Is coding experience a problem?

[Hairymagician]

This game looks amazing i was always a fan of creating stuff and always wanted to get into codding i was wondering if my little to no experience with coding would affect my gameplay

[Stigma]

Hello. Well, it is LUA, actually my first programming language. Today i would recommend something else like Python or JS as first language, but I did fine so will you. I first learned LUA while fiddling with computer craft (a minecraft mod) waaay back in 2012~. Complexity shouldn't be a concern, just focus on learning a bit of programming fundamentals (go straight to LUA fundamental tutorials for that if you want).

It should then be a matter of getting a simple idea, divide it into tiny separate pieces and try to handle them one by one. Interacting with the Gadget itself (making a sound, displaying a frame on the LED display, etc...) should be easy by simply checking the documentation (there are probably some tutorials in the game, i'd count on that...).

You could start by trying to make a simple game, like Snake. I've done it in countless technologies already, i can tell you that i usually start with a pixel on the screen - then make the pixel move in each direction through input, then make it continuously move in that direction, then randomly add food, increase points on touching food and make it disappear, now the fun part - the tail which keeps getting larger - no point in creating lose conditions yet - just let it pass through the tail no issue - the real challenge is making the tail follow the head...

Then you can add a bunch of stuff. Thats how i would break down the Snake idea, though other programmers would think different ways almost surely, some make it more complicated, others break it down too much maybe, just go with whatever works for you and more importantly have fun while doing it. Programming is just like doing puzzles, a lot of people have tons of fun doing it, and a lot of frustration comes around sometimes, but when you finally solve it you're thinking about the next one.

Now, drawing the pixel to the screen depends on Retro Gadget's documentation, possibly you'd have to call a function that throws a specific color at a specific location on the LED display, and when switching position, clear the whole display and draw the relevant pixels again... Who knows, maybe their discord/website already has the docs but I havent looked yet.

EDIT: As to answer your actual question, I seriously doubt that, but right now only the devs themselves could answer that until the game comes out ..

[DIT]

Ok, so this game is about making gadgets, coding. At the start of the early access the tutorial part is a little bit minimal, but the whole game experience is about having fun coding. So this *could be* a very good place to start.

Here we have a few old tutorials (we are making new ones) that maybe can help you understand if this is a game for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l8h04BnLKU&list=PLTNn5UwoPl7NjNhF84IC32SF7futm1Bph

Hope this helps!