the historical data available on her in English is incredibly vague.
• Saeko Takami: The creation and editing of this page were the direct result of me spending a weekend familiarizing myself with the Snow Queen Quest in Persona via Youtube. With the details fresh in mind, I needed an outlet.

At first I didn't pay too much attention to the wiki but after realising that there was information I could put into Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, I immediately went to work on it by filling up sections of the game and gathering information on it. I'm gonna be editing it a bit more to make the wiki look presentable but it felt good after filling in that page.

Why? Because the world needed to know. http://www.giantbomb.com/sexy-beach-zero/61-35450/

I'm top editor on several. Mostly because I'm adding a lot of Zelda stuff the wiki doesn't have. Such as Deku Butler.

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction http://www.giantbomb.com/test-drive-eve-of-destruction/61-16430/ because I like games about demo derbies more than most other people, apparently.

I put in some decent work on Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, Atelier Rorona, Atelier Totori, and most characters under the Atelier Arland trilogy except for Sterkenberg Cranach. I will get to Atelier Meruru eventually if no one else decides to tackle it, been distracted with Persona 4 Arena and Rock Band Blitz recently.

All those pages didn't have much article work, so I just went in and took the initiative.

@SexyToad said:

I'm top editor and several. Mostly because I'm adding a lot of Zelda stuff the wiki doesn't have. Such as Deku Butler.

The wiki had always felt empty prior to the addition of the Deku Butler page.

I've put kind of an absurd amount of work into the Player Owned Houses concept considering how few people will ever read all of that. I can only hope someone who is as obsessed as I am will one day browse the games and appreciate my work. If just for that one person, it will all be worth it.

My two highest scored pages (Knights of Legend and Apple II) were done completely out of curiosity. I wanted to know about these things, so I figured I'd write up pages for them here as I learned. Yars' Revenge is actually another one that would fall in that same category.

@GrantHeaslip said:

@LordAndrew said:

@SexyToad said:

I'm top editor and several. Mostly because I'm adding a lot of Zelda stuff the wiki doesn't have. Such as Deku Butler.

The wiki had always felt empty prior to the addition of the Deku Butler page.

I'll see your Deku Butler and raise you a Link the Pig (not actually filled in, but I'll get to it). I'm on a (sporadic) mission to significantly flesh out and improve the Wind Waker stuff on this site.

I'll see your Link the Pig and raise you masks from Majora's Mask. (I'm halfway done)

@GrantHeaslip said:

@SexyToad said:

@GrantHeaslip said:

@LordAndrew said:

@SexyToad said:

I'm top editor and several. Mostly because I'm adding a lot of Zelda stuff the wiki doesn't have. Such as Deku Butler.

The wiki had always felt empty prior to the addition of the Deku Butler page.

I'll see your Deku Butler and raise you a Link the Pig (not actually filled in, but I'll get to it). I'm on a (sporadic) mission to significantly flesh out and improve the Wind Waker stuff on this site.

I'll see your Link the Pig and raise you masks from Majora's Mask. (I'm halfway done)

Oh yeah? Abe, Rose, Joel, and Zill! WHAT NOW?

(This is a contest in which there are no winners -- just people who spend their free time in extremely questionable ways.)

BAM right back at you with the Poe Sisters!

I've mostly specialised in Resident Evil pages because, well, it's the one franchise I have an extensive knowledge of. The one page I'd say I'm especially happy with is Special Tactics and Rescue Service. I'm somewhat satisfied with the Resident Evil 3 page as well, but the formatting isn't the most eloquent I'll admit. Especially the 'enemies' section because of the varying size of the images. It would most likely serve better as a table, but I hate using tables and never feel entirely comfortable setting one up.

The Live-Selection section is a bit of an eyesore as well, but I don't quite know what to do with it =/

i came to add an entry for my favourite game Avination simply because so one seems to have heard of it and some one suggested this site to me. now i am plugging away slowly at it when i have a spare moment and perhaps ill do a good entry. i just wish every little change didn't take all day to get approved

Dude...

DUDE

I'm pretty sure my crowning achievement is a measly (but heartfelt) 159 points on the Wipeout 3 page.

BEST GAME EVER.

MEGA MALL

FUCK

I wrote the character page of Spec Ops' Captain Walker and screencapped some of the cutscenes from YouTube. Because, well, he's one of my favourite characters.

Final Fantasy Type-0 and Armored Core For Answer. Final Fantasy was mainly hype, thinking it was coming out, outside of Japan pretty quick but...yeah. And AC:FA because I really love that game.

I have some others on character pages but that's mainly just images or they didn't even have a bio. Oh! Sonic Rush as well but that's only because I put the OST tracklist up on there.

whenever I get close to becoming the top contributor I roll up my sleeves and rip it. Most times the pages I edit are pretty barren anyways, so it's easy.

I mostly go for obscuregames. I've done a few People bios and I have most of the points in the Action Man franchise.

I dislike the idea of there being a top editor.