Shadaesus

I'm studying computer games technology at college in the UK most likely going into university to study, I was thinking about making a game or two in my spare time with other students or by myself although I'm not sure where to start, my education has taught me nothing about how to go from an idea to a beautiful game that sells, so I have a few questions: Which languages do you prefer for games and why? What game engines/software should I be looking at for 2d games that have a lot of features or can be made to have a lot? How would I go about distributing games for money or for free? Are there any books or websites that are great for development resources for things like AI and other things? Any help would be fantastic :)

Hah its alright, I'll have a little lurk about there tomorrow during one of my tedious data structures classes.. really hope it goes well for you guys :)