I'm looking for an engine/framework to make a 2d "RPG" (no leveling, etc, akin to Link to the Past).
I actually went to University for games programming, so I understand how games work, how to code them, etc etc. I work as a Test Automation programmer for websites, and I am doing some development on JS as well on a music toy. I am experienced with C#, C++, Java and JS.
The problem I've had in the past is that the frameworks promise the world, but everything I want to start working on is hidden beneath folders and folders of stuff, and the entry point to customize the correct parts seems obscured. Or, working on OpenGL etc are too basic with basically nothing out of the box.
I just want something that will say : here's your main, here's your player character, we've taken care of the collision detection and inputs and rendering, there's no gravity. Paint the tiles on this screen, and get going.
Like the level of expertise, customisation and entry point needs to be clear (or at least there is a guide to get started that I don't have to spend hours and hours on) and the business side is cut and dry and won't cost me to start deveoping. (flat X% after $Y in sales)
I don't mind having to learn a new scripting language as long as it's not drastically different to the object oriented languages I know already. (ie : nothing in Lisp)
Tonnes of games use Lua. Lua is pretty much designed to be a scripting interface for a compiled engine.
Every language makes choices and tradeoffs, I'm not a fan of 1-indexing but that shouldn't actually get in the way of anyone worth their salt. Plenty of other languages used every day use 1-indexing including the perennial Fortran and the enterprise eternal (much to my chagrin) Matlab.
As an aside, the 1-indexing is enforced by array functions, but Lua as a language and syntax doesn't care. There are no true arrays in Lua, only tables (associative containers). If you have cause for it and are careful about your assumptions, you can have an array start at 1, 0, 4, -8 or even "cinnamon"