VGG Naming Conventions

VideoGameGeek has setup a few naming conventions to help bring about consistency in the database.

See also:

• Game vs. Release Version
• VGG Media Types and Ratings Guide
• VGG Guide to Genres
• List of Game Awards

Foreign vs. English Name	If there is a widely known English name or English translation, then that name should take precedence. Other names can be added to the Alternate Name field.
Punctuation/Spelling	Primary titles should accurately reflect the punctuation and letters used in the game title.	"&" / "and"
Capitalization	For games whose official title is presented in all caps, all lowercase or a mix of the two, we mirror that on the site.	PoPoLoCrois
Strange Characters in Title	The VGG community dislikes strange characters and symbols in game titles. The Primary name should exclude them. Alternate names may include them.	Primary: Half-Life Alternate: HλLF-LIFE
"The" in a Title	Game titles that start with the word "The" or any language equivalent (Ex: "Der/Die/Das" or "Le", "La") should retain it. Never remove or leave it off! The database can index titles on characters other than the first; so altering the title is unnecessary. The database adheres to AACR2 rules for indexing titles.	Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda
Similar Names	When two completely different games share a name, we will differentiate between them by adding the year of release in parentheses () to the Primary game title.A. If both games happen to share the same year of release, we will add the platform as well. B. In the rare instance where both games also happen to share the same year of release and platform, we will resort to using developers or publishers instead.	Snowball (1983) Snowball (2013)
Slogans vs. Title	In accurately reflecting the title of the game, care must be taken to differentiate between the title of the game and any slogans or promotional statements made on the packaging in conjunction with the game.
Title Acronyms	Acronyms should not be listed unless the game has been officially marketed under the acronym.	Read Only Memories (aka ROM)

VGG does not censor content on the site.
Games with excessively vulgar titles may have the Primary name altered slightly. A non-altered version of the name will be listed as an alternative name. This is more likley to happen if an advertiser complains about their ads appearing next to such a game title on the site.

(Return to Data Entry Guide)