Okay, so when i was younger (13-15) I was fascinated by programming and making video games. I've even made a Pong Variant, and started a FPS shooter that had animations, shooting, raycasting, etc. It was all using Dark Basic Pro, so i cant say my best suit is C++, however i do know a bit of C++, and i enjoy programming in C++.

My personal experience is in:

Dark Basic Pro

Java (Formally)

C++

Javascript

HTML (cant believe i'm including this)

Python

C#.

The passion has reignited, and i've started to refresh my programming knowledge that i've only touched on once a month or so, to figure out some complex math i was too lazy to put into a calculator, or write down.

Now down to my questions:

1) I do like simple programming languages, as you might notice with DBP. I'm looking for a full featured language that is object oriented, as well as fast. I know java is pretty fast, compared to older verions, and pretty easy to use. C++ is a little more complex, though i feel a bit more freedom in the abilities, although i haven't done the research, it's all based on my perception.

Is Java suitable for 2d indy game development?

2) Getting back into small game development, i plan to make 2D games, not a ton of frills, but particle effects are nice, as well as some AI tools. I need an engine. I don't like WYSIWYG editors, or anything of the sort. I like to build my own tools, i just dont have the experience of interfacing directly with d3d, and opengl. I like to have a basic editor that can basically control the graphics portion, and audio, maybe even a bit of networking, while i handle all the logic, loading worlds, managing resources/assets. Any ideas for that?

Any "engines" that are not WYSIWYG for java, that allow a simple interface to d3d/opengl, audio, and networking(maybe) but allow me to handle all the logic?

thank you guys, i appreciate any input!