Codex Gamicus:Image Policy

The Image Policy of outlines the formatting of filenames for files to be uploaded, and also details the formats that should be used. Spaces should not be used; instead, hyphens (-) should be used.

Note that fan mockups of front covers, particularly of cancelled games, are not to be uploaded, and are to be deleted if found. Official mockups, (ie. those created for a digital release when the game was never released in a physical format) such as Nintendo's mockup for Star Fox 2 for the SNES Classic Edition, are allowed. Official cover art for cancelled games should be cited as a precaution. This is because these mockups may be mistaken by external sources to be official media.

Image Priority
Because the first image in video game article's infobox is directly used in the listing feature, the image variable should be a logo, with the Steam Logo being preferred if available (unless a higher-quality logo is available from elsewhere). If a logo is not available, standard box art should be used.

Formatting
If an image is of the front cover of a jewel case or slim plastic box, use "Front-Cover-" to begin with. Use "Rear-Cover-" if the image is of the rear of the case or box. If the image is from the top of a physical cardboard box, use "Front-Cover-"; same applies to the back of the cardboard box for "Rear-Cover-" to be used. The name of the game should follow next; all other punctuation (such as commas, colons, semi-colons, slashes and hashes) should be removed. The region should follow next using an an abbreviation such as "EU", "INT", "JP"or "NA", followed by the shorthand code below for the platform(s) the box art was released for.

If the artwork includes a provisional rating (most notably the provisional ESRB rating used in promotional material), append "-P" to the end of the file, before the file extension. If the box art specifies PC DVD-ROM or PC CD-ROM, use "PC", however, if the box specifically mentions Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, macOS / Mac OS X / OSX, Linux or MS-DOS, use the correct suffix.

Formats
Certain formats are more appealing for use than others, for quality reasons. For icons and other such small images, SVG vector images are preferred, as they scale with bigger sizes much better. Failing that, PNG images are to be used. JPEG images are preferred not to be used if possible, and GIF images should ideally not be used at all (with the exception of animated GIF images).

Quality
Images uploaded to should be of good quality, preferably with higher resolutions. Images themselves should be screenshots of in-game material (not taken with a camera or phone). There should be no watermarks, additional logos, or anything other than the image itself. Images can and will be deleted at any time at an Admin or Content Moderator's discretion. Failure to cooperate will result in a block.

Licensing
Every image uploaded should have a licensing description attached to it from the drop-down menu during upload. It covers anything from logos to characters, items, books, etc. Additionally, the template Image needs to be manually included as follows for all image uploads:


 * If regarding a video game


 * If regarding another topic