Thanks for all the suggestions.
I've narrowed down the engine I want to use: Unity3D, because it's visually appealing and can work across several different platforms. And it's free.
I was inspired by
this game, Fract. Even though it has little to do with RPG mechanics, I'm impressed by what was achieved in terms of atmosphere, elegance and ingenuity, using the Unity3D engine.
As for a language, I may delve into either C# or Javascript. We'll see. Unity seems to recognize both languages.
As for gameplay concept, I was really inspired by the discussion that went one at the "Why Can't We Have more TB RPGs" thread a few days back. It further galvanized me to want to bring a WEGO style combat system to an RPG, not unlike the game
Frozen Synapse. I would want to layer that sort of combat engine, which requires strategic use of movement, timing and spacial awareness, with RPG mechanics and character abilities.
Frozen Synapse, from what I've gleaned, happens to be powerd by the Torque Engine, and it has two or three guys working on it.
For now, though, I simply want to have that basic combat tech demo down that will use its WEGO system.
The RPG Kit for Unity seems like one person's way into getting an rpg combat system working in Unity, but I'd be open to study this and bend it to my own whims. Once that core combat mechanic is solid, i think it can be a strong foundation for any RPG universe / story / world that could be built around it. For now, though, the focus is on that core combat design.
My expectations for this game concept are truly modest, as are my abilities to pull it off, but it's still an idea that hasn't stopped nagging at me. I want to zero in on the smartest way, given my limited coding experience and time resources, to explore whether I can make it a reality.
thanks,
g