It's not as bad as it looks. Really.
With TADS (for example -- it's what I'm familiar with) you can figure out
most of the basics by looking at the sample files included with it, the
TADSVER file, ADV.T, etc. Also, if you register, TADS has an *excellent*
manual. And you can always ask questions in this newsgroup if you get stuck.
I had *no* programming experience (except for some BASIC 15 years ago)
before I decided to learn TADS, and I had a pretty decent working
knowledge of it within a couple of weeks.
Oh, and I've tried WorldBuilder, and Jacob is absolutely right: Stay far
away from it. It may be easy to program, but it's impossible to play.
(Most commands earn the response "Huh?")
Neil