"I think what makes art tools (creative toys) interesting is simplicity and restrictions. The larger a tool gets, the more intimidating it seems to become. Consider tools like Pico-8, Twine, or Bitsy. I think these end up being so successful because they’re both cute and neatly restrictive."
"When you engage with these tools, the initial feeling is less about being overwhelmed by a high-powered professional environment with lots of features (“Oh, god what should I make in this?? I’m not good enough at this!”) and more about just tinkering."
The book that cemented the feeling I wanted to be a game dev was @cyborgurl's Rise of the Videogame Zinesters.
As someone who regularly runs Global Game Jam, I try to recreate the experimental feeling I got while reading that book with everyone who comes into a jam.
And to devs who have been working in games for years, I tell them to consider working not with Unreal Engine, but in a tool everyone can participate in. Nothing is more exciting to a me than someone pointing at a game and yelling,
"Look! I made this!!"