Create a Mario Party Board Contest #4

UPDATE: The deadline has been extended! Boards are now due on September 17!

We’re back for our fourth create a custom board contest! PartyPlanner64, the Mario Party 1-3 board editor, has seen lots of new advancements and additions in the past year (custom events!) and as a result we’ve seen incredible board and custom event submissions. For this contest, we’re going with a Character based theme. That means we’re looking for boards like Luigi’s Engine Room or Waluigi’s Island, boards that are centered and themed around a particular Mario or Nintendo character.

Each submission will be looked through and graded on a variety of different qualities and the first place winner will be given a $20 eShop card while second and third place will each receive a $10 eShop card.

The deadline for this contest is Tuesday, September 3 September 17, giving you over a month to work on your board.

Before we get into the details, including how to submit your board, here are some quick links to easily find what you’re looking for:

• PartyPlanner64 Editor
• Custom Boards Downloads Database
• Custom Events Downloads List
• Submit Your Custom Board (.json files only!)
• Mario Party Legacy and PP64 Discord (chat and get support for your boards!)

Guidelines

Keep these rules in mind as you make your board. If you don’t follow them, we many not be able to feature your board in the contest!

• No. White. Backgrounds. All objects must have a transparent background, no white. This is what you shouldn’t have.
• Do not grab a map from another game and slap on spaces. This is lazy, we want original designs!
• Spaces – 60 minimum, 128 maximum. At least 1 of each space.
• Custom Events are required!! Now that these are available, make sure to have them on your board. Other users have generously provided events that you can easily implement on your board here. Feel free to modify them or create your own! A guide on creating custom events here. You can get support at our Discord.
• Include a detailed description of the board that explains the gimmick and layout design, along with explanations on any custom events.
• Space alignment issue has been fixed! Just place your spaces where they need to go and it’ll work!
• Test the game in PP64 and make sure it runs! Also include at least two in-game images!
• Follow the contest theme! Your board should be based on an existing video game character, doesn’t have to be Mario based or even Nintendo. Some examples from within the series: Peach’s Birthday Cake (MP1), Boo’s Haunted Bash (MP4), DK’s Treetop Temple (MP8), Whomp’s Domino Ruins (SMP).

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. This time we’ve narrowed down the categories, focusing on the three most important aspects of a board. Your board will be graded on this 50-point scale.

• Background – The entire background that makes up the artwork of your board. The more custom it is (hand drawn, your own 3D models, etc), the better. Everything should look like it fits in the same board! – . (Out of 15)
• Path Layout – The layout and the basic board design. Arrows are crucial, so is being able to see the paths clearly and where they’re headed. What kind of spaces are used and where? Make sure everything is fair and balanced! (Out of 15)
• Custom Events – What makes your board special and unique in terms of gameplay? Is there variety to your Happening Spaces and passing events? Did you create your own custom event or modify an existing event? Do the events make sense with the theme of your board? (Out of 15)
• Contest Theme – How well you followed the theme of the contest. Does the character you picked and the associated board artwork, layout, and events all make sense for said character? (Out of 5)

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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/Blender – 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. We also have a great video guide by SpiderStaryu that you can watch below, although please be aware this was made before PP64’s newest changes:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFcnl2kmjXY

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. There are also a few custom Mario Party 3 assets that SuperZambezi created available here.

Example

Ready to see an example of a submission? Here is Airsola’s board for Mario Party 3, Primal Isles. The board features a completely original background with unique gimmicks and custom events specifically made for this board. If you like what you see, the board is already available for download here.

Full Board

Large Scene Background

Board Logo  /  Board Logo Text  /  Board Select Image

How and what to submit

All boards made for the contest need to be submitted to our Custom Board Database on the Forum. After you export the .json file from the PartyPlanner64 Editor, head over to the Forum to submit your board to the database. Make sure to include somewhere in the description that the board is for the contest!

Make sure you only submit a complete board, including all supplementary images with the correct dimensions. Check out PartyPlanner64’s guide on the images to read up more on that.

Don’t be afraid to enter! We’ll take any and all submissions, as long as they meet the requirements. Plus, there is that cool $20 eShop card for whoever takes first place. $10 eShop card for both second and third place! The deadline is Tuesday, September 3 giving you over a month to work on your board. Good luck!

Reminder to join our Discord! That’s where you’ll get the latest updates on the contest and where you can chat with the judges and other creators. Also a great place if you need help getting your custom events to work!

Previous Contests
Contest #1 | Contest #2 | Contest #3 | Top 10 of 2018