Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

setz · 2014-01-28 12:13:46

I just wanted to start a discussion about the Real Money Contest that just wrapped. How did others play during this and/or what was your interest?

I myself have been playing this game since the Spring and gone through phases of involvement with the forums and releases but this contest was a great, great time for me. It was SUPER intense and kind of turned me into a crazed-obsessed Castle Doc player. I basically spent almost every ounce of free time I had checking on my house and trying to stake out others. I think this was a really cool idea by Jason to get people back interested in the game that have been playing it throughout the year as well as to gain interest before release. I also think it was a great way for Jason to give back to the community and create a very original game contest.

I haven't played Castle Doc much in the previous month and a half and weren't totally up to date on all the newest changes and additions to the game but I really feel like this game has reached a really well-rounded state now, right before release. I am going to continue to play the game a couple times a week and check in on my house and try but Castle Doc is kind of all or nothing to me. When I have gotten into this game over the past year, including this contest, I PLAY IT NONSTOP. Staking out houses and trying to perfect my house is a complete addiction to me. I am still devastated each time I die and vow to NEVER play the game again but then within 10-15 minutes I rob someone and vow to MAKE THE BEST HOUSE EVER. It breaks my heart but reels me back in almost instantaneously.

I think ultimately though that Castle Doctrine has one of the biggest, yet most rewarding, learning curves of any game I have ever played. There are constantly new ideas that are coming about within the community and then improved upon, I am always seeing other people make new traps that make my brain sweat. It's crazy, its addicting, its heartbreaking and its original. This contest was a great way to be a part of a community for one of my top 5 games of the year and helped to send it off for a great Steam release. I hope others had as much fun being a part of this game during its testing stages as I did and I just want to say "Thanks" to Jason for his work and dedication to this game and this community over the last year!

-Seth

jere · 2014-01-28 12:30:33

Castle Doc is kind of all or nothing to me. When I have gotten into this game over the past year, including this contest, I PLAY IT NONSTOP. Staking out houses and trying to perfect my house is a complete addiction to me. I am still devastated each time I die and vow to NEVER play the game again but then within 10-15 minutes I rob someone and vow to MAKE THE BEST HOUSE EVER.

This is exactly how I feel. It's not really possible for me to play for 15 minutes a day or something like that. TBH, I'll probably stop playing now just because there's nothing else to really strive for other than being at the top of the list. However, I'm really glad the contest provided the motivation for one last TCD spree.

One thing I just thought of: it would be kind of neat if there were automated contests that ran weekly and instead of money the top houses won some special item/tile/painting. Maybe you could even lose these items as normal, but they would be completely unique. Something to strive for besides pure money.

setz · 2014-01-28 12:43:40

One thing I just thought of: it would be kind of neat if there were automated contests that ran weekly and instead of money the top houses won some special item/tile/painting. Maybe you could even lose these items as normal, but they would be completely unique. Something to strive for besides pure money.

^ This would be awesome.

Even though the money was a cool incentive, the real thing I wanted was one of the pieces of art, or the certificate to the gun shop (not that I want a weapon, but as sort of a right of passage for the game's history, as I do live in NM I could go there). But a monthly contest would be awesome, maybe even just for a simple art print or something. This dedicated contest really upped the ante and player involvement in the game. Even getting into a $2000 house was an hard achievement to get over this past weekened! I could feel the "others" staring into their computers and just waiting to steal my dough, it was INTENSE!

jere · 2014-01-28 12:53:43

as sort of a right of passage for the game's history

Yes, I know! Permanent leaderboards (e.g. top 8 houses at the end of every month) would accomplish that and require very little effort. An in game item (new, unique paintings highlighted somehow as being prizes) would work too. Or even like you said a single monthly print would be really cool and I think fairly inexpensive... at least as long as the game is still popular.

Maybe it doesn't fit the style of not having external rewards. I dunno. Anyway, I don't want to send this thread off the rails. Just an idea.

Last edited by jere (2014-01-28 12:56:27)

DethBringa · 2014-01-28 13:02:22

Maybe the new paintings could be marked with a bright green pixel in one corner to mark it as a leaderboard prize. Once a month. It would be a cool way to add new paintings to the game.

ukuko · 2014-01-28 13:07:33

setz wrote:

I am going to continue to play the game a couple times a week and check in on my house and try but Castle Doc is kind of all or nothing to me. When I have gotten into this game over the past year, including this contest, I PLAY IT NONSTOP.

For me a big part of this problem is that it just takes a long time to build, test and survive a complex addition to your house. It would be nice to be able to save your edited state so you could play for half an hour at a time without having to start over.

setz · 2014-01-28 13:32:34

ukuko wrote:

It would be nice to be able to save your edited state so you could play for half an hour at a time without having to start over.

Even though I have wanted this feature in the past, more often than not, every time I have to rebuild a house I end up learning something new and making a better house. ALSO, the devastation that ensues every time I die in this game is BRUTAL (and AWESOME). I once commented about staring at my screen for 5 minutes after I died testing my own house too quickly and it perfectly sums up my love for this game, as I posted in my original topic above. Having saved states would totally ruin the thrill of trying to rob other people if you know you could easily get your "saved state house" back instantly. Jason has commented many times on this topic too within these forums and explained his reasoning as well.

ukuko · 2014-01-28 14:07:11

I didn't mean being able to restore a house after death, just to be able save an edit in progress that you could return to as long as nobody had robbed you while you were away.

It is thematically jarring though, so i don't know if it would work.

jere · 2014-01-28 14:19:29

Oh, that actually sounds great. Some extensive house edits are very time consuming.

iceman · 2014-01-28 16:19:53

setz wrote:

I just wanted to start a discussion about the Real Money Contest that just wrapped. How did others play during this and/or what was your interest?

I hadn't played since v24, but was planning on coming back just as the contest started, which provided the perfect reason to . As for how I played, I usually started out each life running thorugh the most expensive houses, seeing if I could get lucky. I actually made it a couple of times, letting me start with 10-20k to play with, but usually I had to start with a very dumbed down version of my house. That actually helped me improve my house, as there were a couple spots that I found a better, cheaper way to do. Once I had a good house I still was seeking the thrill of robbery, so I kept on dying in houses, either stupidly or due to a clever trap. Once I reached the last day and was doing well, I finally decided to actually stop robbing people - I only did it after I had been robbed, to get back to where I was. As for my interest, I was most interested in the paintings, but the money was definitely a great side bonus

SomeGuyNamedDavid · 2014-01-29 00:50:07

My goal for the contest was to break even, make at least the $8 I paid for the game. I would stop robbing after that point, especially since I never do any really in-depth robberies anyway, I always either have not enough money or too much to lose. Over the course of the contest I made/passed my goal a few times, but was always brought down eventually. On the last day I passed that point again, peaking at $17.10. Sat watching the forums and watching the time run down for a while. Then, with about 9 minutes left on the clock, someone breaks my house and takes it all. So overall I walked away with nothing, maybe about $1.50 if my last-second, one-step-up-from-starter house was up at the buzzer.

jasonrohrer · 2014-01-29 01:58:29

Thank you, Setz!

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2014-01-28 12:13:46

Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#2 2014-01-28 12:30:33

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#3 2014-01-28 12:43:40

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#4 2014-01-28 12:53:43

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#5 2014-01-28 13:02:22

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#6 2014-01-28 13:07:33

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#7 2014-01-28 13:32:34

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#8 2014-01-28 14:07:11

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#9 2014-01-28 14:19:29

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#10 2014-01-28 16:19:53

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#11 2014-01-29 00:50:07

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

#12 2014-01-29 01:58:29

Re: Real Money Contest / Thanks for a good year

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