Catalogue, Branches and Navigation
Last updated: August 21, 2026
- Moving in the right direction
- Why there are dedicated viewers
- When the archive is not the answer
- Official source
- Related reading
Navigation in the Multimedia Archives is entirely slug-based, which makes it predictable once the pattern is visible. Top-level media categories are at /category/{slug}. Sub-collections within a category are at /branch/{slug}. Generic items are at /item/{slug}. Four specialised viewers handle media that needs its own presentation: /book/{slug}, /video-game/{slug}, /arcade-game/{slug} and /episode/{slug}. There is no separate index page for each of these — the routes are reached by browsing from the archive home.
Moving in the right direction
Two habits make the archive quick. Descend when you know the kind of thing: category, then branch, then item. Jump when you know the thing: the specialised viewer routes are readable, and a title you already know will usually be one hop away.
Why there are dedicated viewers
A book needs a cover, a description and a link to reading. A video game needs a showcase. An episode belongs to a sequence and needs the sequence around it. Forcing all of them through one item template would flatten exactly the information a reader came for. The cost of that decision is four route shapes to remember; the benefit is that each page tells you what it is by its shape.
When the archive is not the answer
If you want the file, go to the Asset Vault. If you want to play, go to Games or the Arcade. If you want to read the work rather than see it presented, go to the Grand Library.
Branches are the most useful level for browsing. A category is often broad enough to be overwhelming, and an item is a single thing; the branch is where curation actually happens.
Official source
Canonical source for this subject: the Multimedia Archives. Checked 21 August 2026 — where this guide and the live service disagree, the service is right.
Related reading
- Multimedia Categories and Branches — How the archive divides its material, and what a branch is for.
- Linking Multimedia, Library, Codex and Assets — Choosing between the four surfaces that can each hold a piece of the same work.
- Xdripian Asset Vault Guide — The public creative treasury of official files, and the terms on which they are offered.