Day 0: Why am I doing this? Why attempt Game Dev with AI?

Background & Motivation:

I love PC games - that's what I grew up with. Playing against my brother, sometimes 2-4 people on one keyboard. Games like Micro Machines, North and South, Monkey Island, Bubble Bobble, etc. These are the games I fondly remember.

I've wanted to make games as long as I can remember. I remember being 12 or 14 with no idea where to start, but thinking how cool it would be to make a video game.

Previous Experience:

A few years ago I spent 6 months building a game using the Godot engine. Really fun, learned tons about a completely new domain. Didn't need to take 6 months - took lots of side quests for fun and learning. End result: had a game on the App Store that my kids enjoyed playing, in-app purchases worked.

Made exactly $0.

Key Realizations:

1. App Store is very competitive

2. Learning new domains is fun but very time consuming - wasn't willing to dedicate that much life to it then

3. Put it back on shelf, wanting to come back later

Current Situation:

Well... it seems like now is later.

Been using prompt engineering/vibe coding/AI-driven coding for 6 months, several hours daily. Finally in a place where I'm productive with it and know how to steer AI in the right direction most of the time. Also know cost-effective ways to use AI and where to avoid it.

Current Challenge:

Perfect time to see how far I can push game development with AI assistance - maximize my time so this doesn't become a massive time sink again.