Back in 2013, I was lucky I got my hands with a game development book, using Java at that time (which I was a noob at coding too), that took me to a very nice step by step guide on how to make it, it took a week or two to make. This taught me many valuable lessons about game dev but I think some of the few more important ones are this:
- It is mandatory to aim small. Small enough that you have something playable (far from perfect) asap
- Nowadays, with the help of AI, you can and should be able to have something playable in a day or two, however bad it is. Back then (in 2013), without AI, it was about 2 weeks
- For the first game, it does not have to be an innovation, but along the way of making it you will get shots of creativity to include in it.
- Procrastination happens because you are over-complicating things and that makes you tired and frustrated that you want to take breaks often
- This is one of the reasons why many people are here on itch instead of actually developing their games
- ALWAYS focus on mechanics first and iterate until you have something usable
- You'll have time to add art, sounds, music and story later, but if your mechanics are not there then nothing else can fit it. Mechanics are the backbone of the game.
- Practice detachment from ideas (yours or other people's)
- Some ideas just get stuck or just sounds great in theory but don't work in reality
- A rule of thumb for this is if you don't have something playable in two weeks you are either wasting time because your idea doesn't work or you are over-complicating things. Leave it and go for something simpler, you can come back later with a fresh mind
About Marketing: Share your game's playable file or link asap so you hear feedback from players. Post regular updates on features, struggles, ideas, future, etc.
And finally: Give back to the community. If you share tutorials or some stories on how to do something in particular or assets, etc. the community appreciates this and tries your game. This is how I got a book contract.
Best of luck, and feel free to reach out if you need a hand planning your game. I offer free consultation (been doing it since 2024).