I agree with Jacque. Little big planet is probably the most accessible game for "creating games". It's for PS3. Also, Torchlight for PC comes with the editor that the company used to make the game. He can use the assets (props and such) that they used for the actual game and make his own levels and stuff. Or make new…
Interesting. A CD that teaches one game programming!! =\ Is he interested in game programming or game development as a whole. You are on the right path if you believe that he requires to learn coding before moving forward to stuff like learning the game engine and 3d arts. For Languages you can get the material online and…