Talk:Barbie Storymaker

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Barbie Storymaker/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Vrxces (talk · contribs) 04:46, 12 July 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: Crisco 1492 (talk · contribs) 17:25, 17 August 2026 (UTC)

Template

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, spelling, grammar, and understandability): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable, as shown by a source spot-check.

   a (reference section): b (inline citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

Written comments

Prose

• That's a lot of Barbies in the lede. Is it worth trimming some? For example, "Barbie-licensed game that players to create animated movies starring virtual dolls of Barbie and her friends by using an editor to select, edit and sequence scenes featuring animated props and characters." may only need one Barbie to communicate the same information. Y

• the game was released by Mattel Media in 1996 as an entry by the division into the software market. - By the division doesn't seem to add anything here, unless you are attempting to communicate that this was part of the division's efforts to enter the software market, in which case rephrasing would be best. Y Yes, this wasn't the first Mattel licensed game, but the first Mattel Media division game.

• Storymaker allows In the Scenes Studio, players select a background - Seems like one of the sentences just... cuts off. I'm assuming this is intended to say that Storymaker allows players to create films with virtual Barbie characters, or something of the ilk? Y Not sure what happened there.

• They can place up to seven characters, including Barbie, her friends, family, and animals, and adjusting their clothes and position. - Adjusting --> adjust Y

• The path of movement of characters in a scene can be set by players using click and drag controls to draw an invisible track to move across - I'd nix "to move across" Y

• In the Scenes Studio, players can also add additional text, speech bubbles, animation, sound, and effects,[3][7][1] and players with a microphone can add narration to scenes - Previous discussion was also related to the Scenes Studio, so "In the Scenes Studio" adds nothing Y

• The section Reception could use a topic statement in the first paragraph Y

• "Reviewers viewed the game featured" is not grammatical and requires work Y

• considering it offered - A gerund form is usually followed by a to-infinitive when followed by a verb ("considering it to offer") Y

Comprehensiveness and sourcing

• The reviewer mentions a "wide range" of characters, scenes and effects to provide players with creative possibilities, but aside from Barbie nobody is mentioned by name. Do any of the sources mention the friends? Y Fortunately the Birmingham newspaper source mentions Skipper and Ken, which I have added.

• While recognizing that this was one of the dime-a-dozen tie-in softwares that came out in the mid-90s, is there any more detail on production?   To put this article together, I've looked for relevant sources in the Internet Archive and Newspapers/ProQuest. There may be further development information out there, but compared to something like Barbie Fashion Designer, I could not find evidence of this.

• What makes Superkids a reliable source?   I think I'd call this a situational source that does not strongly contribute to notability but does provide some use for WP:RSOPINION for childrens' or educational software. It's operated since 1996 by Knowledge Share LLC, has a masthead with contributors from tertiary institutions () and a documented review testing process involving parents, teachers and children (). The reviews are balanced and do not seem to be fawning. There seems to be some WP:USEBYOTHERS: it's listed by the Children's Software Review of one of the sources of children's software information during the 90s () and the site was the first to discover a profanity bug in a game that was picked up by RS (). VRXCES (talk) 03:21, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

• Alright, the masthead/contributors list assuages my concerns, as it does show a level of accountability that approaches the RS guidelines. Glad to accept it as a source for a review. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 10:52, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

Spotcheck

• Reference numbers based on this revision.

• 1c: and players with a microphone can add narration to scenes. - I am unable to access this source. Can you provide a direct quote? Y Sure, quote is: "If your computer has a microphone audio option, you can even narrate the stories."

• 2b: Players can also add additional text, speech bubbles, animation, sound, and effects. - Supports animation, voice recordings, and sound effects. Y See below, cumulatively the sources cover everything.

• 2e: Reviewers wrote that the game featured a large amount of content and could support a child's imagination - Verified. Also, author is Brett Alan Weiss, so ideally he should be credited and attributed per WP:INTEXT N MOS:VGREC suggests to "reduce clutter by removing reviewer names...when unnecessary to the point at hand". WP:INTEXT is generally met by attribution to the publication, isn't it?

• I'm not sure I agree. "When unnecessary to the point at hand" is followed by the example of quoting individual "best games" lists. Here, this is a specific individual with a direct quote, which would mean that these are his words rather than Allgames's. Given how many publications have a "opinions expressed in reviews may not reflect those of [publication name]" disclaimers, I believe that direct quotes should be attributed to an individual where possible. That being said, I do not consider that point a dealbreaker, and will accept it here. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:17, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

• 4e: Superkids also felt the game's appeal was impacted by difficult and time-consuming features younger players may not understand, critiquing its "skimpy" instruction manual and need for "significant instruction" from a parent. - Verified

• 6a: The path of movement of characters in a scene can be set by players using click and drag controls to draw an invisible track. - I am unable to access this source. Can you provide a direct quote? Y Sure: The SMH has "They drag Barbie around to indicate her movement" and The Ledger has "Children can use the mouse to set down an invisible track for the characters to move on".

• 7a: Players can also add additional text, speech bubbles, animation, sound, and effects - Verifies "text, special effects, and music". Also, notes that this was released after the success of Fashion Studio, which may be worth mentioning.   'Speech bubbles' is already implied by text so removed. Superkids covers this adequately as well. Storymaker was released before Fashion Designer. Personal Computer World is a UK publication, so reviewing it six months later would seem to be a distribution thing.

• 10: Storymaker was one of several Barbie-licensed titles released by publisher Mattel Media, a division of Mattel that entered the software market in 1996 - Failed verification. Storymaker was one of several Barbie-licensed titles released by publisher Mattel Media is not supported by the source (Fashion Designer is mentioned, but none of the others). Text after "division" is supported. Y Adding The Independent as a citation would seem to cover all these details.

• 12: It accompanied the release of other titles, including Barbie Fashion Designer and Barbie Print 'n Play. - Supported

• 14: Nancie Martin, who served as executive producer for the three titles, described Storymaker as centred on reflecting girls' play patterns of inventing dialogue and scenarios between Barbie dolls to tell their own stories, likening the process to "creating a little movie" - Supported

• 18b: and several critics expressed that the game could teach younger players how to write or develop computer skills - Supports writing, but not computer skills.   The opening statement relies on the cumulative effect of the citations: as can be seen, the Independent covers computer skills (i.e. 'very innovative and teaches girls not only computer skills'). Suggest no change.
  • The phrasing "several critics expressed that the game could teach younger players how to write or develop computer skills" suggests that both were included in the reviews. Removing "several" would reduce that impression. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:19, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

  That's an easy fix and will do so now. VRXCES (talk) 23:21, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

Conclusion

Some prose issues, as well as comprehensiveness, which I'd like to see addressed before I move on to a detailed source review. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 17:39, 17 August 2026 (UTC)

Cheers - I think that's everything on a first pass. VRXCES (talk) 03:22, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

• Yep, looks good! I'll do the source review in a bit. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 10:50, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

• Alright, a few quibbles with the source review, but overall looks really good. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 17:19, 19 August 2026 (UTC)

  Cheers! Let me know if you have any more feedback. VRXCES (talk) 23:12, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

  Hi VRXCES, just two more comments above. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:19, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

• Thank you for the quick responses. I am happy to say this meets the GA criteria! — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:22, 21 August 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that players can animate their own movies with Barbie Storymaker?

• Source: Multiple

• • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Cold spot (astronomy)
  • Comment: Notifying @Vrxces and @Crisco 1492 of the nomination.

Improved to Good Article status by Vrxces (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 6 past nominations.

NewAccount7295 (talk) 16:13, 22 August 2026 (UTC).

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

QPQ: None required.

Overall: Article was nominated for DYK within 7 days of reaching Good Article status. Article is over 1,500 words in prose and is sourced. Earwig picked up an unlikely copyright violation of 2.0%, which is from a properly cited quote. QPQ is done. The hook is straightforward. Good work! lullabying (talk) 04:28, 23 August 2026 (UTC)