How to make games?

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SDK_Docs

Surely depends on which games you intend to create.
If it's modern 3D games, you need Maya, 3D Max, Photoshop, lightwave ..etc ..there are MANY programs needed.

I want to fool around with some 3-d game designs and a 2-d one as well. I'm a noob for this kind of stuff, and ignorance and noobness go hand-in-hand.

Well, for 3D games it's a huge process, can easily take 100 designers to make a game these days, that be on medium scaled games, on the huge ..uuhhhh!!

Browser based games, doesn't take that much, many can graphicly be designed in 2D based drawing programs, dunno much about the programming though, but I think even the simplest of windows Notepad will do.

Test phase, your cude game must enter an "Alpha stage", for test the core idea, which ideas to evolve, and which to slash ..etc.

Beta state, early, mid and late: Balancing, finding errors in code, design ..optimizing ..optimizing!!

Then there's the publication, you must have some to make marketing and ads.

These sites will be of interest to you.

This one speaks to the various genres and types of games and the process for designing one. At the end, it also has a list of what is known as RAD (Rapid Application Development) software used to bring your idea into fruition:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Create-Computer-Games---Get-Started-on-Creating-Your-Own-Virtual-Worlds&id=5878

This one gives step-by-step instructions with screen shots on how to make a game:

http://www.stormthecastle.com/mainpages/videogametutorial/how_to_make_a_video_game.htm

This is a video that shows you on screen how to create a simple video game using some free software:

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-make-a-computer-game-10973

There are many more how-to videos on computer game making here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f_MhsX7aBc

You will have to learn some programming languages. However there are programs available that let you create simple games without knowing programming.

Not only programming. 3D, 2D, Design. You can make everything but anyway you need a good team.

Andriod, 3D, 4aacD graphics is used in earlier games so far we are leaving in fast world then we are issuing new releases of games.
Use hard core pc to make games

If you know programming then you can make game. Other wise you can't....

It's a long story