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WP:PROD
editI have been deleting the WP:PROD, reading:
No evidence of notability. article only says he worked on games that may or may not be notable. absolutly 0 third party references much less any evidence that he himself is personally notable.
While I can't be sure that Donadoni formally qualifies as notable under WP criteria, I hope he does, because I think he is definitely notable. I've added a few sources to the article. The links I added should support my statement that he is notable, although I understand they're not cutting the issue.
The reason why I'm supportive of Donadoni's notability is that he was the designer (not one of the designers, as the WP:PROD line "he worked on games" might suggest) of a number of International Team (IT) games (and this is beyond doubt; boardgamegeek is one reliable source on this issue but there are hundreds); in fact, he was the designer of most IT games (this too may be sourced beyond any doubt). Now, International Team was a "groundbreaking" wargaming company at least in Italy and France. Note that IT wasn't doing any wargames before Donadoni's advent and thereafter switched to producing mostly wargames. All the above assertions can be easily sourced (you can actually find online catalogs of IT products).
I think the IT wargame line is notable because it was highly successful for a time and because it was groundbreaking, i.e., it brought wargaming to large audiences whereby it used to be a niche interest. Also note that essentially no wargames were translated in Italian before IT's advent (not sure about France). As it might be somewhat clear, I am one of those that had the right age at the time to get involved in wargaming when IT came about (at least you know I'm not Marco Donadoni, nor his relative or anything).
While I couldn't find sources reporting on Donadoni's career in more than a superficial way, some of the links I used as references are about Donadoni being invited to boardgame festivals in the role of a "veteran" or "master" game designer of the Italian scene. The most valuable ref is probably that from the "Corriere della Sera" (which is a major newspaper in Italy), which unfortunately supports quantity over notability, saying that Donadoni has designed 180+ games. In any case, it might help to note that Italy is not Germany - the country doesn't have a boardgaming tradition, so being mentioned in a major newspaper is somewhat "notable" for a game designer (no pun).
I also think some IT games, such as Zargo's Lords, are definitely notable; for example, ZL has had follow-ups by other companies, is an explicit source of inspiration in the design of Warangel, and is mentioned by several gaming sites as a "classic". And yes, this too was, of course, Donadoni's work.
Given all these, I still think the issue is arguable and I understand that Donadoni is not Reiner Knizia. I believe he has won awards (he says so in some interview) but I can't find third party sources on that. Overall, I won't take it personally if he is eventually deleted. What I hope is that it's clear that this is all in good faith, and based on the true belief that the subject deserves an entry. Moongateclimber (talk) 16:15, 14 March 2011 (UTC)