I like the Invent With Python series by Al Sweigart, they are CC licensed and they are a nice friendly introduction to programming with Python (one of the books deals with text games, another with Pygame). I'm not aware of translations into other languages, but they are written at a level for children to understand so they may be worth a look.
There are also languages like Scratch and various "no programming required" game development environments like Construct2. They might be good places to start, but they can also be crutches that prevent progress into more powerful tools.
edit: Is there some sort of downvote brigading going on here? I see a ton of helpful posts in gray.
There are also languages like Scratch and various "no programming required" game development environments like Construct2. They might be good places to start, but they can also be crutches that prevent progress into more powerful tools.
edit: Is there some sort of downvote brigading going on here? I see a ton of helpful posts in gray.