What counts as a character being *in* a game?

Unsure whether to associate certain characters pages with a game in some situations.

• Characters that appear in the background (like in a fighting game) or are outside of the 'playable' area.
• Characters that are talked about but are not named and do not speak, but may be shown.
• Characters that only appear in an epilogue/credits sequence.
• Characters shown in an image, photo, or flashback. Either with dialogue or not.

I think it's okay if the character is depicted as existing, such as being off in the background, in the credits sequence, or something like this. I would say no to characters that are only alluded to or depicted via images/photos.

However, it really does depend on the game itself. There are definitely some exceptions; I would say a character should be included if they are just alluded to, but also an important part of game (e.g. the family from Gone Home).

I would say that anybody present in physical or audio form counts, regardless of their importance. Not sure I would count appearances in pictures/paintings or flashbacks (using scenes from other games). I could also see someone only mentionned being ok, so long as they are of significant importance and referred to more than once.

Take everything I say with a grain of salt of course. I'm not a mod and have little experience with editing the wiki.