80+ hours worth of course content for blueprints and C++ to go through add another 80+ to that for researching on my own doing projects etc. Then just double it for good measure and then some and I'm probably looking to around 500-1000 hours worth of devving to even have something remotely functioning let alone pretty. That is depressing.

But then I realize I have a collective play time of 15,000+ hours consuming video games then suddenly the amount of time it takes to study and dev seems miniscule in comparison.

People always say this, but then never actually allude to anything ZUN wants to say, because the complainers don't really know and just want to complain without merit.
Tell me, what "statement" did ZUN make about AI in 20?
Because there is no real statement made, it's just a premise to a wacky 2hu plot, just like pretty much every game.
I swear, if Touhou 9 would release today, people would lose their shit about it, thinking that ZUN wanted to say something about World War 2 and the japanese government's reaction to tsunamis.
What's next, does /jp/ also think ZUN is trying to say something profound about the economic bubble with Joon and Shion?