Simple Game Engine Programming

(I don't know if this is the correct forum, but since it may not have to do with C++ programming (if there is something better) I thought this would be the best forum. If it isn't then please move.)

Hi, I am interested in creating my own Game Engine, but before you say things such as "You'll never get anywhere" and "It will never be good," I'd like to tell you that I'm not trying to single handedly create the next Unreal Engine or something similar. This is just going to be a small hobby project to improve my programming skills while having fun.

Now, lets say I have a beginner to intermediate knowledge of C++ (with access to C++ tutorials/books) and I have programmed a couple extreamly simple (but bug free) programs/games in the past. Now with my giant leap to game engine programming, I was looking around for some tutorials/books to help me get started. However, all the ones I've found were not directed towards beginner C++ and DirectX people. I have not been able to find a good Game Engine programming book or web site that is "Newbie-Friendly", so does anybody have a suggestion on what book to buy/site to visit? Is it completly hopeless for a C++ Newbie to attempt this type of project?

Also, another problem/question is the programming language(s) to use. Is C++ the best for this kind of project? Would anything be better?

~AoA

One last unrelated question:

How do you edit ".dta" files?

http://www.google.com/search?q=gamedev
The first half dozen sites should be looked at.

Maybe
http://cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/~ki/engines.html
No doubt some of them will be at the simpler end of the scale to get you into it.