Thank you! It’s good to hear you plan to keep making games. I know all too well the feeling of running up against your own limits when trying to get something done. It can be disheartening, but trying again and seeing your improvements makes it worth it.
One of the most generally applicable pieces of advice I have is to get people to playtest your game, almost as soon as it’s playable. Anyone, sometimes especially the people you wouldn’t think of. Sometimes the best playtesters are the non-gamers that struggle with the game. Try to find time to playtest, it helps with every aspect of development in my experience.
What you describe about how the game needed to be simpler is called Overscoping. You’ll learn to estimate your own skill level with time, but overscoping is kind of a right of passage for game jams, so welcome to the hobby!