If you are wanting to work from home, and get started quickly, definitely get Blender
http://www.blender.org
It’s free, open-source, and has a built-in games engine ( of course, it also has all of the usual rendering features )
Also, you’ll get loads of help from the online community…
http://www.elysiun.com/forum/
At the link above, check out the contests page… a great way of starting out might be to try some of their weekend challenges.
Mal