Talk:Puppet Motel/GA1

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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Nominator: Vrxces (talk · contribs) 09:29, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: Jon698 (talk · contribs) 11:54, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

This looks very interesting just from the name alone. Some work will have to be done with the paragraph organization. I will begin my review in due time. Jon698 (talk) 11:54, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

Prose

• I plan on using the Featured Article Phantasmagoria (video game) as reference. I made a minor edit here to break up the paragraphs and to move a Wikilink.

• 1. I don't usually see video game articles include "CD-ROM" in the first sentence of the lede. Is there a reason you used this instead of video game or something else? Yes. In the context of the time the sources were written, interactive multimedia software was not often described as a video game, and the artistic pedigree of the creators also led to the game being marketed without that terminology. You can see many sources use CD-ROM to refer to it as a software medium and category of product. I've added 'interactive' before it to clarify that.

• 2. "Its genesis came from an offer by The Voyager Company executive Bob Stein to translate Anderson's Nerve Bible performances into software, originally conceived as a "set-building project" for the tour." -> Alter to either be "The Voyager Company executive Bob Stein offered ..." or change "Its genesis came from" to "Production started after" Done.

• 3. "The CD-ROM was exhibited at the San Jose Museum of Art" -> Wikilink CD-ROM since this is its first mention in the body Done.

• 4. I don't know if "Following release, Anderson and Hsin-Chien" is correct, but "Following its release" sounds better. Done.

• 5. "Anderson remarked that sales of Puppet Motel did not sell well and the software was a "bet that just didn't pay off"." -> "Anderson remarked that Puppet Motel did not sell well and the software was a "bet that just didn't pay off"." Done.

• 6. I will finish up the reception section

• 7. "Puppet Motel received positive reviews from magazines upon release." feels like original research or something that belongs in the lede rather than the beginning of the Reception section. This is an artefact of WP:VG/MOS where these sections typically do recount the general sentiment from an aggregator where present. Of course, this doesn't have one. I think it is defensible and not WP:OR or WP:SYNTH where there are clearly three identified reviews in the template with positive scores. You are right caution should be exercised in situations like this though.

• 8. There are MOS:WEASEL words in reception like "Several critics" and "Some critics", but link to specific people in the references. I could do some rewriting on my own, but I feel like this section could be expanded and reorganized with more content. For the time being, I've removed 'some' or 'several' - I am trying to find common review themes, but as there aren't a lot of reviews, bunching these, which is recommended in WP:VG/MOS, is not as effective.

• 9. "Reviewers considered its core themes to relate to the impact of technology on modern life" -> Specify that Johnathan E. is saying this Let's do the publication as we don't even have the author's full name.

@Vrxces: I am done with my prose edits. I will be looking at the references soon. Jon698 (talk) 08:54, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

I don't know if you have access to Newspapers.com, but there is some coverage of the game here. If do not have access I can clip the pages for you. Jon698 (talk) 08:57, 3 June 2026 (UTC) Thanks, I have access and I'll take a look at these in the interim.

Since there are only 100 entries I decided to clip the stories that I thought contained important info: (Oakland Tribune part 1 part 2 has a really good paragraph in part two where Anderson says "I've finally found an art form I completely undestand. It's not about plot, which has always been a problem for me. It's all about association."), the Detroit Free Press has her talking about the game a bit, the Cincinnati Post mentions some of her inspiration that is not currently in the article, (Review by the San Francisco Examiner part 1 part 2), and a review in French if you want to translate it. Jon698 (talk) 08:04, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

I looked at Project Muse and JSTOR for additional material. I only found a few brief mentions on Project Muse, but some good stuff on JSTOR. 1 and 2. This is the end of proposed references by me. Jon698 (talk) 08:16, 4 June 2026 (UTC)

Courtney ping for @Vrxces: This article is really close to GA status. You just need to look through those references I provided and then I will be off to do the final portion of the review. Jon698 (talk) 10:19, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for doing a fairly comprehensive review of Newspapers; this substantially has the potential to improve the article. I'll action shortly. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 21:18, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

I have added many of the sources you have suggested: I was unable to access the Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America review. Otherwise, this really fleshed things out. Let me know if you have any more feedback! ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 09:15, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

References

There are 45 references in total so I will be reviewing five of these. This accounts for around 11% of the total.

• 1. Anderson performs a surreal show [Reference 21] is used to source the inspiration behind the ventriloquist dummy being the narrator and Anderson's enthusiasm with CD-ROMs. Paragraphs 5 and 6 of the interior piece with the article source this.
• 2. Laurie Anderson wants to break your heart with her latest VR artwork [Reference 25] is used to source Anderson hiring Hsin-Chien Huang. Paragraph 6 sources this.
• 3. Puppet Motel [Reference 35] is used to source CNET's review. The quoted word "endless" is in the article and it does mention a blurring of lines between audience and performer.
• 4. Laurie Anderson is not Playing Games [Reference 18] is used to source the offer by Bob Stein, Puppet Motel being launched during Anderson's tour, the poor performance of the game, and comments by Hyperallergic. All of this information is found across the article. I made a minor edit to the article to add a comma that was missing in article's quotation of the source.
• 5. The indie explosion that's been going on for 30 years (give or take) [Reference 41] is used to source the retrospective description of the game as a piece of art rather than as a video game. This is indeed mentioned late into the source.

Review

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):

   All of my comments regarding the prose were answered above.

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):

   I found no major errors after conducting a review of around 11% of the sources used by the article.

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

   The gameplay, development, and reception are all covered by this article.

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

   No neutrality issues

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

   No majors edits since March 28, 2026.

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):

   Three images are present in the article. One is the cover art in the infobox, which is common for all articles and the image properly uses non-free use rationale. The second image depicts Laurie Anderson, who is mentioned in the development section, and was uploaded by the person who created it. The third image is a fair use image depicting gameplay and this appears to be properly uploaded.

7. Overall: All of my comments have been answered by the nominator and they have used the sources I presented to them. There are no major errors with the article preventing it from becoming a good article.

   Pass/Fail:

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.