Originally written by Isabelle Pavlova for mmorgy.com.

Though he's only been in Second Life 3 months, qDot Bunnyhug has already managed to revolutionize sex interaction in Second Life. As the founder of Nonpolynomial Labs, by day he creates interaction projects such as the LifeCycle, which allows SL Inhabitants to ride through the world on virtual vehicles propeled by a real exercise bike. By night, he is the head geek in charge at Slashdong, a site dedicated to the best in DIY Sex Toys and Teledildonics, including creating the first mechanism to control real life sex toys through Second Life. I sat down with him for a chat about his projects in SL so far, and his plans for the future.

MMOrgy: So tell us about your sex projects for SL so far.

qDot Bunnyhug: Well, the reason I joined Second Life in the first place was to create a Teledildonics interface for it. Surprisingly, that only took a couple of weeks. Basically, I used the XML-RPC capabilities of the world to relay information back and forth between the client's computer and the world. This information allows people in world to set the force feedback speed of a controller on that user's machine. I have also created a controller known as the SeXBox that has jacks for sex toys, triggered off of the force feedback motors. So, users can hook up the SeXBox to their computer, make sure feedback works, and then let others control that feedback speed. Put all that together, and you have a virtual teledildonics service.

MMOrgy: Why come to SL for that, versus supporting video and audio first?

qDot Bunnyhug: Heh, well, the greatest thing about Second Life is the development rampup is virtually nil, assuming you've got some prior programming experience. The language, though it has it's quirks, is simple enough to be learned in under a week. After that, using the XML-RPC and email capabilties, you've got access to a world full of useres and content. Sure, it may be a little slow, but the fact that I could bring up the Second Life project in under 2 weeks from getting my account is really a testament to what can be done in the world. Compare this to the amount of time it's going to take to put together an easy to use, cross-platform teledildonics service with video and audio capabilties. It's nice to have something up and working that fast.

After that, it's all about the features of the world. Sure, my hardware allows other to control real life sex toys, but those others could be damn near anything, since the world offers almost infinite avatar customization. It lets people play out their fetishes the way they want, which really adds something to the online sex experience as a whole.

MMOrgy: So, the big question then: How was the testing phase? :)

qDot Bunnyhug: Well, a good sex toy inventor never fucks and tells (or, actually, they do, but, well... nevermind), so let's just say I'm aware that it is fully functioning. :)

MMOrgy: Are you aware of anyone else in Second Life who has built your project?

qDot Bunnyhug: Not as of yet. A surprisingly small number of people seem to be interested in soldering bare wires to things that will later go near their more... sensitive areas. I know of at least a few people who have built the SeXBox controller though, so it can be reproduced. Maybe one of these people will hit Second Life soon. Message me if you do!

MMOrgy: Any plans to sell it?

qDot Bunnyhug: As soon as we get a version that's stable and consistent, yes, we are definitely interested in selling the finished product. We're actually interested in the use of Second Life and other MMO currancy systems as payment forms for "real" products, too. Unlike Credit Cards and other payment systems, you don't have to worry about privacy, chargebacks, and transaction fees. However, since the money holds no real value except in the minds and wallets of the inhabitants of the world, the market can fluctuate rather wildly at a whim, meaning if you don't sell off quickly and readjust your prices to the market, you could lose money. It's a risky situation, but it brings up some interesting economic points. However, I digress, I'm sure your readers probably don't find economics sexy.

MMOrgy: You'd be surprised. So what are your plans for the future?

qDot Bunnyhug: First off, I'm interested in getting things working a little better than in the first version of the sex toy control project. That was my first project on Second Life ever, and it shows. You can only change speed with a frequency of around 3 seconds per change, which is obviously very slow. I've got a few different ideas in mind to speed this up.

I'm also working with Kyrah Abbatoir on interactive BDSM toys for Second Life. There's been a few computer controlled BDSM toys around, such as the Utopex Spanker, but no one has really done much with the idea of interactive, remote controlled bondage yet. Of course, it's a pretty daunting area to be dealing with, but it's fun nonetheless.

MMOrgy: Sounds cool! Thanks for your time, and I look forward to your new projects!

qDot Bunnyhug: No problem! Thanks!