a good gift for an aspiring video game developer?

Unemployment insurance :)

He's interested in video game development? Is he really interested in making a game, doing the programming, etc.? You mention that he's more inclined to art. I wonder if he'd be better off working on graphics and digital assets vs. attempting to create an entire game. Maybe he should try his hand at modding some of the more popular games out there like Skyrim. Learn how to make mods for things like armor, weapons, or something smaller in scope. With a game like Skyrim, there's already so many mods out there that he could use as reference to see how something was done. Sometimes it's easier to look at things others have done and learn from that vs. jumping in blind and trying to learn on your own without direction.

I think the word you're looking for is "aspiring".

As for the gift, it really depends on what type of games he wants to make and what platforms he wants to make them for.

Not a game/program, but maybe a LootCrate subscription?

The best tools are free. Unity 3D/2D would be optimal for him to use right now, but have him start with something simpler.

GameMaker: Studio is definitely the way to go for new developers. The coding language is very easy to pick up if he has even the most basic knowledge of programming. He can make entire games without coding at all, though he will still require to learn what the drag and drop functions do.

It has a fairly good asset manager, so he can import all your sprites, sound effects, music, etc. The tile editor (for making levels) isn't great, but it's usable.

You can have him start making games in the free edition. There are almost no limitations. The professional edition simply removes the splash screen the free version forces onto you. Since it's his birthday, and you HAVE to buy him something... Why not get him a game to show him the power of GameMaker? Maybe he can draw inspiration from these great games and discover the secret to success in GameMaker.

Undertale
Hotline Miami
Gunpoint
Risk of Rain
Nuclear Throne

Maybe have him finish his first game, and then gift him the Greenlight Submission Fee so he can submit his game to see if it can get on the store! Game development isn't easy, so of course your "gift" will be a bit late by the time he finishes his first game.

you could get him a subscription to a tutorial website.
or get him this https://stacksocial.com/sales/pay-what-you-want-game-design-bundle

GameMaker or Clickteam Fusion ;)

GameMaker is great. Even when you move on to bigger and better development tools, GameMaker is still fantastic for making quick mock-ups or proof-of-concepts.

cash

Thank you sooo much everyone on your suggestions. I have had an overwhelming amount of responses and help from you all. I picked out what gift I want to give him. Someone has offered me a bunch of keys to different beginner softwares for a great price. I may also spend the $8.36 bundle on stacksocial (thank you Morbid237).

I'm going to keep this discussion open though, because this is going to be a long journey and we are going to be buying a lot of different programs or things even after his birthday. So if anyone wants to add, feel free and I will show him and add it to the list of things we want to check out.

Thanks again you all are the nicest community of people I've asked help from.

Introduce him to Unity, op. It's software that is used in the industry to develop 2D/3D games and has a free version, and is what I use.

Link >> https://unity3d.com/

Draft a storyline
what is his skill sets and knowledges of or can he produce (Arts, Design, Write and etc.)
Pre plan and phase the route for his game

I recommend Pixel game RPG based 1st, just like final fantasy 1, very good concept and pixel based.

Dont give up and dont rush.

App maker will be nice for beginner too

So many bad advice in this thread... If people don't know enough about this things why do they bother suggesting stuff, especially when those things cost money... What if he ended up buying some garbage someone recommended, then he'd waste his money. Such recommendations are immoral, if you don't know what you're talking about, don't say anything.

Anyway... if he's a beginner he will have a LOT to learn. Unity was suggested and it's a capable engine, but to make something in Unity he will have to code EVERYTHING. That means the only way for him to make a game in Unity is to learn programming and that would take long time, especially considering the languages Unity uses. There are add-ons he can buy on Unity's marketplace to make some things easier, but that's extra costs. I wouldn't recommend Unity to a complete beginner, unless he's got a lot of time on his hands and very strong will to learn programming.

Game Maker is a great engine if he wants to make 2D games, but it's not good for 3D. It's expensive and uses its own language. That language is one of the easier ones to learn and since the engine has drag&drop features it's pretty good for beginners. But the engine is only worth buying if he wants to build his career creating 2D games. If he wants to create 3D he'd need a new engine, and that means he'd have to learn new language as well since GM is the only engine that uses GML.

When it comes to RPGMaker which some people recommended, if he wants to create commercial games then I'd only recommend getting MV. The older versions have limitations, resolution one being the worst. That's probably the easiest engine to learn and make games with, but it's not good for making games of all genres. It's good for RPG's, certain types of puzzle games, and story-driven adventure games like To The Moon. If those are the types of games he wants to create then it's probably worth buying, if they're not then he should pass on RPGMaker. Also RPGMaker MV uses Javascript, older versions (which again are not worth buying due to their limitations if he wants to make commercial games) use RubyScript.

Then there's Unreal Engine which is completely free to download and use. It has blueprints system which allows him to create games without programming, which is great because he can play around with that until he learns how to code (there's probably limit on what you can do with just the blueprints so he will still need to learn coding). It's a very powerful engine good for making any kind of game. And unlike with Unity you also get access to its source code. So what's the catch? There's a "5% royalty on gross product revenue after the first $3,000 per game per calendar quarter from commercial products."

That 5% royalty may not seem like much, but you have to keep in mind the cuts digital stores take for selling your game, which are around 30%. Don't forget taxes as well. That 5% royalty will end up being a lot more money then you'd spend if you just bought license for say Unity or another engine. You have to send detailed sale reports to them whenever it's time to pay the royalty which is annoying.

There are also several promising completely-free open source engines out there that he should probably take a look at as well. Godot Engine looks very promising. It can make 2D and 3D games, uses python-based scripting language, can export to a lot of platforms. I haven't tried it out yet, but based on what I've read about it I think it could surpass Unity engine, if it already didn't. The engine is still being worked on, so while you can make games, it's possible that there are bugs and issues. Your friend could do some research about that one, maybe check the forums and asks some questions about it.

Like many of those here, I would suggest RPG Maker simply because it is easier and has preset designs and assets

Sent you a friend request on Steam (Etophales) just to chat a little.