Canon

Canon is a term used to describe "official" material within a fictional work. Within the context of Bully, canon refers to what takes place or is described in the game itself.

Layers of Canon
Because of contradicting source material, Bully has multiple layers of canon. That is, if something higher on the canon levels contradicts something on the lower levels, that higher level is canon and the lower level is a mistake. However in the absence of conflicting material the lower levels are indeed considered fully canon.

The best known example of conflicting canon is Tad Spencer's last name. Although in the game it is said to be Spencer, it is Smith-Althorp Smith on the official website.

Canon hierarchy

 * 1) The Game. Since Bully is a videogame, by definition there can be no higher canon than what takes place within the game.
 * 2) Supplemental materials. Supplemental materials includes the strategy guide, the various official Bully websites, and the instruction manual and fold-out map that come with the game.
 * 3) Data files. There is information in the data files that isn't found anywhere else in the game.  However, the data files are known to be outdated, and are therefore the lowest level of canon.
 * 4) Fanon. Fanon, short for fan-canon, is by definition not actually canon.

Related articles

 * Fanon
 * Canon on Wikipedia