View source for User:Nintendo101/infrastructure for mainline games

==Locations==
This is not conventional with most reference material for video games, like most of the [[Prima Games]] guidebooks or the ''[[Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia]]'', which usually cover characters and enemies before levels and location. However, for the game articles I work on, I like to work my way from broad subjects to narrower ones. This works because usually the first thing the players notice is the environment they are in and where they should be going, in my experience. It also works because the mainline games are platformers first and foremost, making the levels a bit more structurally important than the enemies and characters, in my opinion. I like to title this "'''Locations'''" because I include things in it are not strictly levels, but are spatially engaged with either the the same way (HUB worlds, etc.) or a comparable way (i.e. World Map, Toad Houses).

===Setting===
For the '''setting''' section, I like to characterize the game's overarching spatial structure (e.g. what description works for nearly all the levels in the game?), important tactile elements, overarching visual elements, aesthetics, etc. You can touch upon certain topics briefly here that you elaborate on bellow. The setting is a pretty important element that characterizes the games world, not just how it looks but it passively communicates mechanics. I also usually like to explain why the game ended up looking the way it does. Doing this is a little time consuming because it involves combing through material not in the game itself - like developer interviews or the insight of professional game designers, but I think it is very rewarding. I have learned a lot about these games in writing this section alone. For good examples, I recommend looking at ''[[Super Mario 64#Setting|Super Mario 64]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy#Setting|Super Mario Galaxy]]''. Depending on how big this section is, one can include images that compliment what you have written.

===Levels===
====Overview====
I usually give this section different names based on the language preferred by the game itself. For example, most 3D ''Super Mario'' games refer to their levels as "courses," whereas the ''Galaxy'' titles call them "galaxies," and those are the names I have employed in their respective articles. However, they still cover the same scope. I use this section to provide more mechanical specifics, like how one accesses a level, how levels are interconnected, how one completes a level, and the different types of levels. This is also where I explain the world structure of the game, such as how Peach's Castle is divided into floors, how domes are unlocked, how Starship Mario can navigate different courses in different ways, etc. Going into detail on that here is part of the "broad to narrow" thing I mentioned earlier.

====Table for games with multiple missions per level====
This was the first table I had developed while working on the ''Super Mario Galaxy'' article. I wanted something that was useful and conveyed information. Here is a truncated example.

<center>
{|width=65% class="wikitable"
!colspan=3 style="background:red;color:white;"|Galaxies
|-
|colspan=3 style="background:#70D105;"|[[File:SMG Terrace Dome Model.png|25px]] '''{{color-link|white|Terrace (Super Mario Galaxy)|The Terrace}}'''
|-
!width=16% style="background:#B5F987"|01. [[Good Egg Galaxy]]<br>{{icon|SMG-totalS}}×6 {{icon|SMG-totalP}}×19 {{icon|SMG-totalB}}×3
!colspan=2 width=34% style="background:#B5F987"|Missions
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center style="background:#FFFFFF"|[[File:Good Egg Galaxy Starting Planet.png|x90px]]
|width=17%|{{icon|SMG-Mission}} [[Dino Piranha (mission)|Dino Piranha]]
|width=17%|{{icon|SMG-Mission}} [[A Snack of Cosmic Proportions]]
|-
|{{icon|SMG-Mission}} [[King Kaliente's Battle Fleet]]
|{{icon|SMG-CometS}} [[Dino Piranha Speed Run]]
|-
|{{icon|SMG-CometP}} [[Purple Coin Omelet]]
|{{icon|SMG-MissionS}} [[Luigi on the Roof]]
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|A galaxy in low orbit of an [[earth]]-like planet. Each planet is highly distinctive, but most of them have grassy knolls and are shaped like food. It introduces the reoccurring [[Octoomba|Electrogoomba]]s and [[King Kaliente]].<br>'''Unlock criterion''': complete "Grand Star Rescue"
|-
!width=16% style="background:#B5F987"|<code>The level's number</code>. <code>The level's name</code><br><code><nowiki>Icons that denote important elements</nowiki></code>
!colspan="2"width=34% style="background:#B5F987"|<code>Columns for the named missions of the level</code>
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center style="background:#FFFFFF"|[[File:SMG Honeyhive Starting Planet.png|x90px]]
|<code><nowiki>The mission's name. If missions sometimes have different objectives from one another, denote that with an icon before the name</nowiki></code>
|{{icon|SMG-Mission}} [[Trouble on the Tower]]
|-
|{{icon|SMG-Mission}} [[Big Bad Bugaboom]]
|{{icon|SMG-CometC}} [[Honeyhive Cosmic Mario Race]]
|-
|{{icon|SMG-CometP}} [[The Honeyhive's Purple Coins]]
|{{icon|SMG-MissionS}} [[Luigi in the Honeyhive Kingdom]]
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|<code>A brief description of the level and its unique elements. Try not to mention other games in the series here - folks should be able to understand what the level is without any background knowledge on the series.</code><br>'''Unlock criterion''': <code>state what needs to happen for the level to become available. If there are multiple requirements that must be satisfied, use the plural "criteria"</code>
|}
</center>

====Blank template for multi-mission levels====
<center>
{|width=65% class="wikitable"
!colspan=3 style="background:red;color:white;"|Worlds
|-
|colspan=3 style="background:#70D105;"|'''{{color|white|WorldName}}'''
|-
!width=16% style="background:#B5F987"|01. LevelName
!colspan=2 width=34% style="background:#B5F987"|Missions
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center style="background:white"|[[File:No image.png|x90px]]
|width=17%|MissionName
|width=17%|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|Description<br>'''Unlock criterion''': TBW
|-
!style="background:#B5F987"|02. LevelName
!colspan=2 width=34% style="background:#B5F987"|Missions
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center style="background:white"|[[File:No image.png|x90px]]
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|Description<br>'''Unlock criterion''': TBW
|-
|colspan=3 style="background:#5AB0F7"|'''{{color|white|WorldName}}'''
|-
!style="background:#8FC9F9"|03. LevelName
!colspan=2 style="background:#8FC9F9"|Missions
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center style="background:white"|[[File:No image.png|x90px]]
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|Description<br>'''Unlock criterion''': TBW
|-
!style="background:#8FC9F9"|04. LevelName
!colspan=2 style="background:#8FC9F9"|Missions
|-
|rowspan=3 align=center style="background:#FFFFFF"|[[File:No image.png|x90px]]
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|MissionName
|MissionName
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|Description<br>'''Unlock criterion''': TBW
|}
</center>


====Blank template for worlds and levels without unique names====
<center>
{|width=65% class="wikitable"
!colspan="3" style="background:red;color:white;"|Worlds
|-
!width=16% style="background:#FF7733"|<big>WorldName</big>
!colspan=2 width=34% style="background:#FF7733"|Levels
|-
|rowspan=4 align=center style="background:#FFFFFF"|[[File:No image.png|200x200px]]
|width=17%|level1
|width=17%|level2
|-
|level3
|level4
|-
|level5
|level6
|-
|level7
|level8
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|description<br>'''Unlock criterion''': TBD
|-
!style="background:#FF7733"|<big>WorldName</big>
!colspan=2 style="background:#FF7733"|Levels
|-
|rowspan=4 align=center style="background:#FFFFFF"|[[File:No image.png|200x200px]]
|level1
|level2
|-
|level3
|level4
|-
|level5
|level6
|-
|level7
|level8
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|description<br>'''Unlock criterion''': TBD
|}
</center>

===Important places that are not levels===

==Characters==
===Playable characters===

===Yoshis===

===Non-playable characters===

==Enemies and obstacles==
===Enemies===

===Obstacles===

===Bosses===

==Items and objects==
===Items===

===Power-ups===

===Objects===

==References==
<references/>