There are too many different programs out there to use for making games. Personally I use Multimedia Fusion 2 but that may be too complicated for beginners. I'd recommend starting out with RPG Maker since it is fairly simple to use and sports a free version if I recall correctly.

Basic tips I recommend is to test your game frequently and get feedback from as much people as possible. And especially pay attention to how your game is pacing and keep the game challenging to encourage mastery of the game at higher levels.

I recommend keeping it simple since most complex games tend to take over a year or so to develop and most people aren't willing to spend too much time over an 'amateur' game. (If most people are like me, they download the game--play for the first five minutes and decide if they keep playing or delete it). But hey, if you can pull it off and you have the dedication and motivation--by all means go for it~

Oh yeah.. and map design.. Don't make maps bigger than necessary especially when there's a lack of scenery. There's a reason why in the original Pokemon, when you go indoors it appears a lot bigger inside. I get irritated at game developers who don't give attention to unnecessarily large maps and I'm looking at you Nexon and your fucking oversized Tara and Taillteann when there's literally so little to do there.

And have fun with it~
Sometimes the struggle of making it can be frustrating but if you do all the hard work, the end product tends to be that much better