I've recently been bumping up some similar feelings myself. I've played through Digital and working through don't take it personally at present, and decided to throw my career plans off the rails by taking introductory Python and Java classes during grad school at the tender age of 24. How has your foray into game creating been?

If you don't care about the images, you could try making a text-based game with Inform. I mean, Zork is cool, right?

If the "Py" in Ren'Py has anything to do with python you might benefit from reading up on Python itself, there is a lot of reading and video material that assumes you have absolutely no prior knowledge, but if I were in your position I'd try to stick to one front at a time, tackling programming AND creative writing at once might be a bit much. There are tons of indie/noob projects you could attach yourself to as either a writer or a coder and learn a lot from.

Meh, my explanation was more oversimplified and therefore better. :P

" That actually seems pretty cool, as someone who sucks at programming but still knows some stuff. Then again, the first uses I thought of for these tools would be to let people make their own amateurish hentai games or what have you. But maybe that's just me being cynical. "

" @kitsunezeta: Again, I'm not quite sure what loops are. Now I'm guessing that they're behind-the-scenes formulas that determine where the story goes or whatever? "

" @kitsunezeta: Again, I'm not quite sure what loops are. Now I'm guessing that they're behind-the-scenes formulas that determine where the story goes or whatever? "

" That actually seems pretty cool, as someone who sucks at programming but still knows some stuff. Then again, the first uses I thought of for these tools would be to let people make their own amateurish hentai games or what have you. But maybe that's just me being cynical. "

That actually seems pretty cool, as someone who sucks at programming but still knows some stuff. Then again, the first uses I thought of for these tools would be to let people make their own amateurish hentai games or what have you. But maybe that's just me being cynical.

I've messed with ren'py before, it's actually fairly accessible and easy to figure out. I've always wanted to make my own sprawling visual novel with it, but it somehow never happens. Part of it is the hurdle with artwork--you need a lot of it, and I'm not much of an artist.

There are a few pretty good free fanmade visual novels on the ren'py site though.

" Wait, there's code for a visual novel? I can't imagine it being hard to learn. Isn't it just shit like "here's how the text works" and "why don't we fade to another picture or some shit"? "

" @Video_Game_King: It's not difficult in terms of the strings, but the looping is/can be incredibly time consuming. Trying to get six different pathways from one single option, out of many, to work can be a hassle. Repeat ad nauseam. Kind of like a less visual and broader Mass Effect 2/3; many variables you have to account for. Time consuming, I say, time consuming.  "

" Wait, there's code for a visual novel? I can't imagine it being hard to learn. Isn't it just shit like "here's how the text works" and "why don't we fade to another picture or some shit"? "

An aside: I officially hate the phrase "inside baseball". Don't know why, just rubs me the wrong way. 
Anyways, I as well have the delusion of being involved in video game development! Maybe we should work together as notreallydeveloperswholikegamesandstuff-developers? But, seriously I feel like "real world" work is going to be more of a hassle day in day out, and the stress inducing indie development world seems enticing...

But you're right, six or so months of learning programming languages and building a half-broken NWN campaign enlightened me, to say the least. 

EDIT: 


@Video_Game_King: It's not difficult in terms of the strings, but the looping is/can be incredibly time consuming. Trying to get six different pathways from one single option, out of many, to work can be a hassle. Repeat ad nauseam. Kind of like a less visual and broader Mass Effect 2/3; many variables you have to account for. Time consuming, I say, time consuming. 

Wait, there's code for a visual novel? I can't imagine it being hard to learn. Isn't it just shit like "here's how the text works" and "why don't we fade to another picture or some shit"?

After playing a shitload of don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story the last few days, and reading into the development tools used by Catherine Love to code and write the game, I've started the arduous process of learning how to use the Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine. As someone who has never written code before, or even attempted to make a basic flash game, the tutorials from Ren'Py aren't helping much. Hopefully, I'll be able to grasp enough of it to create what I have in mind.