You are running before you crawl. I understand the idea of wanting to code a game quickly. But it takes time, patience, and work. These skills it sounds like you lack at the time, being rushed and all. However, I will direct you to a few areas.
1.) For C++, your best bet is to use Allegro and SDL, research those.
2.) Perhaps using a Game Engine like Unity with some C# backend?
3.) There are a plethora of books on C++ game programming, most using DX9 or OpenGL.
If you code simply from a tutorial, and not understand\learn the core concepts, you will be crushed. Programming isn't about doing it, programming is about understanding it.
Here is the jist of it, you won't find tutorials on high-end games on the internet using bare-bones C++. Those games like Pong and Tic-Tac-Toe? They are supposed to guide you to making your own side-scroller (using techniques you learned like game updating, collision detection, AI, etc.).
To be honest, to impress a course (for programmers, nonetheless) it is better to show aptitude with the programming language and the game programming fundamentals. Not with something thrown together by someone else with re-hashed textures (Do you know how many people do this?)
