I'm just starting off with learning to build my first game and trying to find what engine I should focus on learning and eventually using. I plan on doing my coding in C#. Based on everything I've read and advice I've gotten, this sounds like the ideal language to use. I plan on making 2D games like RPGs. I don't plan on venturing into 3D games so having an engine that is also capable of 3D games is not a concern of mine. I'm looking for what engine would be best for 2D games.

I know this is a pretty open question and everyone has a different opinion on what is the "best". Basically I'm looking for what engine people use to build 2D games the most has the a lot of content online like examples and tutorials. I remember reading a lot about Allegro in the past so not sure if this is still one of the more common engines used, or if it's outdated with more modern/advanced engines for 2D games.

Any guidance and advance would be great. Thanks for your help.

You should try giving RPG maker or game maker a try. Personally I like using C++ with sfml and lua but when I first started out I did things with game maker. Game maker has a set of nice forums and lots of people will be always willing to help.

I've heard a lot about Game Maker. Is that C++ or C#? Does it have a lot of flexibility to code what you want, or is it a higher level "drag and drop" game engine? I know it's not pure drag and drop, but is it based on a lot of actual coding, or are you adding elements and setting parameters to build the game versus actually coding the game.

It uses it's own scripting language called gml or you can use the higher level drag and drop functions. It is adding elements and setting parameters opposed to actual coding your game(you can add your own libraries for additional functionality) the engine is cross platform and can run projects on iPhone and android(for $100 I think for each platform) and also game maker is very flexible.

I second the vote for Gamemaker. The GML language, though it has quirks, has plenty of power for almost anything you would want to do as far as 2d gameplay.

Thanks for your feedback. I'll definitely check out Gamemaker. If anything, it'll be a good starting point to learn the concepts to make a game and I could always code my own much later after I've learned what's involved in designing games. Probably a good starting point.

I took a stab at 2d games back when I was in college 10 years ago. I played around with Allegro briefly. Is that any good these days or is it not as popular as other engines/APIs have come out?