I heard a lot of stuff aboutgame engines but, what exactly is a game engine and how does it fit into the game

Try this. If you need more explanation, I suppose I could elaborate.

--Buzzy

Ok, now i understand what game engines are but how should i go about designing and programming one.

I think you should read some of the articles here on GDNet, try out some code -- experiment. It''ll come to you. Good luck!