Reddit reviews The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, Third Edition

https://www.amazon.de/Art-Game-Design-Book-Lenses/dp/1138632058/ref=asc_df_1138632058/?tag=googshopde-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=297340156077&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4422221422244686723&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9060705&hvtargid=pla-429498606173&psc=1&th=1&psc=1


Not exactly what you might be looking for, but it talks a lot about the history of Game Design (And Game Design in General), it's a tome but very well written imo

Cool, ok, let's talk about where those devs are at (Disclaimer: I'm not one of these devs, I choose the "Get a stable job, make games in my spare time for fun route", but I've read plenty from them, know a couple, and can hopefully point you in the right direction).

So we'll start technical, and then talk financial.

Technical:

Indie game developers often fill out a lot of roles, art, music, story, design, programming, testing, etc. etc.

I am also a software engineer, the reason I am not explicitly recommending you focus on becoming a better programmer is simple. You might become a 25% better programmer with a lot of effort, and maybe make your game ~5% better, but if you improve in an area that both 1. Really matters to your audience in your games, 2. Sucks consistently in your games, you might invest the same time in that skill (eg: writing story), become 300% better at it and make your games twice as good (pretending we can measure these things for a moment).

See more about this idea here: https://blog.codinghorror.com/how-to-become-a-better-programmer-by-not-programming/

My general opinion on "getting good at making games" is that Game Design is the fundamental skill, and you develop that by thinking a lot, talking a lot with people about it, analyzing, building prototypes, and making those into full games. So my recommendation here is don't go and learn "proper" tools to make "better" games, just make and finish more games.

Celeste being excellent wasn't an accident, as with most excellent games you just see the tip of the iceberg, take a look at how many excellent platforming games Matt released before Towerfall/Celeste: http://www.mattmakesgames.com/ , and those are just the ones he released!

Matt may be one of the best, difficult, 2d platform level designers in the world, see here for more detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RlpMhBKNr0&vl=en

TLDR: Don't necessarily learn more programming, programming is just a tool and should be used in service of making great games, go learn something about Game Feel eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U or level design, or more abstract stuff like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138632058/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=7a8f5654-37f5-4688-a266-a74309cad748&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0123694965&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=W1DTX4M2KVJNT3EZ1F2P&pf_rd_r=W1DTX4M2KVJNT3EZ1F2P&pf_rd_p=7a8f5654-37f5-4688-a266-a74309cad748 or whatever will take your games to the next level.

You say you struggle with big games, programming won't help that much, learning about scope and what to cut vs. what to keep will, and game design is what allows you to make those decisions, as per Matt's video.

Also, GML is more than enough as a programming language. You don't need to believe me, just look at Hotline Miami, Undertale, Hyperlight Drifter etc. etc. It struggles at scale, but that scale is far beyond what a single decent programmer will reach in any reasonable period of time.

I've got plenty to say on this topic, but the above is actionable advice that will make your games better quickly.

I feel this topic is better suited to r/Gifts.

I always appreciate a Good Game to study, but I can't suggest anything for your nephew without knowing what systems/consoles he has, his preferences, etc.

Or maybe a book about game design.