im fully aware this sounds a little like im jumping too headfirst into the process, but every time i try to ask what i should make as my first ever project, i get two answers.
do something small-scope, like a short platformer or recreating a retro game
do something that interests me.
im not really interested in pong or platformers, and while i understand what i learn in developing them will contribute to whatever im interested in, i was thinking of how i could combine both. at the same time, the genres of what i like (rpgs and horror, mainly) dont necessarily seem to facilitate something of a smaller scale. essentially im asking, is there a way to combine these two starting places and if so, how large should it be? what should i make as my first project?
Find the smallest possible scope that interests you, and pick the simplest tools and gameplay mechanics. I’ve been making my first game in a custom engine forked from CopperCube. The game is a linear first-person shooter with heavy puzzle emphasis. This is way too ambitious as a first project, but I’ve made far more progress with it than my attempts at simpler projects. Passion really does help but you have to balance it with reality as much as you can.
Build a first person camera + movement Figure out how light emitters work and make the whole game dark Find out how input works in your engine and toggle the player light source to that and make the light resource dependent on something. Now this gives you a horrible, non interesting base for a horror game. From this point on you should ask yourself the questions that no course helps you with. What makes horror good and what makes a game enjoyable. Once you figure that out, playing games will be very different unless you know how to compartmentalise. You’ll know for example that tension without release is just frustration and jump scares are not fun if you know where and what will happen. You’ll also hopefully learn that you playing your game does not translate to you enjoying your game and that others will find it frustrating what is natural and fun for you. Also horror games are cheap and good for start because you don’t need much, but they are expensive because KNOWING and UNDERSTAND what makes a horror game good is something you learn from iterating. Many give up before they get to iterating.
Learning game dev is a long road. I teach it at the high school level, and we usually start with simpler purpose built or introductory engines that make it faster to get from start->a playable game, since many many many people have difficulty sticking with a longer project that you won’t be able to “play” in a polished looking way for months or years. If you think you are only interested in “large scope” projects, and especially if you are more interested in systems, level, or narrative design than you are in programming or a technical/artistic specialty, you might want to see if you can find a way to make a first project using the most basic options that let you do that easily (something like RPGMaker for jrpgs, RenPy for visual novels, Construct3 or GameMaker Studio for platformers, etc), or else going whole-hog into Unreal and using assets and pre-made kits and the Blueprints system of visual coding. Either once you’ve gotten yourself some experience, or once you persuade yourself to take smaller things first, you might want to start out learning how to build the game from the ground up by starting with a basic cube or capsule in an empty void and figuring out how to make it move, and then adding more and learning more as you go.
Both answers are right, you're just reading "small" wrong. Small means one room, one mechanic, one idea. Horror works great tiny, PT was one hallway. rpg is harder cuz systems stack fast, but you could make a single dungeon with one combat loop and call it done. Pick the vibe you want, then strip it till only one thing is left. that's your first project.
The answer always needs to be both, cuz even with a small scope it means late nights, and learning skills you’re entirely unfamiliar with and the frustrations of knowing that nobody is coming to save your project if you don’t finish it. In industry we call it “minimum viable product” what’s the smallest concept of a project that’s workable that people can see what you’re trying to build. If people are interested GREAT!! If nobody is interested and the game gets 0 downloads, well shit, at least you didn’t waste 13 years.
Horror is actually the perfect small scope genre tbh. you don't need a massive open world or crazy AI to scare people. you literally just need a dark hallway, bad lighting, and messed up audio. look at games like iron lung or slender. make a 5-minute horror game set in a single room. skip the RPG mechanics for your first game though, an inventory system alone will destroy your soul and make you quit game dev entirely.
Try a card game. It's relatively small, can be done with basic graphics and there are plenty of variations. You'll get experience working out how to code the rules. When I was teaching C#, I used that as a semester project and let the students choose their own games.