You can do it, eventually. I don’t think the first stuff you do should be aimed so high. In creative projects, your first idea will probably never stick and will have to fail 100 times before something good happens or something clicks. The more I fiddle with the engine, the more I realize how hard this business is. Fortunately, this motivates me more and motivation is key as many here have pointed out.
I would like to share with you how I felt and feel throughout my learning adventure. I began to look at the engine two months ago, trying prototypes, copying tutorials, and learning as it goes. I have learned tons, but every time I look at something I say to myself “heaven’s above this is impossible!!!11one”. The thing is, I want to be a creative director. I too have tons of ideas. I am a literature graduate , can write, and have absolutely no desire to go back to teaching English to bored souls. So I try to change this. The reality is, even if I will focus on narrative mostly, I need to be 100% aware of how things work, and that requires time and patience.
Aim small. Make simple 2D platformers, endless runners, topdown shooters, all of which have their own tutorials throughout the community. As you make these you will become familiar with more and more mechanics every day and will begin to have ideas on how things work. Then start taking notes, what features your game should have (but don’t aim for an MMO just yet…forget that), take notes of which tutorials and which things you learned will grant you a functional feature, mix and match, try and fail, ask around.
It’s hard, but not impossible. Having a visual guide like blueprints is a blessing. Imagine having to do all of that through c++. As long as you get the idea of these algorithms and learn the syntax of these blueprints, you will be amazed how far you can go.
As it is with everything, the start is slow and painful.
…I feel like a rambled. So I’ll dive in to UE4 and see what else I can learn.