Included below is a 45 minute video of a talk and demonstration I gave at AmeCon 2010 (a UK anime/manga/gaming convention) to encourage more people to make video games.
I tried to break down some of the misconceptions that might dissuade people from making games and offer some tips I've learned through bitter experience. I also talked through the tools and resources people can use when starting out to make game development easier.
Beginner Software
Game Maker - 2D game creator
Construct - 2D game creator
Ren'Py - Visual novel creator
Intermediate Software
Flixel - Flash library
FlashPunk - Flash library
Unity - 3D engine
AGS - Adventure game creator
Wintermute - Adventure game creator
Inform - Interactive fiction creator
3D graphics
Google Sketchup - Easy modeling tool
Sculptris - Easy sculpting tool
Blender - NOT easy but free modeling tool
TurboSquid - Online archive of free and paid models
the3Dstudio - Online archive of free and paid models
Music
GarageBand - Music package free with Macs
Musagi - Free windows music package
Incompetech - Huge archive of free music
Indie Game Music - Free and paid music archive
Sound
SFXr - Chiptune style sound creator
Audacity - Sound recording/editing package
SoundBible - Free online sound archive
FreeSound - Free online sound archive