Everyone has their own process, but I think it’s fine to just start with a simple idea that’s not yet a game, jump in, and experiment around, especially if you’re just starting out. I’m not an expert by any means, but I managed to release a small game of my own recently, and all I had at the start was a test where I could knock over a box by throwing a ball. Everything else that eventually became the game were ideas that I had later while playing around and showing it to other people.

I got lucky and was able to buy YNAB on Steam nearly 10 years ago for as much as they’re charging now for a single month of their subscription. Manually exporting/importing transactions can be a little tedious sometimes but in comparison there’s no way I could justify that high of a subscription cost

I don’t know if I can call it garbage but probably no one in their right mind should play Hearts of Iron IV. Somehow I managed to persist through hours of bewilderment and confusion, until it all clicked, and I soon found myself unhealthily obsessed and unable to rest peacefully until glorious France had swept across half of the globe