Sounds like an interesting project and one which I'm sure most people here would be thrilled to see come to fruition. I would suggest that you stick to the limits you have in mind, as things like that tend to grow, expand to proportions that make them more of a pain to complete than you initially envisage.
But if you can combine your learning experiences with your interests, then it does tend to be a winning combination.
That silly film that's on the front page of Subsim which I made recently is a small example of that, it started off as something I had planned to knock up in a couple of evenings, but ended up taking around two weeks to do because I underestimated what a pain in the ass it would be to optimise shots from Dangerous Waters and get them to work in context! Mind you, it didn't help that I started making it without a completed script, writing it as I went along, which is not normally the way I'd go about that kind of thing!
Anyway, regardless of all that, I have a suggestion for you: One thing that would certainly make something of that nature more absorbing is atmospheric audio, and that's something almost anyone on subsim could help contribute to, as pretty much everyone has access to a microphone and some method of recording stuff. There is no shortage of sound modders around this forum who would probably be glad to help you and get their work recognised at the same time, so there is no reason to skimp on decent sounds.
Similarly, there are many talented illustrators too, so you could have a very nice GUI as well. Of course, having a lot of .wav files might make a program you intend to distribute somewhat large in size, which means you'd have to be fairly selective in what sounds you chose to implement, but, as I'm sure you are aware, even a few well chosen sounds in a simulation (even a 2D screen based one) can add much to the immersion factor, and a pleasing look never hurts anything. Some things to consider anyway.
Good luck with it.
Chock