So i want to achieve many types of hobbies. For the longest time ive wanted to make games but im honestly unsure where to start, what tools to pick up, and what to learn especially sense i want to attempt to learn for free without having to pay for anything.
Ive been told gamedev is like learning a new language in a way. I could use a point in a starting direction if possible.
I also have a dumb question but i cant really make out a different between the definitions of coding and programming, what is the difference if any?
The difference between coding and programming is similar to the difference between geeks and nerds: difference without distinction. Programming is the act of giving a computer instructions and coding is the act of writing code. We give computers instructions by writing code, so no difference.
Godot is a great place to start. It is a free game engine with excellent documentation and a bunch of online content. It uses a programming language that is simpler/more abstracted then C/C#. It is also way more forgiving then C. The documentation has a couple of tutorials for you to follow as well. Godot also allows you to export your game to browser, android, or Steam.
If that is too much for you you can try RPGMaker MV (nade for nonprogrammers) or Scratch (made for kids).
Don’t focus on learning everything at once. Pick one thing to learn / focus on at a time.
There are tons of free game assets out there for you to use to help you focus. For example when you are learning programming don’t worry about the images and sounds, use premade ones.
You can always go back later and make your own assets for them when you decide to focus on that aspect.
Along the way you may find you really enjoy one particular aspect of it and zero in on that, but for a baseline.
Make tiny simple games so you can see progress and share. This one was/is the hardest one for me. I’ve long wanted to make games and had huge grandeous ideas for one and always itching to make it but I need to tackle things that are reasonable that I can finish.
For 2D assets you could use GIMP for free or Affinity. As a solo developer I don’t recommend Adobe.
For 3D assets Blender is the best way to go and is free.