You probably remember me from the Cult Simulator thread, but I have since realized that it's too big of a project.

You see, I've been working on games for years, but I'm really new when it comes to skill level.

I've started on countless projects - but I've never finished them.

I'm thinking about making a game that I would be able to able to publish on a site for free, but not too small so that it can't be published.

I've already completed a game once in Gamemaker: Studio - a Pong Clone, but I have since lost the files.

EDIT: Whoops, posted in the wrong fourm.

http://www.gamedev.net/page/resources/_/technical/game-programming/your-first-step-to-game-development-starts-here-r2976

Pong is also on the list, but there are at least 9 others you can pick :)

Moving to FB.

My suggestion is Blackjack.

- Basic rules are well known so you'll know what to aim for.
- Display can range from simple text or just showing the cards in play or a complex animated representation of the players at the table complete with special effects.

In general, I believe that it's a game that you should be able to easily expand upon and use to explore development of features and elements that are in line with your personal skill level.

I'm always a fan of basic (linear) dungeon crawlers, text based with menu style actions rather than an input parser. Though, if your problem in the past has been with finishing projects it might be better to go with kseh's suggestion of Blackjack where feature creep will be less likely.

I know you said that you've made pong in GM but have you done so in a programming language (Java, c#, etc)? I strongly recommend learning one. Seeking knowledge is always a good thing.

But a comment in relation to your question: I've always been taught to either make Pong or Breakout as a first project, and since you're already completed the former, I would start working on planning a Breakout clone. It will help you learn basic game programming techniques such as user input, collision detection, etc. You can also add a lot of features on top of the game. Point system, lives, power-ups, achievements, etc. It can make for an extremely fun project!

Good luck!

My favourite is breakout. I find Pong to be just a little too easy and very boring.
With breakout though you can add all different kinds of special blocks and powers. You can make different level formats or you can even generate them procedurally.
Overtime I trey out a new language or framework I usually use breakout as my Hello World program.

My share;
Asteroids, Pacman

mini golf.

You'll need to solve Ray/line intersections, and apply the basic laws of f=ma. graphics can be simple, but it's a very good way to understand why you want to use a physics engine, and why becoming data driven is important. After than, move onto a 3D game of snooker or pool.

Asteroids, done properly, is awesome. Most people however cheat and do 'is bullet in circle', and that teaches you absolutely nothing at all.