So i struggle with learning new things but i think i can manage but its hard because it feels like i need someone to hold my hand or give me a powerpoint about something new. im dying to make a video game or something and i think maybe visual novels are the way to go because i also want to tell a story even if its lame. my interest seem to change alot but how do i learn renpy without getting overwhelmed? i havent even open the software yet because im afraid of failing also ive only used a little of unreal engine 4 intill i relised it was overheating my pc and its slow. ive probably used something else like scratch but i forgot.

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[–] Mmagnusson@programming.dev 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm going to give you the advice I usually give new Gamemaker users who come to the engine expecting to make their dream game in a week but quickly realize that isn't happening. You'll have to adjust it a biy for renpy but the core idea is the same:

Start small: smaller than you thought possible. Start by making pong. Start by making asteroids. Learn how to do collision and movement by making a platformer where the one goal is jumping over a single ledge. The goal is to break your learning down to tiny, incremental steps, so that you are only learning one new thing or mechanic at a time. As you get more confident and start to get a feeling how to think like a computer and solve problems that could arise slowly expand to slightly more complicated projects, move from pong to brick breaker, to pacman, to something else small but has a few more moving parts.

Ask questions (find f.i the forum), look up tutorials, and do not be afraid of experimenting, of breaking things, of taking projects others made and changing things to see what haooens, of really asking "why" things work the way they do.

So, just take a bit of time. No need to be afraid of failing, programming is a skill like any other, it takes time to learn, you are going to suck for a bit. People learning the piano sound awful the first few months, and then suddenly with practice and diligence they start sounding kind of ok, then good, then actually really good. Same with cooking, knitting, writing, painting, building, and programming. All things that take time and effort to get good at. You wont make your dream visual novel today, nor tomorrow, but you will make something, and something is a lot better than nothing.