Create a Mario Party Board Contest #1

Time to create some Mario Party boards! In preparation of the upcoming Mario Party 1-3 board editor, PartyPlanner64, Mario Party Legacy is holding a contest where contestants create and submit their own Mario Party board designs! Each submission will be looked through and graded on a variety of different qualities, and the winner will be given a $20 eShop card!

Before we get into the specifics about what your boards must have and what needs to be submitted, please take note that the example for this contest, and the assets we are providing, are all based on Mario Party 3. This doesn’t mean the contest is exclusive to that game, feel free to submit a board for any of the Nintendo 64 Mario Party games.

Once the competition is over, we’ll have boards ready to go for PartyPlanner64 when it’s released! The deadline for this contest is Friday, October 14, giving you roughly two weeks to work on your board.

 

Guidelines

Depending on the game that you chose to base your board on, different guidelines will apply. However, there are certain rules that will apply no matter the game:

  • Boards must be based on the Battle Royale of Mario Party 1, 2, or 3. You must pick one game.
  • No white backgrounds. All objects must have a transparent background, no white. This is what you shouldn’t have.
  • Spaces – 70 minimum, 140 maximum. At least 1 of each space.
  • Be mindful of where you want your Star spaces.

Passing event guidelines:

  • Boo – 1 minimum, 5 maximum.
  • Bowser – 1 minimum, 2 maximum. (Mario Party 1)
  • Item Shops – 2 minimum, 6 maximum. (Mario Party 2 & 3)
  • Bank – 1 minimum, 5 maximum. (Mario Party 2 & 3)

 

What will we be judging on

Once the deadline has passed and the boards have been submitted, SpiderStaryu and SuperZambezi will grade each board on a variety of different qualities. Each category is worth five points, adding up to a total of 50 points. Your board will be graded on this 50-point scale.

  • Theme – The overall setting of the board. It could be jungle, ocean, space, lava, city, etc.
  • Gimmicks – Special features of the board. This is strictly for board design with the possibility of board events when that feature is made available, something that makes it’s unique and original.
  • Background – Behind the board, basically the atmosphere.
    Path Layout – The layout and the basic board design. Arrows are crucial.
  • Space Distribution – The distributing of the spaces on the board. Make sure everything is fair and balanced!
  • Passing Events – Whether it be the Item Shop in Mario Party 2 or Bowser in Mario Party 1, how and where events are placed.
  • Originality – The overall board’s originality will be judged.
  • Playability – The board’s playability. The board has to be able function in PartyPlanner64 once it’s released. You can find what works here.
  • Guidelines – Must be followed as posted above, points deducted if broken.
  • Overall Presentation – Board’s overall review based on all the factors above.

 

Tips on making your board

First time making a Mario Party board? Here are some helpful tips on some ways you can create an awesome board:

  • Hand Drawn – Are you an artist? Perfect! Draw up your board, then use one of the following programs to place your spaces.
  • Powerpoint – Good for making shapes and placing transparent images over each other.
  • Photoshop/Paint.Net – Image editing program, good for creating images for your board. You can use it to form your board as well.
  • SketchUp – Create your board using a modelling program. Import 3D models from other games or create them yourself.

As for board design, study up on the boards of Mario Party 1-3 and see how they created their paths and space layouts. We’ll be giving tips and suggestions when we review your board.

Do you need assets for your boards? We’ve got a few that will work well if you’re building a Mario Party 3 board. This RAR file has things like spaces, arrows, and passing event images.

 

Example

Ready to see an example of a submission? Here is SuperZambezi’s board for Mario Party 3, Rainbow Boulevard. For those wondering, the board layout and the background objects were created in Sketchup, while the arrows, spaces, and other assets were placed in Photoshop.

Main Background/Layout

Full Board

Large Scene Background

Board Logo  /  Board Logo Text  /  Board Select Image

 

How and what to submit

The two most important items are the Main Background/Layout and the Full Board, and both of these are required no matter the game. The rest will differ from game to game, thus we are counting the rest as bonus submissions, each worth one point. Max of 3 bonus points. Although if you plan to release the board in PartyPlanner64, you’re going to want to submit everything.

And to be clear, all submissions must be image files, PNG to be exact.

Mario Party (1)
  • Main Background/Layout960 x 720. This is the background image of your board. This includes the path layout, arrows, and passing events. Do not include spaces.
  • Full Board – 960 x 720. Same as the Main Background, but with your spaces.
  • Large Scene Background320 x 240. This is the starting scene that appears at START. Also used during passing events.
  • Splashscreen Background320 x 240. Image of the board that appears behind the Board Logo at the start of board.
  • Board Logo – 250 x 100. The intro logo you see at the very start of a board. Includes both the background image and the text.
  • Board Select Image128 x 64. This image appears when you’re picking what board to play. Use this mask as a template.
Mario Party 2
  • Main Background/Layout1152 x 864. This is the background image of your board. This includes the path layout, arrows, and passing events. Do not include spaces.
  • Full Board1152 x 864. Same as the Main Background, but with your spaces.
  • Large Scene Background320 x 240. This is the starting scene that appears at START.
  • Board Logo – 260 x 120. The intro logo you see at the very start of a board. Includes both the background image and the text.
  • Board Select Image64 x 48. This image appears when you’re picking what board to play. Use this mask as a template.
Mario Party 3
  • Main Background/Layout1152 x 864. This is the background image of your board. This includes the path layout, arrows, and passing events. Do not include spaces.
  • Full Board1152 x 864. Same as the Main Background, but with your spaces.
  • Large Scene Background320 x 240. This is the starting scene that appears at START.
  • Board Logo – 226 x 120. The intro logo you see at the very start of a board. Does not include the text logo, just the background image. Like this, not like this.
  • Board Logo Text226 x 36. The text that appears on the front of the board logo. Make sure the width is 226, even if the text is not. Like this.
  • Board Select Image64 x 64. This image appears when you’re picking what board to play. Use this mask as a template.

If you need more specifics on what each one is for, check out PartyPlanner64’s guide on the images.

So how do you submit? We have an email address specifically designed for custom Mario Party boards and other contests. Send us all your board images as an email attachment or a zip file to contest@ mariopartylegacy.com (remove the space). Send those images in, along with the name of the board, your username, and anything else we need to know about your custom board.


Don’t be afraid to enter! We’ll take any and all submissions for our very first contest. Plus, there is that cool $20 eShop prize for whoever takes first place. The deadline is Friday, October 14, giving you roughly two weeks to work on your board. We think that is ample time to get a good board done, but let us know if you think extra time should be given.

Good luck!

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