José P. Zagal
ABSTRACT
Literature on game design and development recommends using placeholder content and assets as a technique for, amongst other things, working around production bottlenecks (e.g. needs music to work but music is not ready) and streamlining development (e.g. focus on the "fun", without getting distracted by the art). However, this commonly accepted practice can cause problems that are rarely discussed or presented. We unpack this practice by discussing some of its issues. As a practice that is central to game development, it is important to better understand the interactions of social, technical, and cultural factors that result in the creation of sophisticated software artifacts, i.e. computer games. We discuss some of these issues and sketch out a research agenda for their further exploration.
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Digital Library
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Index Terms
- Placeholder Content in Game Development: Benefits and Challenges
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