Learning Lua isn't all that difficult if you have proficiency in other languages. To be honest, however, going this route is somewhat more difficult than simply using XML. It significantly adds to the complexity of your framework, so if you don't really have a genuine need for it and are a relative beginner, you might be better off starting with simple XML/JSON/YAML instead.

I read your article, great job you really know your stuff, ill definitely put learning Lua on my todo list, as i think itll help me later on down the line, as for this project however, i think Lua would probably end up being overkill, thanks for the suggestion though!

Learning Lua isn't all that difficult if you have proficiency in other languages. To be honest, however, going this route is somewhat more difficult than simply using XML. It significantly adds to the complexity of your framework, so if you don't really have a genuine need for it and are a relative beginner, you might be better off starting with simple XML/JSON/YAML instead.

I read your article, great job you really know your stuff, ill definitely put learning Lua on my todo list, as i think itll help me later on down the line, as for this project however, i think Lua would probably end up being overkill, thanks for the suggestion though!

A system that reduces the amount of rebuilding that you have to do is never a bad thing :)

Isn't this a one person effort? Rebuilding is fast compared to putting time into implementing a scripting system you only want to use for loading some data.

IMHO just use CSV files with column headings, exported from a spreadsheet application where you type it in. They are easy to read into your game and don't contain cruft these XML-like formats have.

XML is totally viable awful. [background=#fafbfc]I'm using it myself [/background]

[background=#fafbfc]if you ever see me using it, break one of my legs.[/background]
FTFY. YAML is so much more prettier than XML that it isn't even funny anymore. Its also measurably prettier than JSON.

Look at this:

entity: 
  character:
    positioning: normal
    z_offset: 0
  position: { x: 0.0, y: 0.0 }
  sprite:
    texture: null
    blending: normal
    tone: {r: 0, g: 0, b: 0, a: 0}
    frame: 0.0
    angle: 0.0

Versus this:

<Entity>
    <Character>
        <Positioning>Normal</Positioning>
        <ZOffset>0</ZOffset>
    </Character>
    <Position>
        <Position>
            <X>0.0</X>
            <Y>0.0</Y>
        </Position>
    </Position>
    <Sprite>
        <Texture>NULL</Texture>
        <Blending>Normal</Blending>
        <Tone>
            <R>0.0</R>
            <G>0.0</G>
            <B>0.0</B>
            <A>1.0</A>
        </Tone>
        <Frame>0</Frame>
        <Angle>0.0</Angle>
    </Sprite>
</Entity>

JUST LOOK AT IT!

I'm blinded by it's beauty