I've programmed(using the term rather loosely) a few simple platformers and shooters in Game Maker. It's a good place to make very simple games and distribute them as .exe really easily. And the Game Maker language is decent.

I also started programming a text adventure jRPG in java once, but didn't get very far.

Basically what I learned is that programming a game by yourself would either require extreme dedication, or a prescription for adderall.