Talk:Field Guide to Memory

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:Field Guide to Memory/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Sariel Xilo (talk · contribs) 19:35, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: Dragonhawk12 (talk · contribs) 04:58, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

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):

• The lead is somewhat short; information about the kickstarter campaign and the fact it won awards should be included in the lead. Other than that, the lead is fine.
  • ✓ Expanded Sariel Xilo (talk) 05:21, 2 June 2026 (UTC)
• Shouldn't "Players follow daily prompts that ask them..." be changed to "The player follows daily prompts that asks them..." because it's a one-play game?
  • ✓ Implemented Sariel Xilo (talk) 05:21, 2 June 2026 (UTC)
• There shouldn't be a wikilink for "solo role-playing games" in the sentence "Kelly Knox, writing for Nerdist, called it the best solo (one-player) tabletop role-playing game" since it was already wikilinked in the lead.
  • ✓ Removed link Sariel Xilo (talk) 05:21, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Other than these issues, everything is okay. There were some grammar mistakes, but I fixed them myself. Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 03:46, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

1. 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):

• Can you provide the parts that are referenced in this source so I can check it?
  • Not sure why the Taylor & Francis link is failing; we have access to that database through the Wikipedia Library which is how I assume I originally accessed it. I'll remove the link. I did a broader search for "Routledge Handbook" (since it is a series) and none of them popup on that database. If you're fine with a sketchy source, google in quotes "Routledge Handbook of Role-Playing Game Studies" and a scribd link has it. Otherwise, I can make a request over at WP:REREQ. I'll also drop direct quotes in my next edit so it is easy to remove if it is too much quoted text. Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Solo Games. [...] Designer Jeeyon Shim (“Jeeyon Shim’s Keepsake Games,” 2022), similarly, creates journaling games like the Field Guide to Memory (2021, self-published, available via itch.io), created with artist Shing Yin Khor, that ask players to write, draw, and map out entries in response to a sequence of prompts provided by the game. (page 83)
Khor extends this concept to the notion of “keepsake games,” games that generate a memento of play (Khor 2021b; Carpenter 2021). This memento might be a journal, as in Field Guide to Memory (Shim and Khor 2021) or even a piece of embroidery, as in A Mending (Khor 2021a). (page 175)

• The Routledge Handbook doesn't go in-depth on this game; I only cited page 83 for the gameplay description. Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:52, 2 June 2026 (UTC)
• While it isn't accessible via the wiki library, this Routledge Handbook now has a working Taylor & Francis link. No idea why it wasn't available yesterday. I added an archive link; it doesn't bypass the paywall but does confirm basic book info (authors, ISBN, etc). Sariel Xilo (talk) 19:45, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

• Can you provide a link to this source in the article so I can check it? When I search for the Field Guide to Memory itch.io page, I don't see a source that supports the information from that source.
  • Jeeyon Shim's itchio Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC) (Note: the game isn't free; that's the link to purchase the game. Sariel Xilo (talk) 05:21, 2 June 2026 (UTC))
• This source doesn't link to a specific item, rather it links to a search result. Please fix the source to link to the correct thing.
  • No idea why the doi:10.57862/FZB0-QG05 link is redirecting like that. One of the authors links to a version 2 (PDF link) in a different database. Spot checked some quotes but I'm not seeing changes. I'll update the links to this version. Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC)
• Whenever I try to access this source, it prompts me to "sign in". I don't have an account, so are you able to send an image of the part of the source that supports the information?
  • You should have access to ProQuest 3108820147 via the Wikipedia Library (you'll need to sign into the library, click on ProQuest and then click on the Proquest link above). Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

That article was also captured by the Wayback Machine in March 2026 without a paywall. Looks like all of Broken Pencil has since gone offline so I've marked the source dead, added the archive link & dropped a note over at the link rot noticeboard. Sariel Xilo (talk) 17:50, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Good to know. Thanks! Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 17:51, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Other than these issues, everything is okay. The Kickstarter source was whitelisted under the nominator's request. I will send you an email so you can send me the sources. I checked for plagiarism using the copyvio detector, and it said it was unlikely to have been copied. Most of the flags that came up were quoted material. Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 03:46, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

• ✓ Fixed or removed broken links. Let me know if you still have access issues since I would prefer not to email. Thanks! Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:49, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

  Okay, good to know. I’ll check it in the morning Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 04:50, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

1. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

• You should information about the story in the "Gameplay" section, like how Dr. Lee went on the expedition to find the pronghorned desert rat, causing her to go missing and be declared dead.
  • ✓ I read through the game and split narrative into its own section under gameplay (a la Baldur's Gate 3 structure). Please let me know if there are grammatical or other changes that should be implemented. Sariel Xilo (talk) 17:30, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

  Looks good! I'm going to ping my mentor to look over my review, and if everything is okay, this article will be a good article! Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 17:38, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Other than that, everything that should be included looks to be included. I checked other one player role playing game articles and nothing seems to be omitted. Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 03:46, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

1. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

2. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

   No edit wars present

3. 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):

   I would suggest adding an image of a page found in a player's journal if you could, but it's not necessary.

   While people have shared photos on social media, no one has added them to the Commons. There is an example journal entry (caption: "a journal you might create while playing the game") that was part of the Kickstarter promo. WP:NFCI #4 says promo material can be used "for critical commentary" - do you think the reception section meets that bar? Sariel Xilo (talk) 16:44, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

   ✓ Added non-free image to reception section. Sariel Xilo (talk) 17:36, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

   I think it could work. Have you played this game before? If so, you can use a page from your journal. Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 16:49, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

   I have not played the game. Looking at the other GA board games/ttrpgs under recreation, most have no images of gameplay itself. Sariel Xilo (talk) 16:52, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

   New image idea - @Dragonhawk12: this might be a stretch, but the game's crypto animal is "Dipodomys antilocapra" and Dipodomys is a real genus. In the Commons, there's an Louis Agassiz Fuertes field illustration of a kangaroo rat. That image could be added the Narrative section with a caption: "A 1918 illustration of the banner-tailed kangaroo rat by Louis Agassiz Fuertes which is part of the real genus Dipodomys". This was prompted by the WP:DYKIMG requirements (assuming the article passes GA) because I don't think the basic junk journal image is all that interesting. Sariel Xilo (talk) 21:33, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

   I think adding that image would be good. Though, the DYK can’t be about the game’s fictional animal, because the fact needs to be about a real world thing, not a fact from the story (WP:DYKFICTION) Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 21:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

   What was the DYK fact you had in mind? Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 21:41, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

   I haven't done DYK before but here are my 2 initial ideas:

   - "... the solo roleplaying game Field Guide to Memory led to the term "keepsake game" being coined as a new tabletop game genre?"

   - "... in the solo roleplaying game Field Guide to Memory you create a physical journal from the perspective of a cryptozoologist's mentee grappling with the legacy of a missing mentor?"

   Sariel Xilo (talk) 22:20, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

   I think these would be great hooks. I would lean towards hook 1, but you can submit both for consideration Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 22:21, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

1. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

There are still some issues that need to be adressed. Please adress these in a timely manner. If there is no response within 2 weeks, I may fail the article (note that I will be away for a couple of days starting on Wednesday, but please don't feel the need to rush). Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 03:46, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

I've addressed most of the above requests. I'll circle back to the game's plot when I have time to read through the prompts tomorrow. Sariel Xilo (talk) 05:21, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

See above on narrative. Thanks! Sariel Xilo (talk) 17:30, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

@It is a wonderful world: I finished the review. Please look through to see if I missed anything. Thanks! Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 17:39, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Hey @Dragonhawk12, this is a strong review and these comments are only minor things one can easily miss. Different reviewers tend to spot different things, so the more active eyes on the article, the better.

• with fantasies of a life the player have never experienced: Doesn't make grammatical sense
• Why does the rp citation at the end of the gameplay section have "240" as a parameter? I would remove it but just want to make sure I'm not missing anything
• The nerdist (citation [14]) calls it "one of the best in this category", not "the best"
• The game won "best live game" at the 2021 IndieCade Awards: Quoting the name of the award in the lead goes beyond what is supported in the body, and in this case I think it is slightly incorrect as the award doesn't seem to have an official name to be quoted.
• Jeeyon Shim was awarded the 2021 Diana Jones Award for "Best Emerging Designer" largely: another case of directly quoting what is actually a paraphrase of the source. The paraphrase is slightly dubious too, as the word "best" is not used to describe her in the article.
• I suggest using Template:Cite video game for the citations to the game itself. I originally thought it was citing the itch.io listing.

IAWW (talk) 22:34, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Fixed the first two bullet points. Thanks for flagging the reception issues; those were from the original version of the article but I should have reviewed them more closely. I've rephrased it to more accurately reflect the sources. My understanding of whether or not to put award categories within quotation marks is that it is largely a stylistic decision. I've updated it to be quotation marks in both the lead & reception. I don't think the video game citation template works well because it lacks page numbers; I've removed the url from the citation so hopefully it is clearer that the citation is the game sourcebook. Sariel Xilo (talk) 23:05, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

That resolves all the issues I found. Thanks for your prompt response. Feel free to pass when you're ready @Dragonhawk12. IAWW (talk) 23:15, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the assist! I'll pass it ASAP. Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 23:28, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Discussion

Hello! I will be reviewing this article as apart of the June 2026 backlog event. Please note, I am considered a newbie, and I am being mentored by @It is a wonderful world:. If I make a mistake, please notify me. Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 05:05, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Dragonhawk12, this looks like a great review to get started with. It's short, not overly controversial, and interesting. Note that it's a good idea to keep track of how you evaluated the criteria as you go along, even if you find no issues. It means others can see you are checking everything, and allows you to keep track of the review better. For example, when evaluating the scope/broadness (criterion 3), you might write "The structure appears to follow the same structure as other GA and FA articles on this topic. I see no major omitted areas." IAWW (talk) 15:26, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Note that your ping in the above message didn't go through. This is because you didn't sign in the same edit that you linked to me. I suggest reading WP:PING to make sure they go through in the future. IAWW (talk) 15:29, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Pinging other mentor @MSK: Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 15:43, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

While for GAs you don't have to squeeze all you can out of the sources, the "Gameplay" section is fairly short. The Polygon source has a fair bit on gameplay that could be used. msk 17:11, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

I expanded it a bit so it is now two paragraphs. The gameplay directions are not very complex but let me know if you think a specific detail from a source should be included. Thanks! Sariel Xilo (talk) Sariel Xilo (talk) 18:51, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

The prose and info looks good. I will look more throughly sometime today. Thanks! Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 18:53, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Hi @Dragonhawk12, this review is looking really good so far. You've done a great job of evaluating all the criteria. Please ping me before passing just because I think there's a few small things you might have missed, but I'll wait until the review has concluded to be sure. IAWW (talk) 09:03, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for taking on this review! Do you want responses nested above under your comments or listed down here? Sariel Xilo (talk) 16:08, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

I would prefer responses under my comments. Thanks! Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 16:14, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Cool! Just a quick note, I had the game's Kickstarter link approved at WT:WHITELIST (see MediaWiki talk:Spam-whitelist/Archives/2026/04#Very old Kickstarters 3). Sariel Xilo (talk) 16:49, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Good to know. Thanks! Dragonhawk12 (talk) (Guestbook) (Wikicats) 16:50, 1 June 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

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. Track your hook after promotion. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Beta Beta Beta (talk) 22:08, 29 June 2026 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

To play the game, a player writes in and embellishes a journal

• ... that the solo tabletop roleplaying game Field Guide to Memory led to the term "keepsake game" being coined as a new game genre?

• Source 1: Ch4. Materiality Of Keepsake Games: Theorizing A Newly Named Game Form (GENeration Analog 2021 Proceedings; https://doi.org/10.17613/ya2wp-7sb40)

"From December 15, 2020 until January 7, 2021, game designer Jeeyon Shim and conceptual artist Shing Yin Khor ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund Field Guide to Memory. The designers coined the term 'keepsake game' to describe the new style of gameplay they hoped it would establish". (pg55)

• Source 2: https://www.theverge.com/23139467/jeeyon-shim-crowdfunding-keepsake-games

"Starting with Field Guide to Memory, the pair defined keepsake games as both a genre and a useful shorthand for their work."

• • ALT1: ... that in the solo tabletop roleplaying game Field Guide to Memory you create a physical journal (example pictured) from the perspective of a cryptozoologist's mentee? Source 1: https://www.polygon.com/2021/3/26/22352414/field-guide-to-memory-keepsake-game-impressions-interview/

"The story is centered around the disappearance of Dr. Lee, a fictional cryptozoologist who's recently been declared legally dead. Players take on the role of Dr. Lee's mentee, responding to written prompts created by the developers and then collating it all into a journal." * Source 2: https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/field-guide-to-memory/news/field-guide-to-memory-kickstarter "Field Guide to Memory is a collaborative roleplaying game that has its players gradually filling in a journal about the life of their mentor - Dr Elizabeth Lee - and the relationship they had with her."

• • ALT2: ... that in the solo tabletop roleplaying game Field Guide to Memory the player responds to ephemera about their missing mentor and her research into the cryptid known as the pronghorned desert rat? Source: Source 1: https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/field-guide-to-memory/news/field-guide-to-memory-kickstarter "Throughout her storied life, Dr Lee studied the Pronghorned Desert Rat - a creature whose existence is yet to be confirmed - with the player/s needing to read through the doctor’s notes and reports on her findings, alongside various other documents such as postcards and letters."

Source 2: https://www.polygon.com/2021/3/26/22352414/field-guide-to-memory-keepsake-game-impressions-interview/ "The prompts are part story, part instruction, using a number of different media. Sometimes I'm sifting through research or letters."

• • Reviewed:

Improved to Good Article status by Sariel Xilo (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

Sariel Xilo (talk) 04:57, 3 June 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:

Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
Freely licensed: Used in article: Clear at 100px:

QPQ: None required.

Overall: Article was promoted to GA status, and checks all the boxes! The first hook is to me the most interesting; its wording however seems to suggest that commentators or the broader community coined the term in response to the game. I'd prefer something like

• ALT0': ... that the creators of Field Guide to Memory coined the term "keepsake game" to describe the new genre they hoped it would establish?

The other hooks are also interesting and properly sourced.  Ploni^💬  02:17, 9 June 2026 (UTC)