As best I can tell, success in those efdorts is equal parts luck, wit, and having something unique yet relatable.
It feels fake to let people know what you're working on by writing about it? That's what you and the parent are de facto saying.
How else do you expect them to find you?
There is no possible way around it. You have to tell people what you're doing. Repeatedly. You have to cultivate an interest in your thing. If one can't be bothered with that bare minimum building block, well, there obviously will be no successful outcome. It's definitely not build it and they will come (they don't know it exists until you show them). Give them a reason to care, cultivate interest, and they'll show up.
I'm too busy making stuff and hanging out with my real friends to go be fake with people just to market to them in the future.
I guess you could try to make as many games as possible, quickly, and hope that one hits just right, and then focus on it and make it better fast.
I mean, Dwarf Fortress was like the ultimate “good game, tiny community” example and even they had two dudes working on it, IIRC one of whom seemed to spend quite a bit of time dealing with the community. And despite making every game designer’s favorite game, they still had to hire a publisher in the end…