Side note because I can here are the engines I reccomend for createing games. In no particular order
If your ok with learning to program
Gamemaker Studio 2 is in my opinion the best entry level engine to mess about with it if i remember its got a free trial but assumeing your not bad at art and want to learn a basic ish language its hard to beat.
It can do 3d but most of the time it is used for 2d stuff.
https://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker
Im also told that this is a decent for entry level stuff ive never used it personally but its there.
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk
For 3d stuff its kinda hard to beat unity hell even for 2d stuff it vastly out guns most of the dedacated 2d engines but it requires a good grasp on programing and even more so knowledge of how the engine works and the stupid things that it does. Not for newbies or solo projects honstly but good for small teams or larger scale projects.
https://unity3d.com
As for the obvious and easy choice in visual novels just use Ren'Py. Basically every non japanese visual novel has it as the engine. The thing has so few limitations its laughable and has powered some very good games with Katawa Shoujo as the big stand out. The programing is easy yet still relativly powerfull. Honstly this is probly your best bet for createing a game by the deadline if you want to. There are no catches to this engine its just the best at what it does while being free, opensource, and even free for commercial use so you can even make money off of your work.
https://www.renpy.org
If you do decide to join up and try out game development just stick with it your first game will probly suck but its a learning exprience and game jams are a great place to get feedback from people who know there stuff. There are very few cases of a first game being even good let alone successful from first time devs. If all goes well check with the engine terms about selling your game if you wish to do that just know the moment you do you open yourslef to critics and they can be harsh. Most importantly if you get stuck there is no shame in going to google or asking for help.