your sentiment of "I can learn how to play Fur Elise perfectly on the piano, but that's not the same as learning to play the piano." Is entirely how I feel about programming and it's something I haven't ever been able to put that into words. It's interesting to read through how you want to expand the game because both paths entirely interest me.
I can totally understand your stress and satisfactions of being a solo developer and it really makes me want to try and make my own game all on it's own.
Anyways this was a really interesting read, thanks for writing it! I'm totally excited to see how it ends up!