A friend of mine would like to learn to program to ideally make games. Do you guys think Sphere would make a decent starting point, or would it be unrealistic?

I think so. I'm now a professional software developer, totally self-taught, and I basically started with Sphere.

Sphere was my first language ever, so I do think so, especially when you stick to the old API. The map engine was a big hurdle for me at the time though, because it's kinda tricky to manipulate.

Alright, I'll let him know. I just ask because I was somewhat familiar with programming concepts and knew a little bit about JavaScript, so I figure I shouldn't go by my experiences.

I first started learning by writing scripts using Linden Scripting Language in Second Life, and when I got bored of SL, I started learning JavaScript by writing plugins for an IRC bot.

For a C-derived language, JavaScript is surprisingly accessible.  I picked up Sphere programming very quickly despite having no prior JS experience, and even some more advanced JS techniques like second-order functions quickly became natural.

Sphere was also my first experience as a young lad, and it was fairly easy to pick up and get something workable going from the tutorials at the time, then work on manipulating it myself.
Javascript also lets you work with a bunch of powerful features as you're ready for them, and just work in simple imperative code while you're starting out.

Thinking about the tutorials, one thing that was always really good about the Spherical culture (in particular compared with RPG Maker culture) is that when someone asks for help, the response is always to help teach them. People very rarely just copy scripts from other people, rather they use them to learn how things are actually done, and everyone is very helpful in teaching.

Even compared with the culture of more advanced tools and languages, where copying source without understanding it is still frowned upon, there is a much stronger culture of learning and teaching here. Probably it's because Sphere is incompatible with 99% of all JS in the wild without some modification of the script, and the small community size. But perhaps that's not a bad thing, given how helpful people try to be.