A 'simple' tutorial such as that is actually quiet a daunting task: How little knowledge do you assume?
If you assume to little then you are writing a tutorial about java syntax and 'This is an array! This is oop!'
The idea is to avoid discussing syntax at all, and to avoid describing specifics except where they will always be used.
For instance, you can provide the source code for a main game loop in 20 lines, and the explanation in 2 or 3 paras.
But for the most part people really need an article that has sections like:
- learning java: points people to some resources, gives advice on where is best to start, e.g. "start with the JFC trails on sun.com"
- getting started with games development: gives people some background, like describing the main game loop, listing the major components of a game "rendering, game-logic, input-handling, network send/receive" and giving an overview of how they fit together.
- where to start: explains that it's best to try and write a simple game you know well as your first game - never try to write a Quake clone as your first game, try pong or tetris instead.
- references for going further in particular directions, e.g. "when you're ready to do 3D development, start by going through the NeHe tutorials, which will teach you OpenGL, which is always worth knowing"
etc.
The key is to write an article on the basis of "Something is better than nothing" and to keep it as simple as possible *without* just presenting a list of URL's - people need explanation/summary of what they're being referred to, and some judgement as to it's quality, and as to WHO should read that link and WHY.
