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?

[LockeZ]

Never using placeholders forces you to make everything in exactly the same order it appears in the game, which is crazy. I seriously cannot fathom any downside to them. OP is sort of crazy. You need to be able to test stuff as soon as you make it. Waiting until everything is done to test anything is nuts. You should test the map's passabilities as soon as you've done them; you shouldn't wait until all the events, battles, music, graphics and cut scenes for the map are done too. You'll have ten times as many bugs and it'll be a pain in the ass to figure out what's causing the problem, and you'll have to redo other things you thought you'd finished just to narrow down what's causing the bugs.

This is one of the most basic things you can learn about creating... well, anything. It's not up for debate; it's just a fact. You'll learn the same thing in programming, carpentry, cooking, chemical engineering, writing, music composition, motorcycle building, and game design: make sure the pieces work before you assemble them, not after.

[Kread-EX]

It's somewhat baffling to read posts with "I can't stand placeholders". Guys, there aren't here to look cool or pretty, they exist to make your life simpler so you can test pieces individually. Placeholders can (and should) be used for about everything.

LockeZ post -> /thread