Ghost Train - Beginning XNA

So, I'm new to programming.  I've done tons of unix shell scripting and some javascript, but never really programmed with a real language.  It's going to be a huge learning curve, I realize.  I did some initial research on what to program in and have decided to use the XNA plugin for Microsoft Visual C#.  I was recommended to some really good beginner tutorials which I've spent some time following and playing around with the ideas in each to see what I can get from it.

I selected XNA because it seems tailored towards game programming and also it allows one to develop for Windows and XBox, both of which I'd like to support.

The tutorials I've been mainly using are at: http://rbwhitaker.wikidot.com/xna-tutorials which I highly recommend.  There are a few things assumed, but he does a great job at explaining the basics.  There were only a few times I had to look things up in other places to really get the gist of the exercise.

Using the tutorials, I've learned to:

1. Make a screen and change the size.  I'm standardizing on the normal xbox screen size for games.
2. Put graphics on the screen.  A background (which I eventually want to be scrolling giving the impression that the train is moving).
3. Use number keys to select one of five characters on the screen.  The character portrait lights up (blue halo) to show which character is active.
4. Use the number keys to move a sprite character around the train.  He can only move on the train and is restricted from going too far left or right (going off the train).  When the character is selected it only moves that character's sprite.

So, not much of a game yet, but I see it starting to shape up and Visual C#/XNA is fantastic to put you into the thick of it rather quickly and be able to see fast results.  If I couldn't see it yet, probably would have quit.

I'll talk more about the controls and about creating graphics soon.