[JoachimSchipper]

It's useful to know eventually, but I think the author is right that, if you want to make games, you should learn how to make pong first. (How many hobbyists would be willing to learn the equivalent of two college courses before they can rotate a circle on screen?)

[philh]

In my university's game design society, we have a short competition to make "pong with a twist" near the start of the year. Use of Game Maker and similar programs is encouraged, because we're "game design" not "game programming", but it's the same principle: if you want to make games, start by making a game.