If you want to be able to make games ASAP then use Game Maker. It uses a code language called GML that is very flexible and easy to work with, but you can also use simple click-and-drag interfaces and a graphic level editor to get started without having to learn everything all at once. GML is based on C++ IIRC, so what you learn can definitely be applied to more professional languages.
Me and one of my friends started making games with Game Maker when we were like 10. Now I'm a professional 3D artist and he's a programmer who's already made quite a name for himself making old-school freeware games. So to us at least, it was a very good starting point.