This book is not about conventional game design; it is more of a precursor, getting you into the habit of analyzing needs and weighing choices. Not only is creating a massive design document intimidating when you are the one who will have to implement everything, but it is likely to be unrealistic until
you are more familiar with the engine and your own capabilities. More typically, you will find yourself building your game up a little bit at a time, prototyping ideas and functionality as you go along.
This is not a book on how to become a programmer. It uses programming best practices when possible, but the scripting in this book is designed to ease a non-programmer into the process by providing instant visual feedback as often as possible. While there are usually several ways to attain the same goal, the scripting choices made in this book are generally the easiest to read and understand from an artist’s or designer’s point of view. In this book, scripting is presented in the way a native speaker learns his own language. He is surrounded by it, immersed in it, and allowed to tinker with it to slowly gain a basic working knowledge of it. Don’t worry about remembering it all. Some things you will use throughout the project, and others you will be encouraged to take note of for future reference.