I think he means actual programs used to make games,although making games relies more on programming itself,but if he meant programming language then I would imagine that he would say AS3 instead of Flash.It all depends on what level and budget you are making the game in,from what I can tell as far as programming languages go,but yeah game maker is second to Flash in making cheap online games.
First we should define a platform. Should the game be win32(*nix/macos etc) application, a browser game, online or not etc etc blah blah blah and only then name some languages or frameworks.
For browser games like the flash ones on this site, for example, one can use Java applets. Simpler games can be made with JavaScript. Considering its AJAX features using frameworks like jQuery or Prototype combined with some server-side programming (in PHP, for example) it's not a bad idea at all.
Personally I'm thinking of making some casual MMO with JavaScript/PHP
Dont want to hijack the thread but, how exactly are flashgames made anyway?
How much do programs like Adobe Flash (thats what you mean when saying "Flash", not?) automate the programing? Or do they only create models and such? Do you and how much do you need to know programing languages? I guess compilers dont matter? (Sorry as im a noob BTW.)
Perhaps someone could just briefly explain me how professional flashgame producers make their games. Which programs are considered a necessity, and what level of coding is used to make a professional game like Sonny?