Fantendo - Game Ideas & More
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Fantendo facts, history, and everything about us.


Fantendo in a nutshell

Fantendo is a fan-run creative writing site, dedicated to making fictional ideas for games and other media, then writing realistic encyclopedic articles on them! Users can "create" entertainment that they think of, without needing to actually program or produce it.

While early articles focused on fanmade ideas for real series, Fantendo has grown to welcome and celebrate original works. We may use wiki software, but we have rules to limit collaborative editing, so no one changes your artistic vision without permission. We just enforce some article standards to keep things up to snuff.

Frequently Asked Questions
What's the point of writing about fake games?

Fantendo lets us share stories and ideas, without demanding the time and skill to follow through on making them real products. It's also legally safer than distributing playable fangames.

We don't do this to trick people—in fact, we try to be open about it. This wiki is mostly a creative exercise and a labor of love to our favorite franchises. If you like coming up with ideas for upcoming games or movies, you get us!

Just to be clear on the word "fanon"…

Over time, we've attached new meanings to a few words so we can talk faster amongst ourselves. In most circles, fanon refers to widely-accepted headcanon about a certain series. But here, fanon just means a fictional or imaginary piece of media.

Likewise, you might think of a fangame as a playable fan-made videogame. On Fantendo, it's slang for an article about a game idea. For more terminology, see the glossary.

What's the history behind Fantendo?

A user going by Plumber (tbc) created Fantendo in April 2007, as a serious take on UnMarioWiki. Though originally only a Nintendo fanon wiki, Fantendo eventually expanded into a general fanon host that allows ideas based on other companies' franchises, as well as completely original content. Today, Fantendo is one of Fandom's biggest wikis of its kind.

Fantendo has some shared history with the Super Mario Wiki. However, the userbase has gone through several shifts, as Fantendo attracted more people on its own merits. Though we might have a lingering Mario bias, we've been a community all our own for a long time. We love celebrating the wiki's content and history.

Is this game real?

Again, Fantendo is a wiki for imaginary game ideas. Our encyclopedic style means we write about our ideas as if they were real, even though they aren't.

There are a few rare articles that explicitly state they're being made as actual games. Since game development is hard, most or all of these have fallen through, so don't get your hopes up too high! We aren't a modding or programming site, and we don't guarantee that these games will ever be realized. Instead, many users put a lot of work into spiffing up the articles themselves.

This game is out! How can I download it?

Careful: a release date on an article doesn't mean it will actually be released! Lots of article writers like to add a level of realism to their work by imagining details like release dates and development information. A release date is also no promise that the article will be finished by then. The author might still be working on it, or it might be abandoned.

When will Nintendo make this game?

We aren't affiliated with Nintendo or any development studios, and we almost never write about games with the goal of programming them. This isn't a place to pitch real games, either.

Nintendo doesn't browse this wiki. And in general, companies don't take or look for fan ideas due to intellectual property laws. Developing someone else's game idea would be an infringement on that person's copyright. Sometimes they'll land on the same name by coincidence; notice that the real games are unrelated to our articles.

In short, don't expect Nintendo to announce anything on this wiki, and don't write for us with the expectation that they will make your work a reality. Any accurate predictions of real games are purely coincidental.

Can I make games or stories not related to Nintendo?

Sure! Fantendo has evolved to accept various other fanbases. Original games and stories gain community traction, too, like our shared universe, the Fantendoverse. Feel free to create a unique story and see if people like it. And don't be afraid to express your interests in other franchises that don't belong to Nintendo. Who knows? Someone here might share a few of your interests!

How do most people organize their content?

The typical user has a page for their own "company", which serves as a kind of second username in terms of wiki content. The company page is an obvious place to link to your current projects across the wiki. Of course, making a company isn't required, and you can use your userpage for the same purpose.

You can also create a portfolio category for your work. Tag your pages with a category name along the lines of "<insert your name here> Games", then click the resulting link and add a brief explanation that it is a category for your fangames. It's that simple to set up!

Do my characters have to be related to a game or story?

Original characters are a valid starting point on Fantendo. Maybe you'll make something that stars them later, but it's fine if not!

Can I make a fanfic, comic, choose-your-own adventure, card game, board game…

Yes! We will accept and let thrive any special formats of creativity you may want to work in! Just be aware of software limitations. You might want to browse for works in the same medium, to see how they use the tools of the wiki format.

Do I own what I post here?

You own the copyright to your work, with a few caveats. Like most other wikis on Fandom, our content is released under the CC-BY-SA license. People can only use your work if they credit you, and if they reuse your content, they must release it under the same CC-BY-SA license. Although Fantendo isn't super well-known, this being the internet, someone might violate the license to use something found on a search engine without credit.

This is not professional legal advice. For more in-depth information, check the Licensing help page at Community Central.

But can't other people still edit my stuff?

Technically, but Fantendo doesn't operate by typical wiki principles. Most wikis are free to edit so that anyone can add accurate information. But on a fanon wiki, only the creator of an article can write about their ideas accurately.

With that in mind, we have rules against making major content edits to others' articles. To edit and use others' content, the creator's permission is needed. We'll undo any edits we find that go against this. You can create a template to mark your work as your own, though this is not required since it is understood by default.

At the other extreme, if you want people to build on your ideas, you can use the {{FreeEdit}} template to open editing to the community! You can also add {{FreeToUse}} to let others use your character without needing to ask for explicit permission.

Articles on outside subjects, like Mario, are called "canon" pages and are free to edit. However, you can create a specific fan interpretation of an outside character, or real game or console. Add your username in parentheses to the end of the article title, so others won't mistake it for a canon page that includes fan theories.

What else can I do on Fantendo?

In addition to creating games, companies, characters, stories, movies, and more, users can chat about anything within reason in blogs and on the Discord. For more personal conversations or if you don't want to make a new account for Discord, we can also recommend arranging a meeting with one or more other users on Libera.Chat; just enter a nickname and hop into the channel #fantendo. And, of course, you can read and comment on others' work.

Any other required reading?

Be sure to look over the other Help sections for information on our rules and standards. Also, check out the tutorials section to learn how to do something here you may not have known!

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