If you're not specifically interested in learning the bowels of DirectX, you might be better off starting with C# and the Xna framework from Microsoft. It give

If you're not specifically interested in learning the bowels of DirectX, you might be better off starting with C# and the Xna framework from Microsoft. It gives you a much simpler API to work against, and the use of managed code means you can really worry about designing and implementing a game instead of developing the details of rendering, audio, input handling, and asset pipelines. You still get all of the great DirectX abilities without all the headaches of C++ and the DX API. It's a hell of a lot less verbose to boot. Edit: with a small fee, you can then also use Xna to develop and release titles for the Xbox 360 without having to rewrite everything in C++ and DX9.