That seems like a great side project. The one that let's you understand things NOT to do. At the same time, it helps engender basic traits like curiosity, try-u

That seems like a great side project. The one that let's you understand things NOT to do. At the same time, it helps engender basic traits like curiosity, try-until-you-fail-and-try-again, engineering skills etc. There are two types of side-projects though: one such as yours, where you try and understand a concept or engineer something just for the fun of it. And there is second one: a game that will mature into something; a hobby project that will actually develop into a company. I think it's good to disambiguate these two as the OP was more about the latter where you may never get to a point to see it run or build let alone flourish into something meaningful - as overengineering kills the fail fast fail often mentality and the project itself.