I am dumb but want to make a game

[Stan the Sumo Man]

I have always thought about trying to make a game, have next to no coding experience/did basic coding in high school/made basic stuff like mario. For someone of that skill lv 1st how hard of a time do you think i would have getting my head around this? 2nd its on sale right now, what version do i want/do i want any DLCs?

ty for any help

[Crystal Sharrd]

Coding isn't required unless you want to do advanced stuff (JavaScript is the language).
DLC is just additional premade assets you can use.

[Xuande]

DLC is not in any way required, its mainly overpriced "official" assets meant for low-resolution projects.

If you know basic coding logic, which it sounds like you do, that's plenty enough to use the default scripting without getting into learning JavaScript. That's not too far off from my skill level, and I've done plenty with the series in making various games, many of which had little to nothing to do with RPGs or the default battle systems included.

You will likely want some plugins for added functionality, but many of those can be found for free, as long as you avoid a reliance on VisuStella since they intentionally obfuscate their code, making it hard to ensure compatibility with other plugins.

RPG Maker MZ or MV is fine for modern systems that want to run above a ~480p window, though both benefit from plugins here as the former caps out at 2000x2000 screens otherwise and the latter needs modding to get there. I wouldn't recommend going further back unless you have a preference for the programming language used, like Ruby for RPG Maker VX Ace. MV has a wider set of free plugins, while MZ usually is more performant.

[Moga CMDR]

The best thing to be smart about is expectations. Most people fail there.

Yes, the tool can be easy to use if you don't try too hard too soon.

Many people envision a grand concept that is challenging to execute, and it stumps them. Start very, very small and grow from there. It is a long journey; your first steps should be small.