Tanla Bilir Blog

Today, I passed my master’s thesis defense: what a big relief. After two long years, my work is finally paid off.

I consider myself lucky having a really good thesis committee, each of whom has been contributed to my thesis in different ways. I want to thank them for not only being great mentors but also supporting me through my whole time here in Georgia Institute of Technology, Digital Media Program.

What is next? I guess I enjoy playing RuneScape for a while, without worrying about data collection. Yay!

I am a loyal player and a paying-member of the UK-based MMOG, RuneScape, since 2005. The game fascinates me so much that I am writing my masters thesis about the economic relationships in RuneScape. Today, I noticed a significant change in the RuneScape economy which made me so excited I wanted to share the news with you.

Before jumping into details, let me give a short summary for the readers who don’t know about the RuneScape economics.

Until 2007, the trading system in RuneScape was mainly consist of player vs. player (PvP) trade and player vs. environment (PvE) trade. Game developer, Jagex, introduced a new central trading system, called Grand Exchange(GE) at the end of 2007. GE is basically a commodity exchange system that works with the principles of the supply and demand. Players enter buying or selling bids to the GE system and the game code matches the bids. Players can collect their winning bids (buyer) or money (seller) at any time.

Jagex also introduced the GE item database (GEID) which is an interface for following the item prices in a daily basis. GEID looks like a very simplified version of the modern stock exchange websites. The floor, ceiling, and market prices and price differentiation percentages can be viewed for the every item traded in the GE.

The significant change I want to mention is about the graphical displays of the price trends. Earlier, the item detail pages were showing the changes in the average market price, observed in the last 7 and 30 days. While it was useful, it wasn’t providing a good understanding of trends. Now, the graphs reflect the prices for the last 30,90, and 180 days. This is a really important improvement that will allow all players, especially merchants, to make better economic projections. I am planning to work on inflation estimates based on this new interface. Thanks to Jagex for providing such a nice tool.

Coal prices in RuneScape

While watching the commercials the other day, I came across one of my most favorite ads, prescription drugs. You know those notorious drugs that cause more damage than its benefits, due to the side effects…I guess, I found the ultimate example.

There is that medicine which suppose to treat the asthma. They start with a warm dialogue between a father and a son, father tells his son how this medicine helped him to breath better. After using this miracle-drug, he even performs a jazz solo, anyways, father goes to his computer and searches about the drug. The doctor explains the benefits and side effects, [Now, listen closely my friends...]

{Blahbloh drug treats the two main causes of the asthma [nice]
Blahbloh contains blablabla [some medical ingredient]
Medicines like blablabla may INCREASE THE CHANCE OF ASTHMA-RELATED DEATH
So Blahbloh is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with other asthma medicines…}

Hold on! WHAT? did you just say the Blahbloh can kill me?

- First of all, if I die while trying to treat my asthma, I couldn’t call it CHANCE, it is a “possibility” or a “very bad luck”. If I win the great prize from the lottery, this is a chance. But death? not a CHANCE for sure.

- Second of all, do I really want to use this drug? I mean, sure, asthma probably affects my life quality, but what is the trade off? Death?

- Lastly, you can not call DEATH as a side effect. If I die, there is no other side, in fact, I am on the other side…So, call it, like, FINAL EFFECT… Or, please go back to the lab and come up with another drug that have more reasonable side effects.

I see many more hilarious medicines on the market. For example, there is a muscle relaxer comes with the heart attack in the package, another pain reliever makes you blind and you cough blood, and another arthritis medicine creates fatal infections. Well, thank you very much, I would rather learn to live with my arthritis.

I can go on and on this topic, but, if I can draw about it, why should I talk about it? Bright and healthy days!

Oh! I just remember something:
{Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life. Brooke Shields}

{If you die while treating your asthma, you’ve lost a very important part of your life. Tanla} Well, that`s much better…Bright and healthy days!

Side Effects

While I was browsing the net the other day, I came across a search engine, YahooKids, specifically designed for children aged 7-12. In the Yahoo-Help pages, the company claims that all queries initiated by the YahooKids search engine result with sites that are handpicked by the specially-trained editors. Those editors approve websites one-by-one basis and if one site is not suitable for children, it isn’t included in the directory. They determine a selection standard in a way that websites that are sleazy, slimy, snarly, paranoid, hateful, hideous, harmful, pornographic, or prejudiced are not included in YahooKids.

All out of curiosity, I made a small test in this very catchy and colorful website. I searched some adult-oriented keywords in their search field.

- My first query term, “porn”, yielded “0″ results.

- The second term I searched, “drugs”, returned some content such as Food and Drug Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, KidsHealth.org, etc, which is very convenient and understandable sources from educational standpoint.

Confident and happy for finding a good resource for kids so far, I wanted to perform one last search. I put “gambling”. Oh my! Hundreds of websites that promotes gambling have been listed under the search bar.

I noticed that majority of the links in the first couple of pages consist of different pages of the same two websites which are hidden under a harmless museum name and a very well known kids movie name. When you navigate through these websites, your reach information about poker, blackjack, local gambling tournaments, and other gambling networks. In the later pages, there are also different links to the casino sign-ups etc.

Does Yahoo consider “porn” harmful to kids but not “gambling?” I don’t believe that these websites are approved by the YahooKids editors in the first place. They probably submitted a legitimate content at the beginning and they changed the content later. Nevertheless, something obviously has fallen through the cracks. A possible solution for YahooKids editors would be revisiting the approved websites after a while and confirming if they still meet the standards. However, ever growing numbers of websites make this approach kind of impractical. Therefore, many websites develop a self-report system for content abuse. In the parents section of the YahooKids website they indicate a report system for objectionable content, however when you click the link, you are directed to a generic help page that doesn’t include a complain form or a message area, which is confusing.

I would love to hear ideas from smart interface designers or programmers on this issue? Anyone?

I have finally closed the RuneScape Economics Survey about a week ago. Participation is much better than I expected. I would like to thank all of the respondents for their time. I know that I tested their patience by not allowing them to skip any question within the survey, but, the quality of the answers verified that it was a good choice.

I have a quick tip for all of the academic game researchers who want to use online surveys as a research tool for their future studies. Contacting to forum moderators in advance and asking their permission not only fulfills your research requirements but also allows them to confirm the authenticity of your research.

Currently I am working on the analysis of the survey results. Based on my literature review, it is the first academic survey regarding the RuneScape economics and also one of the few academic theses that focuses on the virtual economics. Some thesis examples on the virtual economics in general Lehtiniemi’s “Macroeconomic Indicators in a Virtual Economy” (2008, based on EVE Online), Lehdonvirta’s “Economic Integration Strategies for Virtual World Operators” (2005, based on EverQuest, Ultima Online, Habbo Hotel, and Project Entropia), and Starodoumov’s “Real money trade model in virtual economies” (2005, based on Everquest 2 and Project Entropia).

If you are aware of any other research studies related to this area, I would like to hear from you.

Mermaids is an MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) purely designed and programmed by graduate and undergraduate students of School of Literature, Communication and Culture (LCC) at Georgia Tech. We have a highly-talented team under the supervision of Dr. Celia Pearce who is also the creative director/lead designer for the game.

I have been working as the 3D modeler, animator, level designer, webmaster and the project manager for the Mermaids Project for the last 2 years. It is actually one of my greatest joys to contribute this project by all means.

One of the biggest challenges during the production process is to find consistent team players. In the School of LCC, students have the opportunity to work on various faculty projects by registering a special course, named Project Studio. Unfortunately most of the students register for this course for only one semester; however, the production process of an MMOG takes more than 1 semester. I was actually one of the consistent team members of the project, but, I will graduate soon. Hopefully new students will take the torch from the current team.

I would like to share couple of screen shots about the level I finished recently. This is the new settlement area for the Mermaids, which includes a temple, a shrine, a marketplace and houses. Most of the 3D models you will see in the below pictures are designed and textured by me. I hope you like it.

Mermaids - Marketplace

Mermaids - Blue Whale Shrine

Mermaids - Temple

Mermaids - Admiring the pearl

——–
Mermaids
www.mermaidsgame.net

Mermaids is set in an underwater world in which players take the roles of hatchlings coming to life in the ruins of a long-extinct mermaid culture. The over-arching goal and storyline is to rebuild their lost culture and reclaim the various skills and cultural practices (such as magic), while at the same time trying to avoiding the mistakes that caused the extinction of their ancestors. Players will quickly discover that in order to survive, they must also revive the damaged ecosystem, and ultimately learn to work with it in a harmonious fashion.

After many months of the hard work, I am proud to say that I have completed the new School of Literature, Communication and Culture website.

The new official website of the School of LCC consists of 200 pages and over 50 databases. I used CSS, Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, and Fireworks for the design part and PHP, MySQL, and PhpMyAdmin for the programming/related tasks.

The new website

- brings the site architecture and content compatible with the current school goals and requirements.

- establishes a consistent visual identity with Georgia Institute of Technology while retaining the School of LCC`s unique identity and focus.

- ensures the highest levels of usability.

I would like to thank all of the School of LCC Website Committee team members for their continuous support and help. This project wouldn’t be possible if they had’t put their tremendous effort in terms of editing the content and shaping the new vision.

If you have time, please visit the website. You are also very welcome to send your comments, using the contact form at the footer.

I have created a tutorial for the webmasters who need to sign .jar files. This tutorial is especially targeted developers who use Processing program. However, other developers may also find it useful. Before starting the tutorial, please make sure that you have the latest version of java jdk and your CLASSPATH is all set.

Generating the jar file to be signed
1. Open the .pde file.
2. Include additional graphics and sounds by selecting (sketch>add file), if you have any.
3. Go to (file>export). This will create an applet folder which includes (.jar, .java, .pde, index.html and loading.gif) files.

Creating the key
Open the command window (start>run: CMD) and type the following:

keytool -genkey

Enter keystore password: (should be at least 6 characters)
yourpassword

Re-enter new password:
yourpassword

What is your first and last name?
Your Name

What is the name of your organizational unit?
Your Organization

What is the name of your organization?
Your Organization

What is the name of your city or locality?
Your City

What is the name of your state or province?
Your State

What is the two-letter country code for this unit?
YS

Is CN=Your Name, OU=Your Organization, O= Your Organization, L=Your City, ST=Your State, C=YS correct?
Yes

Enter key password:
yourpassword

Re-enter new password:
yourpassword

Signing the jar files
Before executing the following commands, you have to navigate through the directory, which includes the jar file that you would like to sign, in the command terminal.

jarsigner AppletName.jar myKey (change the AppletName to the whatever name it is)

Enter passphrase for keystore:yourpassword
Enter keypassword for mykey:yourpassword

IMPORTANT:
Sometimes this process creates an error message saying that:
“Jarsigner:unable to recover key from keystore” but, it signes anyway.

Uploading the jar file to your website
Go to your website folders and copy signed AppletName.jar and index.html files.

Hello all,

Today, I posted the survey regarding my thesis, “Introduction to Economics via a Popular MMORPG, RuneScape”. This is so exciting!

As some of you know, I am conducting my research study under the supervision of Celia Pearce, professor of the Digital Media Program, and the purpose of this research study is to evaluate the economic aspects of RuneScape game.

This survey will help me to understand the players` perspective about the game economics, better.

I am looking forward to receive replies to my survey and to analyze the results.

Everybody knows that I don`t like to eat . Today, they forced me to make strawberry jam and I wanted to share this pain with you. Here it is Tanla`s infamous strawberry jam for students and all other little lambs who are away from their mother and missing her dearly:

Ingredients

- 3 cups strawberries
- 3 cups sugar
- Juice of 1 small lemon

strawberry jam

Start with rinsing the strawberries under cold water. I never find small strawberries here in States, so, I started with cutting the bigger strawberries into small pieces. For some reason, farmers keep feeding these innocent fruits with all kinds of hormones.

I once read a newspaper article about a little girl who is around 3 years old and likes strawberries a lot. Her parents give her strawberries on a daily basis, thinking it will be a good part of a nutritious diet for her growing body. Result: She gets boobs in the age of 3. Only reason that doctors could find about this early puberty is that she eats lots of hormoned-strawberries. The hormone that causes that early puberty is called “phytoestrogen” and it has been used a lot in agriculture.

It was a nice break, the moral of the story: EAT NATURAL! Let`s focus on our jam again.

Squeeze the lemon and mix strawberries with lemon juice and sugar in a large bowl. When you search for the strawberry jam recipe on the net, they usually say let this mix alone overnight for better absorption. I don`t like to wait that long for any type of food while I am cooking. In my book, meals should be prepared less than 1 hour.

Strawberry jam 2

Transfer everything into a large pan, start with low heat and wait for sugar to melt, then cook it in the medium heat for 12-15 more minutes. Stir frequently. While it is boiling, skim the foam on the top. You may add 1 teaspoon of butter to prevent the foam. Never leave the pan unattended because it tends to overflow. Put one teaspoon of the jam onto a plate, if it is thickened, the jam is ready.

Pour warm jam into jars and refrigerate. It can last pretty long. Bon appétit!

Strawberry Jam 3