If you haven't already I'd check out Zig. It does what you're describing if I am understanding correctly. There are some choices in that language I find annoying, but maybe you'll still enjoy it
I've gotten into pinball the last year and also love the ones you listed. Some of the newer machines I've had a blast with include Stern's Godzilla, Ghostbusters, and 007 machines
I don't think RTO and "serious about work" are directly proportional. Some people are much more productive away from a noisy and distractive environment. I think it just depends on the person
For me it was pointers. I used C throughout college and I never really grokked the "address to a value" description, but one day it finally just clicked and now I love pointers
https://ziglang.org/news/migrating-from-github-to-codeberg/