[beningrad]

Don't make the mistake of dismissing game design. Spend way more time than you think is proper on non-digital paper prototypes and greybox digital prototypes. Get your half-baked games in front of people and watch where and how they struggle, get bored, have fun, lose interest, etc.

All the best engineering, art, audio, marketing, and polish in the world won't make a game more fun. Stickiness comes from game design and game design comes from iteration.

[friendlybus]

Adding to parent, the premise of your game is very hard to change after you've started. You will think of new ideas that you will have to axe as you progress, so get a non-digital prototype you know has appeal. It will keep you on track.