This is bad question to be asking (no offence), since everyonce will tell you one of their prefered choices. I personally started with BASIC the very old one from begginning of the early '90. Then i started learning C, and after very long time i started learning C++. There is popular opinion that beginners should start with Java, since it is simple. I would recommend you to learn C and over time adapt to C++. Since there is not much difference between C, C# and C++. C# has slightly different syntax but they all do the same thing same way. There are many many lessons with C and C++ that you can find on the internet at any subject of programming.

Actually, among the more experienced members on the site, the advice is pretty consistent and not just a matter of exposing their favourite programming language.

General consensus is, start with a more programmer friendly language with a good ecosystem ( books, tutorials, etc ), with Java, C# and Python often being recommended, but higher level language like [Java/ECMA/Action]Script and Lua are equally valid. The particular language you choose from that collection isn't really all that important, the skills you learn will be transferable. The vast majority of experienced devs recommend against C++ as a first language, in fact, I can only think of one or two of the more experienced people here that recommend C++ to start.

This is bad question to be asking (no offence), since everyonce will tell you one of their prefered choices. I personally started with BASIC the very old one from begginning of the early '90. Then i started learning C, and after very long time i started learning C++. There is popular opinion that beginners should start with Java, since it is simple. I would recommend you to learn C and over time adapt to C++. Since there is not much difference between C, C# and C++. C# has slightly different syntax but they all do the same thing same way. There are many many lessons with C and C++ that you can find on the internet at any subject of programming.

In this day and age, learning C to transition to C++ is an absolutely gonzo choice. They are completely different languages at this point, and for the most part, its the C parts of C++ that make it the ticking timebomb it is today. If you are going to learn C++, learn idiomatic C++ from day one. If you find yourself using a char* or calling new/malloc ( especially malloc! ) in the first month of programming, you are doing it wrong.

I recommend Unity! You can get a lot done without any programming at all, but once you learn some programming, it won't hold you back. It's very powerful. It also supports several different languages, so if you don't like one, you can easily switch.

I suggest you start with Python, C#, or Java.

Python - Great language. You can get so much done so fast. Pygame isn't as good as many other counterparts with other languages, however it's great for beginners. Most people who stick with programming (Especially as a career choice) learn Python eventually, because there's so many things that it can do extremely quickly. However, every language has applications, and none are catch-all, especially Python.

C# - Amazing Standard Libraries. I recommend it, and many engines use it (Unity3D, as an example). Although people are saying XNA is dead, there are many alternatives, and some are better (Monogame, SharpDX, etc.).

Java - I tend to sway towards Java for smaller applications. I don't believe it's that good for learning programming, because after you've learned another language you tend to program better in Java than if you'd learned Java first.

It's not the language that defines you, or that's hard. It's how you learned to program that's important.

Something with light manual memory management. It makes easier later switch to managed languages.

So, get a hold of lower level concepts with some language like C++ (pointers, references, pass-by-value, pass-by-reference, procedures, functions, data structures, primitive types, control structures, etc) and then switch to another language that has "automatic" memory management to learn higher level concepts (classes, inheritance, polymorphism, methods, visibility, encapsulation, design patterns, etc). That way you will have all the basics very well covered when you reach higher level concepts.

Something with light manual memory management. It makes easier later switch to managed languages.

So, get a hold of lower level concepts with some language like C++ (pointers, references, pass-by-value, pass-by-reference, procedures, functions, data structures, primitive types, control structures, etc) and then switch to another language that has "automatic" memory management to learn higher level concepts (classes, inheritance, polymorphism, methods, visibility, encapsulation, design patterns, etc). That way you will have all the basics very well covered when you reach higher level concepts.

I have to say you have that backwards.

Something without *HEAVY* ( if you consider C/C++ LIGHT memory management, what the hell is heavy? Assembly? ) memory management, will make it easier right away, and you possibly wont bother switching later.

For the record, memory management is not what makes C++ hard, it's what makes C++ fragile. It should take an intelligent person about an afternoon to grasp the basics of managing memory in C++. Hell, C# has manual memory management ( in the form of IDisposable or native code ) and it doesn't particularly make the language any harder. The difference is, the language is less convoluted. That is the problem with C++, it's complex, incredibly complex, often on things that should be extremely simple.

I have to say you have that backwards.

Something without *HEAVY* ( if you consider C/C++ LIGHT memory management, what the hell is heavy? Assembly? )

lol no no, what I'm saying is that just practice basic things about memory management, Its hard to see what is a reference, pointer or what is a value when the language actively tries to abstract you from those things. For example, its easy to do silly things in Java if you dont know well enough when you're using a reference and when you're using a value. Like writing Object tmpObjectCopy = tmpObject; thinking that you just made a copy of your object.

On un-managed languages, the distinction between all those things is more clear. &tmpObject is a reference to tmpObject. End of story.

If you know about manual memory management, I can tell you "In java, objects are passed by reference, primitive types by value" and you'd get it perfectly. Now, if I tell a guy who just started in Java "In c++, you can pass parameters by value or reference, you can pass pointers too if you want" I dont think they'd get it just as easy.

As you said, basic memory management is not hard to understand. My point is that practicing it a little on an unmanaged language can be very benefical once you start with managed languages. It can make a lot of stuff you might encounter a lot clearer from the get go, regardless of their apparent abstraction.

Now, I consider learning both "worlds" important. If someone doesn't want to know about un-managed code, then learning about it probably wont be a pleasant experience for them.