[dasil003]

I'm a full-time ruby developer (have been for 6 years). I do web development exclusively and all the experience I have with C and C++ came in college. In other words, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to game development.

What you're saying here is extremely disturbing to me. For one inexperienced developer to make a wild unsupportable claim like Ruby can do anything C++ can do performance-wise is an act of hubris. For a whole roomful of such devs to nod in agreement is a little microcosm of willful ignorance that must have been terrifying to behold. If this is typical of your experience with Ruby devs I will suggest that your moving in C-player circles and you should expand your travels. We are not all that ignorant.