Have you ever done anything like this?

Sure did and it's probably one of my favorite achievements though I'm no longer associated with it. I created a build and deploy framework for J2EE applications that wrapped Ant build scripts with deployment options for various application servers in multiple configurations. All options able to be either config file driven or set from the command line. It's been in use at the pace of about 30-40 deployments a day for the last 4 years.

Would you consider doing it again?

Sure would, but this time I'd like to see a budget for my work up front instead of it having come from "The time void". The fact is if I handn't just done it on my own initiative, if I had persued it via the appropriate channels, it never would have been allowed to be developed.

What alternatives do you see (Lua)?

Gotta say that being able to push Python into Jython(Java classes) really makes me think I'd have to consider the Python option

What is your favorite color?

Green -- the color of life according to my kitchen sink anyway... :)