Placeholders, "I'll do it later" Options

[kayden997]

Placeholders are something I've seen people do in there projects while they develop. Whether it be maps or dialogue, is it really a good thing to do? Sure, someone can just make a map with the basic walking areas and what not, then leave it and go to another map. But what if they miss it or make so many placeholders that the project becomes overwhelming thus leading to it's doom?

Personally, I always spend a lot of time on a new map to really give it it's final feel. If I have to go out of my way to create an object specifically for that map, I would. It just leaves things out of the way instead of partially finishing it just to go back to it while you're finished half the game already. I think one would lose motivation to do much effort on the placeholder if that was the case.

Not sure about dialogue but again it's something that I believe has to be fully developed and looked at if needed.

So, what are your thoughts about placeholders?

[Jens of Zanicuud]

I accept them when used instead of battlers and/or characters, not for maps or dialogues. Dialogues must be refined and completed before releasing the demo. There's no point in setting "fake" dialogues or "approximate" maps.
I completely agree with you. Fortunately, battlers&characters are easy to replace - just replace a file - and you can do that even when your game is finished without modifying anything else.

Jens