Hey there,
If you're going to get into game development, first learn a bit about the processes that go into designing and crafting a game - it isn't easy. You'll have to produce artwork/sprites, sound effects/music, write story/dialogue scripts, and of course, write code for the mechanics. Alongside that, you may even choose to extend the game engine you're working with to better suit the needs of your game. I recommend
Extra Credits for this sort of stuff(their videos from 4 or 5+ years ago are great - note that they were caught up in controversy a while ago too regarding one video, but their content still stands strong in my opinion).
After that, pick an engine. If you're going for realism, I recommend Unreal(which uses C++) or Unity(which uses C# - older versions before 2018/2019 also used JavaScript("UnityScript") but the technology is no longer supported); smaller games will allow you to get away with GameMaker or Godot, but Unity works great for small games too(especially for mobile). Other engines are out there, but either they are intended for studios(CryEngine) or are quite niche or don't receive a lot of support from its developers(JMonkey, Panda3D, ClickTeam Fusion). Alternatively, if you wish for a heavy challenge to learn from: design your own engine. You can either do this from scratch, building your own libraries/technologies, or by using pre-existing frameworks(SDL, Monogame, Love2D, etc.) As stated, you'll learn a lot by attempting to build your own engine, but there is a very slim chance that you'll be able to build a tiny working game out of a small engine with limited power - I'd recommend inspecting the code and reading the underlying design documents of other open-source engines/frameworks to get an idea of how they work and how they implement their features.
Once you've decided on an engine: start small and work from there. If you have picked an engine, learn its layout and all of its features by doing tutorials and small game projects(Unity has some excellent examples/tutorials on its website), and if available, check to see what plugins are available for download(Unity, again, has some useful plugins that can aid in game design).
Do not jump in at the deep end(i.e. attempt to build the next GTA or Final Fantasy). You won't get far. Engines like Unity may also build themselves on top of a scripting language with their own API/syntax or modify the language to suit their own needs: learn these APIs and any syntax differences between them and the original language(if there are differences). Note that some may also have their own language(Unreal has blueprints alongside C++, Godot has GDScript, etc.) - if this is the case with your engine,
learn it, as the engine will be practically useless if you don't learn its own language.
Doing projects will allow you to gain experience in designing maps and stories, producing audio/graphics, and also writing good code with well-optimised features. As a side-venture: inspect other games. Pay close attention to the level of detail given to the game's map, its music and the sound effects, the type of graphics it uses, and the stories they tell(if the game contains a story). Take notes and study over them, as you can actually learn a lot from other games.
Don't pay for a course. Engines will already have existing documentation for you to look at(for both old and new versions), reference manuals to help you with scripting, and some might even have video tutorials for sample projects/scripts. You will also find a lot of videos on YouTube, particularly for Unity and Unreal. Take advantage of all of the free material, as what is taught in paid courses is can be learned from a free video tutorial or a documentation page or two - the only difference there is that their burning your wallet for the same thing.
My last point is:
don't compare yourself. It's a very easy thing to do, especially for game development, but don't do it. Every developer started off where you were: confused, inexperienced, overwhelmed. These are normal feelings, but you just need to push yourself far so that you can be just as good as those who you look up to.
If you don't want to do programming, that's fine. Don't do programming or just do very little of it to keep your skills up. But if you're pursuing game development, some programming knowledge is needed, even if you're planning on doing graphics or audio.
Good luck!
