   Game Designer Scripting
  I will be graduating in May with a game design and development specialization. I have VERY little knowledge about scripting, and would like to learn the basics. Can anyone suggest any Scripting for Dummies type material?(Books, websites, dvds, etc.) I don't plan on diving too deep into any specific language until I speak with my future employer, whomever that may be. I would just like to get a solid grasp of scripting on a basic, game designer level. Also, is there a specific language that is being used significantly more than others these days? Thank you for your time!Timothy J. Holman   
  You are going to have trouble getting a job that involves scripting without knowing the language for which you will be using, at least that's what it is like here in the Bay Area. I think a great way of getting into scripting is actually writing a WoW plugin if you have the resources. There is quite a large community around it and lots of people willing to help. Once you get that down i have a feeling you will understand lua scripting better, and that is a nice thing to have.Other then that, showing people what you have done in scripting languages is important.I also heard my video post about lua explains a lot.http://deadbeefgames.com/blog/?p=26   ;  Thank you Joe, I'm definitely gonna look into lua. Also, I've been using Unity 3D and I've learned some very basic stuff about &#106avascript. Is that commonly being used in the industry right now?Timothy J. Holman   ;  I have never heard of &#106avascript being used in a game that was not entirerly browser based.   ;  Are you interested in how to roll your own or how to use one that is already built around for games, software etc? I've heard Lua is the one to learn most of the major companies use it. I say learn that then also for the mere knowledge learn how to make your own so then you have more to offer these companies.   ;  I would learn C++ if I were you.And yes, you must learn a language before you get a job, or you'll never be hired and your life will be screwed until you learn a language.   ;  Just disregard that 'learn C++' thing, that guy has no idea what he's on about. As a game designer you're obviously not going to be responsible for creating/maintaining the low-level code that would be using said language anyway. If you want to, cool, if not, don't sweat it. Your job is creating/tweaking/implementing gameplay features and you don't need to spend a whole lot of time learning systems-level programming languages.While &#106avascript itself doesn't get a whole lot of use AFAIK, the decidedly more popular UnrealScript language borrows a lot of the style/syntax. I would highly suggest grabbing a copy of UT3 and look into developing a few small gameplay mutators, as you can learn the language in the exact sort of context you'd be using it in professionally. Once you can understand the basics, the rest should come pretty easily.   ;  On that note, you can also go to UDK.com and grab the Unreal Engine 3 Dev Kit which I believe comes with everything that UT 3 has for free. They also have a ton of video tutorials which are linked from 3Dbuzz.com which explain how to use it. If not, I'd go with LUA as an alternative. Just my two cents, hope it helps :).   