Whiteboxing/Greyboxing/whateverboxing is one of the most important processes that all too many hobbyists don't do, which causes them to burn out on gamedev. They want to _see_ everything working with how it looks in their head, but in reality the game mechanics vs. visuals are very different skillsets that can take a lot of time to master. I would recommend most new gamedevs spend all their time using just default objects in their respective engines. Literally just white/grey shapes that act on user input. If the mechanics feel fun with whiteboxes, they'll feel more fun with actual models/sprites/whatever. But on the flipside, you'll never know if your mechanics are fun if you never make them because you're too busy worrying about water animations.