Java Just Is Not My Bag...

I've been slowly trying to work out a Java game based on this design since the end of last semester, and progress has been slow to nil. Java is not my main language, and despite the fact I learned quite a bit in my GUI class (where Java was a requirement), I'm still struggling with the very basics. Whereas C++ just *feels* right, when I'm attempting to do any programming in Java I feel like a awkward teenager trying to unsuccessfully grope a transvestite hooker, desperately hoping something good will come out of it if I just keep feeling around long enough and ignore that everything seems wrong about it...

There's not a particular reason for me to feel this way, I've just never been convinced that Java is near as elegant or worthwhile as C++. And I just never really got the hang of it. The main issue is the enormous API; everything in Java is about memorizing syntax. Yes, there is a lot of this in C++ (there's more to the string class than I want to imagine), but somehow it's just not the same. I'm sure this is due to my lack of knowledge, but I don't feel as if I have any control over the built-in functions and objects. As I described to a fellow programmer friend, it feels like trying to use Legos to build an engine.

Anyway, back to my game...I got a fairly good start, with graphics and all that, though I got "stuck" (read: stopped working) when I realized I would have to think about how to deal with the click-place mechanic with the blocks. Yes, this isn't hard, but my mind was whining loudly, "Whyyyyyyyyyyyy do I have to help you figure out how to keep track of all those x and y positions? Can't we just start playing [TF2/ Resident Evil/Metal Gear Solid/Final Fantasy] again??", and I would always give in. Finally, I came back to it after months, and in between that time had started up my zombie RTS project (in C++), and I realized I had no clue what my code was doing, so I overracted and deleted all versions I had made up to that time and fired up Netbeans with a fresh new blank project. And realized it had been so long since I had programmed in Java that I couldn't even remember where to start...

Ironically the main reason I chose this language in the first place is its expansive built-in support for basic graphics stuff. I COULD use a Java game library (like lwjgl) but that would mean reams and reams more of API to trudge through. So once again, I have restarted the same game project, and am faced with my failing as a Java programmer. I have tentatively started the classes, named a few variables, outlined what is inhereted from what, all while struggling to remember exactly how all this works. Someday I will beat this language. Someday.