FIINAL PREPARATION

First Words

So, you're going to have a baby! Wonderful! But there are still a few things you need to do before you can upload your creation to the Mall ( 'cuz that's what this final tutorial is all about - how to prepare your baby for uploading ). Read through the tutorial even if you're not planning on uploading as there are some sections that would be helpful if you're going to upload & display your world elsewhere or on your own webspace. The steps we're going to cover are :

Step 1 : Give Your Baby a Name ! Step 2 : Take a Baby Picture ! Step 3 : Gee, Zip the Little Gal/Guy Up ! Step 4 : UpsieDaisy! Uploading Your Baby !

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**OK, are ya ready? But first, a Special Tutorial on PRICING ISSUES**

Some folks get into creating worlds & objects for the sheer love it - drawn to the medium. Others may get involved in vrml from a desire to participate in a common activity, for personal recognition, or to just plain make ccs. Whatever your underlying rationale, there are still market dynamics that come into play with regard to your creations.

Interestingly ( to some ), most of the same dynamics that govern markets in "RL" also come into play in playworlds like CTR. And the things we learn about possessions, things, money & all of that in "RL" ( can we call that offline experiences instead? ) we tend to carry over to our online experiences. So we have Malls, & prices, & unlimited amounts & limited amounts of things; fleamarkets, bargain basement shops, auctions & private sales. We collect stuff. We parade our most prized things in our houses & bps. We give & accept vrml gifts with the same affection as solid physical objects. If we lose these ephemeral things, we get upset. If they are stolen, we report their theft. Sounds pretty much like how we treat 'things' offline eh? :)

SO ........ if you were to go to a store offline & you found this absolutely fantastic thing at an amazing price you would ........... say you got an amazing bargain? If you bought an incredibly expensive thing offline & brought it home only to find that once you opened the box ( dropped it in your house ), it fell far short of your expectations ( was too small, badly colored, poorly constructed etc ) ....... & you'd probably say you'd been ......... ripped off? And if you were ripped off offline, you'd probably tell your friends not to shop at that store. You might complain & try to return the object. You'd likely steer away from buying that manufacturer's brand again as well.

So what's the moral of this story? Well I think there are 2 main points here :

1. that creators ought to make every attempt to make their items as well constructed as possible, & ...
2. that as creators we need to apply reasonable prices to our creations, not just so that folks can afford them, but also to preserve a good business relationship with our buyers.

So ........ if I am relatively new to vrml & make a big 10x5x0.5 rectangular box & slap a texture on it & upload it to the Mall & price it at 1000cc I can reasonably expect a few things : few sales & a fair amount of snickering going on behind my back - even if I just really didn't understand. Basically everything you do online, just as offline, shapes what folks here think of you. Unless you're a natural-born vrml genius, when you are starting out it is far wiser to approach the question of pricing modestly & build up your reputation & therefore the worth of your objects with experience & exposure over time.

I'd like to be able to talk about the contradictions of the marketplace here ( lol! ) - perhaps there is a way. Artistry & commerce often do not make good partners I guess is the bottom line. While we, as artists, appreciate the artistry of others ( & expect reciprocal appreciation ), as consumers we also demand quality. Therein lies the contradiction ... the dilemma. Your mission grasshopper is to find the middle - safe - ground to walk on in terms of your creations online - a ground you are most comfortable walking on. Do bear in mind always though, that even if your objective is simply to make ccs, market dynamics are going to determine whether or not you succeed. A lemon is a lemon here just as it is in 'that other place'.

Even though the Mall seeminly has no ceiling in terms of pricing ( I racked up 100 million & the counter still went up ) that doesn't mean it's a good idea to charge 'through the roof' prices. In practice, these days, most CTR Mall object prices fall between 0-150cc. When we start out as creators we tend to price our work on the lower end recognizing that we are in the radical phase of our learning curve. This is as it should be. As our work becomes more sophisticated, we expect to be able to demand a higher price for our objects - this is also 'normal'. Not necessarily necessary though.

Some folks think that they can 'structure' value into their objects by making them limited. Making something limited is not going to guarantee that it will continue to be valued by others though. Over time ( years ), the objects that will come to be worth more are often unlimiteds that have survived because they are particularly good & folks have particularly appreciated them. Consider all of these things when you are deciding what kind of path you are going to take in the marketing of your work. Play money & play objects they may be, but the relations established with ccs & things are just as real here as they are with their counterparts offline.

Most seasoned creators develop a sense of a work's worth also based on the relative complexity/sophistication of a particular piece & price less complex & variations of items at lower prices even if they most often make more complex things & charge more for them. Most seasoned creators also occasionally make special very inexpensive things to thank their patrons for buying their objects. Part of being a successful creator in CTR does involve learning how to run your 'business' over the longer term.

OK, that was objects - what about ARTWORK? Different ballgame entirely? Well, you decide. I don't expect Leonardo Da Vince could have churned out hundreds of thousands of Mona Lisas so we could each have one hanging in our home. With modern reproduction methods however, we each could have a reproduction of the Mona Lisa. Lots of finer points to debate here :) Is a painting done offline then scanned in more 'valuable' than one produced in a prog? Are works of art that include 'tubes' or other imported pieces not done by an artist worth less? These are not issues to get hot & argumentative about but they are issues to ponder & answer for yourself to the best of your ability to answer them at a particular point in time. Just don't forget to keep your mind open & allow yourself the freedom to change your mind about something if your experiences later on teach you something contrary to what you believe.

Yep, pricing & marketing are not so simple or straightforward as you might initially think. But if you do your best work - whatever that is at the time - & are honestly humble, you will do well & will be genuinely appreciated by others.

For more guidelines with regard to The Mall please make sure you consult its website for information about requirements.

OK, we return to the regular programming now ...

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Step 1 : Give Your Baby a Name

All that labour & still no name? Well ya hafta get one now because you need a title for your baby :)

Create a name that is not too long so it will fit well in the space alotted when you upload it because the Mall Staff will need to add the required drop info yet ( the date it's dropped & the price ). Steer away from run-on names ( eg. myfirstworld ). And think of something cool because this is the 1st opportunity you have to entice buyers to consider purchasing your object.

Once you have a name, make sure you have put it in your WorldInfo. While you're at it, make sure your WorldInfo is up-to-date with the current month & year, any special copyright info you need to include ( for example, a reference to Universal Media if you used any of those textures, or that it is AI generated ), & any other upload info necessary - is it a place or colony hold? is it dedicated to anyone? In addition, for Mall objects, the limited/unlimited info & price are required.

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Step 2 : Take a Baby Picture

The 2D pic or thumb is an important part of the preparation process. It is the 1st opportunity potential buyers will have to see your work & will either create enough interest for them to explore further by going into 3D properties ... or not. It is, in short, your creation's advertisement & as such, must be a good representation of your work.

There are a few rules about thumbs for Mall items :

1. The file size of the thumb must not exceed 80k - get the file size as reasonably small as you can below that though. I make a habit of shooting for something under 20k.
2. The overall size in pixels cannot exceed 450 x 450 pixels.
3. The only file extensions permissable are .jpeg, .jpg, & .gif
4. The thumb must have the title of the world on it, your nick, the price, & month/year of upload.
5. The words on the thumb must be legible & the thumb must be of sufficient overall size that the screenshot of your work properly represents the finished product.

Here's an example of an acceptable thumb :

WSL Dresser

As you can see, it's perfectly OK to gussy up the thumb with a frame & add relevant info like the fact that it's an animated object.

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Step 3 : Gee, Zip the Little Gal/Guy Up

There are a number of utilities for gzipping your wrl file. Note that we do not zip a wrl file - only gzip. If you don't have a gzipping & unzipping utility you can get a trial version at Winzip.

QUICK TIP : Once you've zipped your file you will need to change the file extension so the file can be uploaded to CTR. Go back to your creation's folder. Remove the .gz & make sure that just a .wrl extension is there. Add it if you need to. You might also add zip to the file name itself to distinguish it from the original file so you know which copy is the gzipped version. Yes, it's perfectly OK to do this, just as you had to change the .txt extension to .wrl.

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Step 4 - UpsieDaisy : Uploading Your Baby !

The time has come ! You're ready to upload your new creation!

The Mall upload system is easy & involves only 1 page with boxes for all the files you'll need to upload - the wrl file, 2d pic & texture file. Access it at the Mall via the UPLOAD button.

The Mall also has a Mall Scale viewer that you should learn how to use. It's an invaluable aid. Accessing your wrl from your comp, the Mall Scale includes the 10 meter lines that mark the acceptable overall size for Mall objects ( 10x10x10 meters ). It also includes different background color schemes which can help you see how your object would look in various circumstances - night & day. It can also assist you in locating spelling errors in textures - they'll appear white on any part of an object where you've made a mistake in typing the texture's name.

.wrl ... the filesize limit is 80k.

thumb ... the filesize limit is 80k & pixel size limit if 450 x 450

texture ... the filesize limit it 80k

Still have questions? Consult the Mall Rules & Regulations.

And voila! Have 10 items accepted & you will earn an Item Creator title !