Talk:Characters in GTA IV

Plans for this page

I've started "polishing" these character descriptions, but it made me think; do we really want two separate places explaining who these people are? So, the question is do we...:

• A: ...turn this page into a simple list, and link to each character's page, maybe with a one sentence description each, and integrate the existing info off of this page onto each character's page.

the only difference between this and option "C" would really be the short description...

• B: ...transclude each character's page onto this page, and integrate the existing info off of this page onto each character's page.
• C: ...replace this page with a category page listing all pages that are in the "Characters in GTA IV" category, and integrate the existing info off of this page onto each character's page.

Obviously, we'll definitely be integrating the info off of this page onto each character's page. Thoughts, anyone? --GuildKnight^Talk2me 02:22, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Good question. I think because the category page already exists, that gives us the opportuniy to do something extra with this page. A category is a straight alphabetical list, which is great if you just want to find one character's page and you know their name (or if you want to find lots of people's pages). However, this is useless if you are unfamiliar with their names, or any situation where a quick overview would be easier.

For example, if I was not sure which girlfriend in IV was which, I could look it up and see their photos, and they are listed in order of importance, or chronological order of meeting, or type of contact. C is the wrong option because then you never see photos and short descriptions together.

Transcluding is definitely the wrong way to do this. We would end up with every scrap of information about every character, every image, and every category on one massive page that is too big for anybody to try to bother to read. This page would then become useless.

The way it is done at Characters in GTA San Andreas is not very good, because there is too much information. We would want just a sentence or two, with an image, probably in a table, something like this:

File:Gta4-niko-bellic1.jpg Niko Bellic

Nikolai "Niko" Bellic is the protagonist (main character) of Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko is of Serbian descent, and has previously fought in the Bosnian War. He is wooed to Liberty City by the promises of living the American Dream from his cousin Roman, but when this goes sour, he turns to the seedy underworld of Liberty City to build his way to the top.

File:RomanGTA IV.jpg Roman Bellic

Roman Bellic is Niko's cousin who has lived in Liberty City for 15 years. Roman claims to be living the "American Dream" and that he has two women, four hot tubs and fifteen sports cars, but in reality owns a gritty taxi firm in Broker. As a result, he successfully manages to persuade his cousin Niko to move to the city using this deception. Roman is also heavily in debt with various figures around the city, such as the Russian mafia in Liberty City. When Niko arrives, everything seems to go wrong at once, but together they can work their way back up.

Or to be more concise:

File:Gta4-niko-bellic1.jpg Niko Bellic	Nikolai "Niko" Bellic is the protagonist (main character) of Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko is of Serbian descent, and has previously fought in the Bosnian War. He is wooed to Liberty City by the promises of living the American Dream from his cousin Roman, but when this goes sour, he turns to the seedy underworld of Liberty City to build his way to the top.	File:RomanGTA IV.jpg Roman Bellic	Roman Bellic is Niko's cousin who has lived in Liberty City for 15 years. Roman claims to be living the "American Dream" and that he has two women, four hot tubs and fifteen sports cars, but in reality owns a gritty taxi firm in Broker. As a result, he successfully manages to persuade his cousin Niko to move to the city using this deception. Roman is also heavily in debt with various figures around the city, such as the Russian mafia in Liberty City. When Niko arrives, everything seems to go wrong at once, but together they can work their way back up.
File:Gta4-niko-bellic1.jpg Niko Bellic	Nikolai "Niko" Bellic is the protagonist (main character) of Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko is of Serbian descent, and has previously fought in the Bosnian War. He is wooed to Liberty City by the promises of living the American Dream from his cousin Roman, but when this goes sour, he turns to the seedy underworld of Liberty City to build his way to the top.	File:RomanGTA IV.jpg Roman Bellic	Roman Bellic is Niko's cousin who has lived in Liberty City for 15 years. Roman claims to be living the "American Dream" and that he has two women, four hot tubs and fifteen sports cars, but in reality owns a gritty taxi firm in Broker. As a result, he successfully manages to persuade his cousin Niko to move to the city using this deception. Roman is also heavily in debt with various figures around the city, such as the Russian mafia in Liberty City. When Niko arrives, everything seems to go wrong at once, but together they can work their way back up.

Let me know what you think - Gboyers (?) 10:13, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

I like the first example; it seems like it would be easier to navigate than the second example. If it's all right with you, I'll go ahead and tackle this page. --GuildKnight^Talk2me 13:10, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Please do. You happy with all the markup required? Don't forget the first line: {|class="wikitable". Also, don't overfill the boxes with content. A brief overview (like I did) then perhaps which missions they appeared/died in, then perhaps which actor voiced them (all on separate lines or bullet points). Nice and concise, and easy to read. Gboyers (?) 13:44, 7 May 2008 (UTC)