On the whole, the game turned out pretty well, particularly for the Compo time limit. As always, there's things I would change. However, I now think I'll develop this into a more complete title based on the feedback received, which is really exciting.

You can play M.O.N.K. here: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/the-m-o-n-k

So what went RIGHT?

• Asset usage and Simplification. Originally, the game was going to be in colour, with lots of buildings. I ended up just using the same asset rotated and scaled to create variety. Keeping it mostly monochrome I felt added to the atmosphere a little.
• Animation. This anim was the quickest to make, and I like it more than the others combined. :laughing:

So what went WRONG?

• Conveying the concept. It seems a few people misunderstood the core game, responsibility for which lies firmly with the developer, not the player. You gain MANA when your converted followers are killed. I could have easily solved the problem by giving NO mana for converting, then players would have understood this mechanic more clearly.
• Caves. These allow your player to hide from danger, but there were too many. It would have been better if new ones were revealed as a reward for converting towns.
• Rushing the end game. Gain enough MANA for spell 3 (Armageddon) and you win the level if you cast it next to the Fortress. However, there's a CAVE outside the Fortress, so there's absolutely no danger getting there.
• KNOW YOUR TOOLS. Having not used Unity for a long time, I had plenty of opportunity to get back up to speed. I wasted several hours trying to understand the Audio Mixer component and Audio Snapshots, before abandoning them entirely and going back to the simple AudioSource component scripting approach.

Conclusions

I'm sad I left it so long between this and my last LD (which was unfinished). Particularly because so much time was spent re-learning Unity and dealing with some of it's quirks.

I find that time pressures can really be beneficial and help developers and content creators simplify and concentrate more on the game.

And finally, I'll be back for the next Ludum Dare!