Screenshots

Screenshots, together with the game's description, should give the player a good sense of what the game is like. For this reason, screenshots should be varied, they should be high quality, and they should represent the original form of the game.

What kind of screenshots are acceptable?
Since screenshots are intended to represent the original form of the game, they should be in the game's original resolution (check the page for the game's platform for more information), and they shouldn't come from a hacked version of the game--not even an unofficial translation.

For screenshots to be high quality, they must be in the right format. For games with fewer than 256 colors, screenshots must be in PNG or GIF format. Games with more than 256 colors may be submitted in JPEG format. Be sure to set the JPEG compression to a very high quality--screenshots with noticeable artifacts (errors or noise from compression) will be rejected! If you're in doubt about what format to use, check the page for the game's platform for guidance.

Some games display in aspect ratios that must be doubled to give the true image. In those cases only may screenshots be manipulated. Do not scale up small screenshots to make them larger, or otherwise scale shots to correct the aspect ratio. When in doubt, ask for advice or leave the shots alone.

Console screenshots may be taken from a video capture of the game.

Most importantly, screenshots must not be taken from any other sources--not even straight from the developer's website. All screenshots you contribute must be of your own creation. Any screenshots plagiarized from other sources will be rejected.

Which screenshots to choose?
If a game lacks cover art, the first screenshot will be shown instead, so include a shot of the title screen at position 1.

There is a limit of 50 shots per game per platform, so be discriminating in what shots you choose, especially as you approach 30 or more shots. Screenshots shouldn't be taken all from the beginning of the game, but should show off all the variety a game has to offer. If you can't or don't want to play through the whole game to take screenshots, just take some to show off the part you did play through, and leave the rest for others.

Don't submit shots that give away the ending of the game. Spoilers are usually not appreciated by people who haven't played the game yet.

If the game is a compilation or "special edition", only content specific to that edition should be uploaded, i.e. extra content from a Collector's Edition.

How to capture screenshots
For Windows games, the shareware utility HyperSnap is recommended. For a free alternative, consider IrfanView or ShareX.

For console games, you may wish to use a video capture device to get screenshots from the real console.

For more specific guidance, check the page for the platform you're interested in.

Other resources

 * The Cutting Room Floor has guidance on taking screenshots.