Dynamic vs Static Typing Performance for Built-In Types in GDScript in the Godot Game Engine

Modern “dynamically typed” languages such as JavaScript and Python are praised for their accessibility and ease of use by many developers. A key feature between all of them is type dynamicity, which allows the type of stored data to change at run-time, which can make writing some code easier. This, however, does not come without some significant overhead for the interpretation and casting involved when working with these dynamic types. The Godot game engine scripting language, GDScript, implements both dynamic and static typing systems, where all variables are dynamic and interpreted at runtime, unless an explicit type is given, in which case they become static to that one type. This research will first measure the performance of common variable use cases in a high-iteration set of loops, using dynamic and static typing for each case. This testing will include all types. Lastly, all results will be processed via averages and percentage-based analysis to find out what is the true impact on performance for each type's use cases. The research is expected to add to the scientific body of knowledge of game development using GDScript, the impact of dynamic typing on GDScript performance and appropriate development practices when working in GDScript