Off Topic - game engine

[chess007_phoenix_clan]

First of all, excuse me for being off topic.

What part does JavaScript play in the game engine? Does it interface between the game engine and the xml or...? I ask because I am planning on making a game and a game engine for a 2d top down view rpg. (Much simpler than 0 AD!). I want it to be easily modded, so I was thinking of putting all the vital data in .xml files and using .png files for graphics as they have an alpha channel. I have some programming knowledge and looking at the way 0 AD structures its data, I was inspired. In the thread on modding specifically, I saw how easy modding would be based on the way information is laid out in the .xml files. How does the game engine get the data from the .xml files? How does the game engine know what that data represents?

For example, if a unit had the following attributes

<attack>10</attack>

<health>20</health>

<movement>1.000</movement>

How does the game engine know what "attack", "health" and "movement" mean?

What tools or libraries would you recommend?

I considered Open GL but as it is a 2d game, that seems like overkill. After all, there will only be two layers (layer 1 = tiles, layer 2 = player and any other in game objects).

Here's an example (from The Legend Of Zelda A Link To The Past) of the type of viewpoint and general style:

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/2/28515..._past_super.jpg

Is there a flow chart that shows the programming logic of the game engine? I.e. the main loop, modules, etc.

All advice is appreciated. Thank you kindly.

Edited August 12, 2010 by chess007_phoenix_clan