Well I've been a professional web developer for over 10 years (HTML and Design). On the side I had a large gallery site that was a pain to update. So my boss told me I should learn PHP. I picked up a book and learned the basics (it was a small book). From there I learned new code from fellow developers and online. Now I can't make a site without PHP.
PHP gave me a solid understanding of programming basics. You just need to get past the basic coding concepts, like:
-Variables and Arrays
-Conditional Statements (if, switches etc)
-Loops (while, for)
-Functions / Classes
-Plus built in language functions
-Learning about databases is a plus for thinking about good ways to save data.
Blue Lemma laughs at the language I used. It's a variation of Basic called DarkBasic. It took me about a month to code the engine. I'm a slow coder, but I was learning the language as I went. It's not perfect but so far seems to do the trick for my needs.
The reason I picked up a Basic language is it's about the most my brain can handle. Since it already has built in functions to deal with graphics and sound etc. I can avoid learning about hardcore memory management etc. Though it will always be more bloated then a C game it's at least a step above a drag and drop system like Director, Flash or some other "game maker" app. It is compiled and uses DirectX. It's actually a 3d engine, but it does pseudo 2d.
The harder parts were coding to save/load game data and encrypt the artwork and files etc. I think making a Visual Novel system like this is a good way to learn how to code more complex games down the road.
Hope this helps somehow.
BTW: I actually have a story idea now. Though it's a little dark I think, but it should be a nice short story. Don't want to give it away.
I need all the helpful suggestions I can get.
There is plenty of good old-fashioned code involved in what I do! Honest! (I come from a C++ background)