It all depends on what you call a game... With even a very basic knowledge.. you can make a Text based game. With a little more knowledge, you can make something a little better. If you are interested in Graphics and sound, have a mess with SDL. If you get on with it... then your ready to write a more graphical game. If you find it hard... learn some more. I recommend you start with a 2D game... then mess with 3D (via SDL is good). A lot of what you can/cannot do will be determined by your maths, rather than your programming ability (so pay attention in class). So the moral is... you CAN write games at almost any level... just don''t set yourself an unatainable target. Start simple, and work your way up. That way, you''ll keep motivated and learning, and have more fun .

Keep learning C++ until you are very comfortable with it, it will definitely help in the long run. Once you know the language details (what you can do with C++), then read up on what you should do with it. These books teach you exactly that:

Effective C++
More Effective C++

This is just my opinion, and there is no right or wrong way to start game programming. Some people like to dive in the deep end and they learn from their mistakes, but others take a more planned approach and learn all the basics first... it''s really up to you.