If you want to make a game, learn how to make it. There are already enough examples about a lot of things in the "How do I" section of the forum.
I'm old school in that aspect that I grew up being taught "if you want to do something, practice, learn and put effort in it".
I agree with you on a personal level, but I disagree with you if you exert that same standard on others.
To clarify, I have the same/similar approach when people ask me for help. I often take the route that helps make the person think for themselves and get the answers themselves, eg: point them in the right direction, than to outright tell them the answer. There is a saying that coincides this: "Give a person a fish and s/he'll be fed for the day. Show a person how to fish and s/he'll never go hungry again."
However, this same standard is also like saying that our principles should be the standard for the entire world. In essence, it would be a positive feat for everyone to think this way, but at the same time in reality, by enforcing such an idea on others, it means we deprive them the factor of choice and preference. Eg: "My dad demands that I become a doctor, because he's a doctor and his dad was a doctor and his dad's dad was a doctor."
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As for answering OP: I think it's an interesting idea. I believe the developers for Torque has a similar thing going for them. They're not full fledged games you can buy and dissect, but they are completed engines you can use to help build your game. Actually, a lot of professional game companies lease game engines for their own usage. Eg: the CryEngine for the Far Cry games is also used for Aion, the MMOG.