[intelVISA]

Can't speak for Unity but you can make a pretty complete Unreal game solo in around a month or so if you've done it before.

I'd love to release some of my work (for free ofc) but I'm never truly happy with how limited my 3D art skills are so I always shelf it after finishing all the fun programming bits.

[checkyoursudo]

I am in the camp of "if a game is fun then I don't care what it looks like" but also of the "I could not possibly publish a piece of art that looks like shit" personality type. IOW, I generally demand more perfection of myself than I would ever require of someone else. So I think I feel where you are coming from. :)

[intelVISA]

It's genuinely not great, mostly placeholder stuff to convey aesthetic & mechanics so I can continue coding. I always toy with just bankrolling a skilled 3D artist to craft all the pieces to spec but then it becomes a quandary: is it really 'my' game at that point?

[checkyoursudo]

Consider that you don't have to create the universe from the beginning to make something from scratch (Sagan). If the art is work-for-hire and you own all the rights, then I think the game is truly yours. Just like most of us don't write compilers or hand-make all the computer components ourselves. I didn't even build my own chair or desk! :)

Well, I sort of did build my own chair and desk, since they come from Ikea.