How do you do fellow kids! I gladly joined the club by getting myself Pico-8. And I really wish to learn it but I don't know how. I want to get to a point where I can handle all mostly by myself, only relying on help when it's something really specific. How can I get there? I feel committing sin doing the tutorials by typing the code for a game and I sadly don't understand programming code. I know Lua is an easy programming language, but it still feels hard to read. I really love retro games and want to contribute artistically or make some of them. I chose Pico-8 because I didn't want to use game engines with visual scripting and because of its retro charm.

I saw some people in discord recommended some general tutorials. Just wanted to say it's cool that you're giving it a go, and don't worry if you find it tricky at first everyone does, but if you stick with it I'm sure you'll do well. I'm looking forward to seeing what you make. 🙂

This is going to sound repetitive, cliche, and discouraging; but practice truly does make perfect.
I was constantly referencing and using code other people wrote when I started with Pico8. I was re-arranging pieces of other programs to make my silly little "games". But as I went, I slowly internalized and learned what each function means, how to keep my code neat and tidy, and how to do a few tricks that were commonly utilized.
But most importantly, I began to understand how these little LEGO pieces of code went together to each do their own task. Now, I can write a quick game with only one or two references to the manual or wiki.

Basically, what I am trying to say is: Copying other people's code is how I learned, and there is no shame in learning that way! Understanding will come in time, and it will come in small pieces. You won't notice you are improving, but eventually if you look back you can see how far you came.

I started following lazydevs basic shmup tutorial. And started doing side projects after every new thing i learned. I practised setting up loops by making a simple rain animation for example. I only got about halfway through the actual tutorial and can already figure out a lot by experimenting myself. I also set challanges for myself like making a snake clone without looking up how snake works. Or writing a pathfinder by myself.
I just stopped following tutorials almost entirely by now, only coming back to them when I feel really stuck. I am also still new though and am now working on my first more or less original game. The rest have been remakes of simple games, animations or toys. All with a very small scope.