using prefabs Thread

I have recently had a discussion with a friend of mine about using prefabs when creating games. He feels that using prefabs is kind of like cheating, and that it is a business tool used by game engines such as UE4 and Unity to allow just about everyone to make games. So, my question is if that is true or if using prefabs is pretty standard even for professional developers? and if not, what other methods are there for creating items and characters, etc.?

Prefabs make developing and level design alot easier. Having to constantly re-apply textures or recreate rooms is a huge hassle. Prefabs just help to cut down on production time so you can spend more time testing and fixing bigger issues. We feel it is standard to use prefabs from our own models and textures.

Are there any cons to using them? Like are they labor intensive to the system as far as memory/performance?

No, they are not.
The only "con" would be the obvious copy/paste if used incorrectly.

Cool, thank you for the help guys!

Prefabs is actually just a word for a system that act as a shortcut. The concept behind prefab has existed since the time where games weren't made purely as line of colored codes that were send from one side to the other side of the screen. like the Atari or original Gameboy. The Super Nintendo, for example, was using prefabs called "Sprites". Without sprites, the Super Nintendo wouldn't had more colors nor details than the original Nintendo.

Prefab are chunk of pre-formatted data that can be quickly read and applied into an engine's scene.

Saying "it is a business tool used by game engines such as UE4 and Unity to allow just about everyone to make games" isn't false, but true either. It's a "shortcut tool" that makes things easier... that's a fact, but it's not aiming at allowing just about everyone to make games either.

It's a process which has happened with many many many software. Companies who make those software wants their "customers" to keep using their software so they are in constant competition in terms of efficiency. They want to fulfill the question "How can I make my customers work faster and easier with my product?" It's a bit how Photoshop came to be so wildly used. Originally, Photoshop was an image calibration software and NOT a software for artists of any kind. (Think of Paint, but with advanced print-related options). Then people had to put a lot of time to so that they could remove/add onto the images... so Adobe added editing tool such as brushes and swatches, then layers. (By the way, Photoshop exist to "the public" since 1988 in case you wondered. When I took a Graphic Designer course back around 2008, one of my teacher was one of the first Canadians who used the software when it was in Beta-stage. He was known as Mister Photoshop back then.)

Today, every public engine has a prefab system of some sort. It might not call it Prefab, but they are there. It's a tool that allow quick access within specific parameters set by the developers. For example, Bethesda Constructor Set (mod tool) for Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim uses a Prefab system for everything in the game. Whenever you have an "item" with an "ID", it's a prefab of some sort.

Your friend knows nothing about how level designers and environment artists work. Prefabs are perfectly fine to use.

Edited by: Nightshade