SmashBoards Creates: The Simpsons: Springfield Scramble (A Simpsons Mario Party-esque Game)

[AlteredBeast]

Spoiler: Archived Intro

If there is one genre of video games that I have found underrated and in need of a bigger fandom of creators and such...it's the party/board game genre. You may know of Mario Party and the other games based on it like Sonic Shuffle, Pac-Man Party, etc. But...what if this game were to get something like how Nick All-Star Brawl was created and we got a team of developers (like the ones who made Party Project) to work on a Mario Party-esque game for an IP new to the party genre and...would be seen as a revitalization of the board game video game genre? Wouldn't that be fun? Now, it's YOUR turn to be a part of the party fun!

Spoiler: Characters: 5/20

Homer
Bart
Lisa
Marge
Maggie

Spoiler: Modes

Party Mode

Spoiler: Boards: 0/8

TBA

Spoiler: Minigames

TBA

 

[AlteredBeast]

Job 1:

Submit a franchise, company (depending on size of IPs) or concept like the Public Domain that you think is deserving of the party game treatment. You CANNOT submit Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Animal Crossing, The Muppets, Crash Bandicoot, Demon Slayer, Pac-Man, Mii, Dragon Quest or Nick/Nick Jr. All these games have gotten the party game treatment of some form. Be sure to state why this franchise deserves the party game treatment, write a bit about them, state the potential they have in the genre, etc. Get submitting!

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

Job 1: Disney

i think that Disney is a great and neat pick

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Job #01: I'm going to suggest DC Comics.

With a seemingly endless library of iconic characters and locations, plenty of recontextualisations into different genres and tones, and audiences of all kinds from comic diehards to the younger children likely to be the key audience of a party game like this, I think DC Comics lends well to something like this. If you can find anyone who doesn't know who Superman or Batman are, I'll give you a (metaphorical) fiver.

DC Comics are the long-running creator of iconic characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others, currently existing as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery - and most well-known for their comics, which have been running for almost a century. WB seems open to the idea of crossovers, given the (reasonably) recent releases of projects like Space Jam: A New Legacy and MultiVersus, but DC in the video game space is most well-known for darker tones with series like the Arkham games and Injustice - so a lighter toned game of some kind feels like a good call.

You could totally also lean into the characters' unique abilities with character-specific gimmicks, if you wanted - but if not, you still have all kinds of personalities and the like to represent, as well as different scenarios. A board set in the Batcave after being taken over by the Joker? Sure, why not! A board set in Metropolis during a tickertape parade for the Justice League? Totally! The possibilities are almost endless.

 

[darkvortex]

would "Nintendo" be allowed

 

[AlteredBeast]

would "Nintendo" be allowed

If you could explain very well, then yes but...you would need to set it apart from Mario Party though.

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

Demon Slayer

You mentioned literally every other series that has gotten a party game but NOT demon slayer which has gotten a party game! Therefore I can submit it just to be contrary!!

okay that was a joke

The Simpsons

I just think a series about a family is a good idea for a party game, and it's easy to represent lots of weird parts of the show in the party game, with all it's minigames.

 

[cashregister9]

Star Wars

So many unique characters, locations and ideas that could be put in a Party Game. It would also be a change of pace in aesthetics and vibes from a lot of other Star Wars games and also party games in general

 

[AlteredBeast]

My submission

Hanna-Barbera

I did have a few franchises in mind but...I wanted to go with a brand that...

• Felt suitable for the "party game" environment.
• Had wacky and zany scenarios
• A hodgepodge of environments
• A franchise/company that I liked

I was going to go with Looney Tunes but Hanna-Barbera broadens the scope. They are an iconic animation company owned by Warner Bros with so many iconic IPs under their belt like Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, etc. They also don’t have much content in most creation threads so…now is the chance for this iconic company to shine! Imagine a board based on the Scooby-Doo mansion or Bedrock or even a race in Wacky Races. I also feel (D)ick Dastardly may work perfect as the "Bowser space" character of the game with Pitstop being the "DK space" character of the game. There are variety of IPs to choose from and we can pay homage to so many of them. Tons to work with here.

 

[darkvortex]

One Piece
Just think it would be funny. Lots of colourful characters who could make for a good party game roster and some great settings. The island theme would actually fit really well. The powers could make for some good mini games. I'm not even a big fan but I think this would be really neat.

 

[AlteredBeast]

I will leave open this job till Tuesday/Wednesday so get those submissions in!

 

[Northsouthmap]

Pokemon
This series is even more popular than the Mario Series, so it makes sense for it to have a party game with a lot of characters and settings.
The moves of the Pokemon could be mini games.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Wednesday is the absolute last day for submissions so get them in as soon as possible! We have 7 great submissions so let’s up the submission count a little!

 

[TheGipper]

Spider-Man​

It's Spider-Man. Like everyone else has mentioned with their selection, there are a LOT of variety to be had with them whether that's being the friendly Neighbourhood Superhero in New York or if we're incorporating the Spider-Verse, that's even more possibilities.

 

[MartianSnake]

Pixar

Yeah disney has already been submitted but the Pixar catalog has a distinct flavor to it that works well as a party game on its own. Doesn't "Pixar Party" just scream 2009/2010 Nintendo Wii game developed by Disney Interactive Studios? You could obviously say the same for core disney, but I dunno, something about Pixar's selection feels more vibrant and party-like.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Job 1: Disney

i think that Disney is a great and neat pick

Job #01: I'm going to suggest DC Comics.

With a seemingly endless library of iconic characters and locations, plenty of recontextualisations into different genres and tones, and audiences of all kinds from comic diehards to the younger children likely to be the key audience of a party game like this, I think DC Comics lends well to something like this. If you can find anyone who doesn't know who Superman or Batman are, I'll give you a (metaphorical) fiver.

DC Comics are the long-running creator of iconic characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others, currently existing as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery - and most well-known for their comics, which have been running for almost a century. WB seems open to the idea of crossovers, given the (reasonably) recent releases of projects like Space Jam: A New Legacy and MultiVersus, but DC in the video game space is most well-known for darker tones with series like the Arkham games and Injustice - so a lighter toned game of some kind feels like a good call.

You could totally also lean into the characters' unique abilities with character-specific gimmicks, if you wanted - but if not, you still have all kinds of personalities and the like to represent, as well as different scenarios. A board set in the Batcave after being taken over by the Joker? Sure, why not! A board set in Metropolis during a tickertape parade for the Justice League? Totally! The possibilities are almost endless.

Demon Slayer

You mentioned literally every other series that has gotten a party game but NOT demon slayer which has gotten a party game! Therefore I can submit it just to be contrary!!

okay that was a joke

The Simpsons

I just think a series about a family is a good idea for a party game, and it's easy to represent lots of weird parts of the show in the party game, with all it's minigames.

Star Wars

So many unique characters, locations and ideas that could be put in a Party Game. It would also be a change of pace in aesthetics and vibes from a lot of other Star Wars games and also party games in general

My submission

Hanna-Barbera

View attachment 392677

I did have a few franchises in mind but...I wanted to go with a brand that...

• Felt suitable for the "party game" environment.
• Had wacky and zany scenarios
• A hodgepodge of environments
• A franchise/company that I liked

I was going to go with Looney Tunes but Hanna-Barbera broadens the scope. They are an iconic animation company owned by Warner Bros with so many iconic IPs under their belt like Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, etc. They also don’t have much content in most creation threads so…now is the chance for this iconic company to shine! Imagine a board based on the Scooby-Doo mansion or Bedrock or even a race in Wacky Races. I also feel (D)ick Dastardly may work perfect as the "Bowser space" character of the game with Pitstop being the "DK space" character of the game. There are variety of IPs to choose from and we can pay homage to so many of them. Tons to work with here.

View attachment 392681
One Piece
Just think it would be funny. Lots of colourful characters who could make for a good party game roster and some great settings. The island theme would actually fit really well. The powers could make for some good mini games. I'm not even a big fan but I think this would be really neat.

Pokemon
This series is even more popular than the Mario Series, so it makes sense for it to have a party game with a lot of characters and settings.
The moves of the Pokemon could be mini games.

Spider-Man​

It's Spider-Man. Like everyone else has mentioned with their selection, there are a LOT of variety to be had with them whether that's being the friendly Neighbourhood Superhero in New York or if we're incorporating the Spider-Verse, that's even more possibilities.

View attachment 392779
Pixar

Yeah disney has already been submitted but the Pixar catalog has a distinct flavor to it that works well as a party game on its own. Doesn't "Pixar Party" just scream 2009/2010 Nintendo Wii game developed by Disney Interactive Studios? You could obviously say the same for core disney, but I dunno, something about Pixar's selection feels more vibrant and party-like.

Alright....we have 9 submissions for franchises/companies to be the focus for our party game. Vote for your top 4 but your own can only come in fourth! Get voting!

Disney DragonRobotKing26

DC Comics KneeOfJustice99

The Simpsons Champion of Hyrule

Star Wars cashregister9

Hanna-Barbera AlteredBeast

One Piece D darkvortex

Pokémon Northsouthmap

Spider-Man TheGipper

Pixar MartianSnake

1. The Simpsons (I love The Simpsons and thinking about it...they could have an AWESOME party video game based on games like Mario Party. Imagine how fun the minigames can be alongside a potential Treehouse of Horror board.)
2. Spider-Man (Very fun concept as well coming from a Marvel comics fan, the tone can be totally different here compared to a regular Mario Party game.)
3. Pixar (Literally, a Pixar Mario Party-esque game would give off those late 2000s licensed videogame vibes that I now am nostalgic for. Except here...we are rejuvenating the party game genre.)
4. Hanna-Barbera (Self-vote but Hanna-Barbera would be AWESOME for this party game. The boards would be so cool like a Wacky Races-themed board where you avoid Dastardly's traps, a Scooby-Doo board where you catch evil doers in a haunted area, a Flintstones-themed board based on Bedrock with dinosaurs, etc. Lots of fun stuff.)

All of these are great ideas but I had to vote for my top 4.

I'm surprised no one submitted Nintendo as what darkvortex was considering submitting as I would allow that...if you could differentiate it from Mario Party. Same with things like Looney Tunes not getting a submission (another fun choice as well) or even DreamWorks.

 

[DragonRobotKing26]

1. Pixar
2. Spider-Man
3. DC Comics
4. Hanna-Barbera

 

[ssbashworld]

1 Simpsons
2 DC Comics
3 Star Wars
4 One Piece

 

[MartianSnake]

1. Hanna-Barbara
2. DC
3. Spider-Man
4. Pixar

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

1. Hanna-Barbera
2. Spider-Man
3. Pixar
4. Star Wars

 

[TheGipper]

1. The Simpsons
2. Star Wars
3. Hanna-Barbera
4. Spider-Man

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Hanna-Barbera
2. The Simpsons
3. Pixar
4. One Piece

 

[cashregister9]

1. Simpsons
2. Pixar
3. Hanna-barbera
4. One Piece

 

[darkvortex]

1. Simpsons
2. One Piece
3. Spider-Man
4. Hanna-Barbera

 

[AlteredBeast]

Alright, voting will close now. Sorry for the delay, life is busy.

Here are the results:

Disney: 0
DC Comics: 8
The Simpsons: 23
Star Wars: 6
Hanna-Barbera: 19
One Piece: 6
Pokémon: 0
Spider-Man: 14
Pixar: 14

Hopefully, someone can make sure I counted the results right but....

The party game will be a game for The Simpsons!

Congrats to Champion of Hyrule and his awesome submission!

Automatically, I will add The Simpsons family as playable characters so Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are added.

Now....to get us thinking:

Job 2:

Submit a roster size for the party game for The Simpsons. This includes playable characters from the start, unlockable ones and eventually DLC. We have 5 already being the family themselves.

Job 3:

How many boards should there be total in terms of those playable from the start, unlockable and DLC?

Job 4:

Submit a title for The Simpsons party game.

Discussion Question:

How should the general party mode mechanics work? What will be the unique gimmick of the game that makes it stand out beyond Mario Party? How should minigames work? Think about also how items should work if we have any.

Get submitting and discussing!

 

[MartianSnake]

Aight, this is where I'll be dropping off the thread, just don't know anything about the simpsons, sorry. The rest of you have fun ok!

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

Job 2: 11 for base game with 7 being unlocked from the start and 5 DLC characters.

Job 3: 7 boards, three of which being unlockable and 4 DLC boards

 

[Northsouthmap]

Job 2: 16 starter characters, 4 unlocked characters and 6 DLC characters

Job 3: 6 boards, 2 unlocked boards and 6 DLC boards

Job 4: The Simpsons Party

 

[TheGipper]

Job 2: 10 Starter Characters, 6 unlockables and 8 DLC Characters

Job 4: The Simpsons' Springfield Scramble

 

[AlteredBeast]

Amount of Characters

Due to The Simpsons having a large cast of characters, I would say probably 20 characters like Northsouthmap said but for my ratio, it would be 15 starter and 5 unlockable characters. As for DLC, I would say probably 7 DLC characters with 3 out of the 7 being guests maybe but I don't know as of now.

Boards

There are a lot of locations in The Simpsons so....10 boards (6 starter, 4 unlockable) and 5 DLC boards (if we add guest characters, they will get 3 boards, one for each franchise).

Title

The Simpsons' Springfield Soiree

Just wanted a title with a fun synonym for party.

As for the mechanics of the game....

I envision the game itself working similarly to Mario Party games with the spaces being similar in function but with different names and all that. There would be a villain space for either Mr. Burns or Kang (probably Mr. Burns). Alongside this, I was considering including some "hit and run" gimmick based on the video game of the same name from The Simpsons franchise where various characters can be allies like items with their vehicles doing different stuff.

That's just my two cents but we'll talk about it more.

Don't forget to answer the discussion question!

 

[Northsouthmap]

Discussion Question:
Gameplay similar to Mario Party 1 through 8.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Job 2: 11 for base game with 7 being unlocked from the start and 5 DLC characters.

Job 3: 7 boards, three of which being unlockable and 4 DLC boards

Job 2: 16 starter characters, 4 unlocked characters and 6 DLC characters

Job 3: 6 boards, 2 unlocked boards and 6 DLC boards

Job 4: The Simpsons Party

Job 2: 10 Starter Characters, 6 unlockables and 8 DLC Characters

Job 4: The Simpsons' Springfield Scramble

Amount of Characters

Due to The Simpsons having a large cast of characters, I would say probably 20 characters like Northsouthmap said but for my ratio, it would be 15 starter and 5 unlockable characters. As for DLC, I would say probably 7 DLC characters with 3 out of the 7 being guests maybe but I don't know as of now.

Boards

There are a lot of locations in The Simpsons so....10 boards (6 starter, 4 unlockable) and 5 DLC boards (if we add guest characters, they will get 3 boards, one for each franchise).

Title

The Simpsons' Springfield Soiree

Just wanted a title with a fun synonym for party.

As for the mechanics of the game....

I envision the game itself working similarly to Mario Party games with the spaces being similar in function but with different names and all that. There would be a villain space for either Mr. Burns or Kang (probably Mr. Burns). Alongside this, I was considering including some "hit and run" gimmick based on the video game of the same name from The Simpsons franchise where various characters can be allies like items with their vehicles doing different stuff.

That's just my two cents but we'll talk about it more.

Don't forget to answer the discussion question!

Alright, enough time has passed. Vote for your top 2 roster number amounts, your top 2 board amounts and top 2 titles. You can put your own submission in first here.

Roster Amounts

11 for base game with 7 being unlocked from the start and 5 DLC characters. Champion of Hyrule

16 starter characters, 4 unlocked characters and 6 DLC characters Northsouthmap

10 starter characters, 6 unlockable and 8 DLC characters TheGipper

15 starter, 5 unlockable and 7 DLC characters AlteredBeast

Boards

7 boards, three of which being unlockable and 4 DLC boards Champion of Hyrule

6 boards, 2 unlocked boards and 6 DLC boards Northsouthmap

10 boards (6 starter, 4 unlockable) and 5 DLC boards AlteredBeast

Titles

The Simpsons Party Northsouthmap

The Simpsons' Springfield Scramble TheGipper

The Simpsons' Springfield Soiree AlteredBeast

Now, for our next discussion:

Discussion Round 2:

How should we deal with minigames? Should it be similar to Mario Party? Should it be different? What types of minigames should we have? How should they work? Get discussing!

Roster

1. Mine
2. Northsouthmap's

Boards

1. Northsouthmap
2. Mine

Titles

1. Springfield Scramble
2. Springfield Soiree

 

[Northsouthmap]

1. Altered Beast
2. North South Map

1. Champion of Hyrule
2. North South Map

1. Springfield Scramble
2. Simpsons Party

 

[ssbashworld]

Roster & Board votes
1 Altered Beast
2 Northsouthmap

1 Springfield Scramble
2 Simpsons Party

For mini games imagine it being similar to Mario Party with free for all, 1v3, 2v2, & 1v1 honestly not sure of any other ways to do it.

 

[AlteredBeast]

For mini-games, I am kind of thinking we should stick with the Mario Party minigame template.

However...

I do want to include some boss minigames, bonus minigames for prizes, etc. It's to give that unique flavor to this game.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Man...it's been a while since I updated the thread but here are the results:

My roster won so 20 base game characters with 7 DLC.

For boards, Northsouthmap won so 8 base game boards and 6 DLC boards.

For titles, Springfield Scramble won so congrats to TheGipper

I feel we will use my template for minigames and such.

Now...onto our next jobs.

Job 5:

Submit an idea for our first board being the beginner's board based on anywhere from The Simpsons. Describe any gimmicks the board has.

Job 6:

Submit an idea for a 4 player/free-for-all minigame. Describe how you play, what type of minigame (skill, luck, etc.) it is, etc. Depending on the amount of submissions, we will see if all or some will get in.

Job 7:

Submit another character to join our roster for The Simpsons: Springfield Scramble and explain why that character should join. Depending on the amount of submissions, we will see how many characters get added.

Get submitting!

 

[darkvortex]

Krusty the Clown
Feels like an obvious pick, both as an iconic character and a pretty fitting pick for a party game.

Balloon Blow UpI
Taken from the arcade game and would be pretty similar.
I

Kamp Krusty
I think it would make a good basic stage. It would take you through the park, there would be rakes set up on some squares.

 

[Northsouthmap]

Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
Would be a great home stage for Homer because he works there. Starts outside then goes inside to its core.

Ned Flanders
He makes sense to be in this game because he is iconic and popular with the community.

 

[ssbashworld]

Milhouse Van Houten

Many characters feel like a must. Thrillhouse, like our other nominees, is one.

Itchy & Scratchy Land

Think a theme park board would be cool.