Yup and ZZT was another one. There is quite a history of "games for making games". I think this breathless "everything is different now!" narrative is overblown, but I do think these sorts of games/toolkits give voice to people who might not have otherwise had an easy path for expression.

Specifically, I think of this personal account: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1940535026/

On that note: ZZT has an active community preserving, reviewing, remixing and creating games, centered around https://museumofzzt.com/