@Larrylaffer, yes, that may be true indeed, but back when you just started, you probably instantly realised you wouldn't be making DOOM 3 to start with or Morrowind 2 just to name some... Some newbies have that wishful thought of being able to start with complicated things first and almost want to skip the very important basics... Just look at how many new people tend to post in the shader forum, eventhough they don't really know 3dgs yet...
Also, scripting pong, or scripting a rpg will make you learn stuff in different ways, or maybe even totally different things... Does pong need a arrow and bow code for example? For more skilled beginner-programmers this will be a healthy challenge, for real newbies a nightmare. A well, you know what I mean out of your own experience about that I'm sure. Also one thing why making a pong game might be favorable over a 'complex' RPG is the fact that newbies like to see results quickly and some tend to give up if they turn out to not be able to make Morrowind 2, eventhough chances are they 'could', after fully learning 3dgs...

Cheers