If your goal is to get games made -- you want completed, reasonably bug-free software made without spending more time than necessary -- then you should take advantage of existing frameworks or engines rather than expending the time and effort to build your own version. Slick2d would be an excellent choice for a Java programmer; I'd save jMonkeyEngine till you want to try 3d.

Unless your needs are particularly unusual or you're making a very simple game an existing framework will usually result in a better quality project being completed sooner.


If you want to learn about the underlying technology then work at a lower level - OpenGL might be more appropriate for this.


It sounds to me like you want to focus on completing games rather than lower-level knowledge, but use whatever is appropriate for your goals.

Hope that helps! :-)
(Posted from mobile.)

That's a good choice.

This time, ask lots and lots and lots of questions of the Slick2D community to help you.