Yogurtistan Brings Easy 3D And Stock Options To The Browser

At the Engage! Expo, Yogurt is showing off the engine for its upcoming virtual world, Yogurtistan, with three interesting hooks that may help to set it apart in the increasingly crowded market: Yogurtistan runs in Flash 10 with no other plugins required, but in full 3D with good looking cartoonish characters and customization options; it is partnering with real-world vendors to allow users to spend their virtual currency on physical products; and every time a user spends a virtual Kayme, they gain stock in the company.

"We essentially do the IPO on the first day and sell our company on day one," explained CEO Cemil Türün. "The way to sell our company is to let people buy and spend our currency. If you just keep it, you don’t get anything, so there’s an incentive to spend. That’s a difference from the current economy where there’s an incentive to put it in the bank."

Türün put Yogurtistan's approach in contrast to social services like Twitter or Facebook, where heavy users add value to the service, but, as has been much bemoaned, don't necessarily receive any extra reward.

"It's very Internet," Türün said of the company's plans.

Yogurt is currently working with the SEC of Turkey, where it plans to launch a private beta in early April, but Türün is confident that the ability will come through.  The company is aiming for a full launch in December, around the same time as James Cameron's "Avatar," and to take Yogurtistan international once its concept and technology are proven at home.

Alongside the stock options, users may be persuaded to spend their Kaymes simply because of the options available. Yogurtistan is also negotiating deals with banks to let users deposit their money and cash out more easily, something Türün says will come when the world gains traction, but at first it's simply partnering with vendors to accept virtual payments for at least certain items.

So far "10 key vendors" have signed on for Turkey, including its top bank, Gap of Turkey, Diesel of Turkey, and AMC of Turkey.

"If you go and earn free popcorn in the virtual world, you can go to the movie theatre and claim it. You can actually eat your virtual popcorn. And if you watch the movie you’re supposed to, you get 2 tickets for 1," explained Türün.

The company is also negotiating with other partners, like clubs, to offer special access or discounts to Kayme users or Yogurtistan members. For smaller vendors than Gap, the platform includes an API for adding a shop to Yogurtistan or adding its trading system. One perk, says Türün, is that you don't have to walk to every shop across one large virtual world, but each will be included in an easily searchable directory.

For now, though, Yogurt is most excited about its engine. The company has been working on 3D in the browser for some time. It previously was using Flash 9 in combination with Papervision, but wasn't satisified with the results.

Now it runs on Flash 10 and is compatible with OpenGL, which Türün says means it could also eventual work with the iPhone via OpenGL ES. Until then, it also maes it easier for developers to translate their OpenGL games via Yogurt's engine to Flash and for the company to include services like P2P voice and media in its world.

For a browser-based world, it looks like Yogurtistan will also offer a fair amount of customization options. Users will be able to purchase virtual currency, but also earn it by trading or selling with other users. The platform could support anything from a tip jar for VirtualWorldsNews.com, said Türün, to importing animations and virtual good designs from traditional development tools and selling them in-world.

Yogurt is targeting a slightly older demographic than has really been pulled into most worlds (15 or 16 and up), but the lack of a download, appeal of real-world purchases, and custom development options may bring them in. Also, as Türün points out, launching in Turkey may be especially helpful.

"Social spaces are very popular in Turkey. They’re very high in usage, but we don’t have our local examples like this," he said. "I expect to have a lot of use in Turkey first, and once we’re done with the proof of concept and technology, we’ll come to Russia, the U.S., and so on."

Yogurt previously worked as an agency for clients like Coca Cola, but took "more than a million" in funding in 2007 to develop its world. Türün says the company will likely look for more before it finishes development, but that it's on the right track with the original concept still well in place.

Comments

[Turker Tunali]

Good work guys;)

[joshua]

Stupid, childish, funny! Classic Turk!