Putting together a game is exactly like doing a CD Mag . . . and it's completely different at the same time. I've never actually written a COMPUTER game that's been published, but I'll offer you what suggestions I can.
It seems like you're willing to figure out the "writing-the-game" part yourself . . . what you're looking for is a programming tool that has more "oomph" than the ones you already know. I'll take this opportunity to plug one of my favorite products: Delphi 1.0, from Borland.
Delphi is an object-oriented programming environment, which makes it really easy to build user interfaces. Everything is built around forms: to create a new project, create a blank form, drop the controls on it you want to use, set their properties, and away you go. It already contains controls for playing media clips, so for a multimedia product, you don't even need to figure out how to code that kind of stuff - it's all built in. It also has pretty good database support. The Object Pascal language it uses is very easy to learn - I taught it to myself in a couple of months using only the manuals, online help, and minimal assistance from a couple of reference books and the Delphi forum on Compuserve. Best of all, Delphi code is compiled, rather than interpreted, so it's faster and you don't have to ship a .DLL with your application.
The only drawback in your case is the price. Right now, Delphi retails for $199.95, and can usually be found mail-order for about $179. If you're a student, however, you can get it through your school for $89.
Beyond that, I'd recommend lurking in the Game Developers' forum on Compuserve. Some other things you may want to check out in the future include the Microsoft Game SDK (which includes tools for fast graphics under Win95, sound, conrtoller input and multiplayer interfacing) and 3D APIs being developed by Intel and other 3rd parties. The latter contains code which you can call from your applications to render a 3D setting.
