Though the goal at the moment I might describe as creating a game out of love to learn the entire concept of creating a game.
It sounds like you might want to learn about programming, art, design, and anything else that you can throw into the game development bin. If that's the case, there are a ton of tools out there that allow you to do some of the programming while also helping you skip all the nitty gritty stuff.
The beauty is that there is a tool out there for you, no matter what the goal. You can grab a handful of great engines and make a game within hours or you can import a framework and create the engine from scratch.
Solely based on popularity, I would recommend checking out GameMaker, Blender, and Unity. These will help you skip most of the programming and get right to the game making.
If you'd like to start programming from the start, take a look at PyGame (Python), Slick2d (Java), or SDL (C++). Those are the three that I've heard most about for libraries/frameworks. Also, if you don't know how to program yet and want it to be your main focus, ignore everything I've said and learn to program first.
Glad to see another newcomer. The world will never have enough games. Have fun!