Intro for new people?

I have always been interested in Pen & Paper RPGs but unfortunately I have never had any experience in playing any. Just never had those types of friends while growing up (it always seemed too complicated to us lol).

So I guess I should ask... if a completely new person wanted to join in on this fun, what do I need to know... where should I start? Do I need anything specific?

The first part made me really sad, because i've been playing PnP rpgs (and other kinds) for over a decade now, and i gotta say: they're super fun!!
Well lets see, some things you need: imagination and creativity. also a willingness to learn and ask questions when you're not sure it helpful as well!

So it depends where you'd like to start for instance, with a specific game or genre, or perhaps reading about things.
What are you thoughts for joining in on the Pen & Paper pseudo bandwagon of fun? :)

I'm up for pretty much anything. Something simple I would guess lol.

Simple is a matter of how you go about learning a games system in a way.
A vet might think a system is simple and then not realize how it can be confusing.
So simple... have you ever played any video games based on tabletop RPGs, or that are RPGs? (D&D has several for instance from baldurs gate, neverwinter nights,etc. then KoToR, and such)

Yeah played KOTOR.

oh good, Kotor was good! it was actually based on a system similar to D&D but with only six-sided (D6) dice used.
so for you, D&D might be easy to learn since you're already sort of familiar with how the system works, even if you didn't know it haha

Well I think I have a general idea from my reading about games over the years, but since I never bought any books, games, etc... I didn't know what all I needed to have to be able to play anything here.

most older games should have resources available online to use. for instance
http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm & http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page are both amazing resources on d&d (i like d20srd for 3.5 stuff personally, less homebrew!!).
Pathfinder is the same system as 3.5d&d but different rules a bit, classes and abilities: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/
World of darkness rule book if you like investigation games: http://www.bearsinlove.net/temp/WoD/World%20of%20Darkness%20-%20Core%20Rulebook.pdf

basically if you know where to look, you can find almost any games core information using the internet :) (super handy!!)
you just need to have an idea of where you'd like to start from games wise.

honestly, one of the most fun things i can do is try new systems out, both from a game and design aspect it's fun and interesting to see what they have to offer.

I think I just got information overload lol.

haha, don't read them all at once!! just providing some examples :)
information overload is bad, learn at your own pace, it works better than cramming a game systems mechanics quickly

What do you need to know?

Basically you need to know what kind of character you want to play. Not specifics, like weapons or items or abilities, but what do you want to play. Do you want to play a scifi character or a fantasy character or a modern character (this determines the game). Do you want to be a sword wielding fighter, a sniping infiltrator, a lightsaber master?

Start by knowing the kind of chars you like playing in computer games. From there, look for a game! I'm running a Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 game that'll go slower for new players to get acclimated, so if fantasy is your style, you can join in there.

I don't think it matters too much... I think I could adjust for a first time game.

being amiable is a good thing, so really it's upto you :)

I think Keleth's advice about knowing the character you want to play is probably the best advice. If you can mentally see the character and imagine how he/she/it would act and react you are 90% there. That is the 'role' in role playing.

The mechanics of character creation inevitably come down to first deciding "What do I think my character is / can do" and then making choices about how that translates to the game system. I would suggest joining a game that looks intriguing, and ask the Gamemaster / moderator to help you with character creation. I'm sure they would all do some or even all of the "mechanics" work for you if you asked. As to actual gameplay, you can learn as you go, no problem.