Hi again. I've done some web coding before and enjoyed writing all the code manually. People have said I should start small with my games, which is fine, and I've seen lots of people supporting both sides.

For a beginner, would it be better to hard code with api's or use a game engine for my games?

I don't want to know which is "easier," I enjoy a challenge, and I don't want to get the standard "Whatever you're most comfortable with." I'm flexible.

Which do you think will help my growth as a developer most? Hard coding or a game engine?

If you want to make fun games, an engine will do. If you want to fully learn rendering, low level API usage, creating your own framework etc., then you could start creating your own engine.

I don't particularly "want" to learn those things, but I want to make fun, fully customizable(by me) games that are fun to make. I know you really can't define what's "fun" for me, but I just really want to do whatever will give me the best results. I've heard not to do an engine, so hard code the game itself or use a pre-made engine?