how_long_to_learn_javascript andru235 for months i have been working on a game built with an automated engine (OHRRPGCE) which is great for beginners but my ambitions now outstrip its capacities. consequently i am thinking of switching to a thing called "sphere." however, i don't know any javascript. what I am wondering is, in your opinions, how much time would it take an average person to learn an adequate amount of javascript to make a FF-III type game? (that is, a game of 1995-level complexity?) basically, i'm adept at the other facets of game making, i.e. music and sprites and storyline and maps and statistical schematics. but i'm insecure about my hair - no, no. i'm insecure about the programming bit. assuming that i catch on at a normal rate (whatever that is) is it reasonable to think that i could make a quality game in under two years? learning as i go? (my dad was a programmer as a kid my dad always offered to teach me to program but no, i only wanted to *play* the games. darn it!) i didn't know where else to go to find this kind of thing out, which obviously indicates a lack of competence on my part. anyway, thanks for your insights. 050921 ... ferret well, if you want a REALLY EASY but still quite powerful game-making tool, i recommend game maker 6.0 it's pretty easy to learn (it's mostly drag and drop) i've made some crappy games, and edited games that other people made, but that was with version 5.3a 6.0 is much better. goto http://www.gamemakergames.com for examples of the awesome you can create. good stuff on a stick, stick not included 050921 ... ferret but that didn't REALLY answer your question did it? to learn game maker, it takes about a week or two to get familiar with it, then it's just a matter of looking for functions that do what you want. easy peasy. 050921 ... andru235 hey, i'll check it out. thanks for the tip, ferret! by the way, since i posted this a few hours ago, i found a few sites by googling 'learn javascript'. i followed the first few tutorials at one of them, and now could make a game where you guess a number 1-10, and no matter what, it tells you you're the winner. wow! congratulation! imagine what i'll learn tomorrow! i'll be able to make a game where you guess a letter a-z, and it tells you, "yes! the correct answer is 6!" oooh! 050922 ... u24 webmonkey.com has a few good javascript resources, though it's aimed towards website development rather than games. getelementbyid.com and dynamicdrive.com have some sample scripts which you might find useful. there's a link at del.icio.us/user24 that points to a javascript lemmings game, I'm unsure how useful the source code will be. (I would give you the actual link but del.icio.us seems to be down) wolf5k.com has a 3d shootemup in javascript, but bear in mind that it was designed to be *small* code rather than either *good* or *readable* code. the5k.org had some brilliant examples of pro javascripting; the challenge is to produce the best program in 5k. the site currently appears to be offline. see the internet archive at tinyurl.com/9a9k6 and of course, feel free to email me if you have any problems with a particular bit of code. (but I can only reply today, or after Oct 1st - no net access between those dates) may the force be with you. 050923 ... u24 in fact, tinyurl.com/77eqw has got a great set of tutorials about 3d programming in javascript, it goes on to dissect wolf5k and discuss the techniques used. 050923 ... andru235 wow. thanks be to u24! ferret, i downloaded game maker. but haven't had time to make a good assessment of it yet. looks like a lot of other people have made curious games with it, which is promising. 050923 what's it to you? who go blather from