The Magic of Ozimals

Aren't they so cuddly?

Aren't they so cuddly?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard of the pet craze that is sweeping Second Life. No, not those creepy Zooby babies or that 300 script sim-killing Corgi. I’m talking about chickens, turtles, and now, BUNNIES.

With an estimated three different companies producing bunnies, anticipation is palpable and the pressure is definitely on. Luckily, the wait to try them out won’t be long, at least in the case of Magic of Oz’s Ozimal bunnies. Their beta testing program begins on Monday, September 14th, and everyone that applies will get in the beta at least sometime before their October release date, which coincides with their one year anniversary. To sign up for the beta, just join either their in-world or their subscribe group, which is located on the Magic of Oz sim.

I had the chance to check out their bunnies yesterday, and I have to say that I’m very impressed. Sculpted by Aki Shichiroji, of Organica trees fame, these guys have been in development for quite some time! With six different breeds and four colors in each breed to start out with, there will be no shortage of combinations you can come up with. Of course, it wouldn’t be SL without a little magic added in. You see, you can cross breed these little fellas and get the floppy ears you wouldn’t normally get with certain real life bred bunnies. If you’re sick of eggs, you’ll be pleased to know that they breed babies. That’s not the best part, though.

Many have been worried about the prim count, which was estimated to be 18-20. They’ve recently stated that the bunnies will come in at a few prims smaller, which definitely helps, since they’re *cough* affectionate. They also took the time out to address the ridiculous rumors that the bunnies would be 7000L to start out by releasing a pricing structure up front! They’ll end up running you 595L for a starter pair of 2, or 3-4kL for 10. Food ranges from 99L for 4 weeks of the non-breeding variety up to 1495L to feed 10 for a month. These little details aren’t the best part either.

They’ve actually packed loads of features into the bunnies, such as a homing system that will keep them in a specific area, a way to create a special bond between two Ozimals to prevent inbreeding, the ability to stud out your pets, and even fine control of how your bunnies jump around. A quick glance at their pricing post shows that they’ve also implemented happiness, love, and the equivalent of oysters as perks for a fashionista’s best friend. As expected, though, it’s so not even close to the best part.

I saved the juiciest tidbit for last, guys. The creators of Ozimals, Candy Cerveau and Malkavyn Eldritch, wanted these pets to be extra special, so they contacted an extra special pose maker, Dove Swanson of Long Awkward Pose, to pull off the announcement of at least the next month. Wait for it … wait for it … You can hold your bunnies! Not just any bunny either — your bunny. Pick it up off the ground and you can wear it from your inventory. According to Dove, they have a female stand hold, a female sit hold, a male stand hold, and a male sit hold.

Bunny Stand 1

Bunny Stand 1

Cuddle whores of two years ago remember the article that our very own Tenshi Vielle wrote for the Second Life Herald about the unicorns you had to have sex with to get a baby. There were also gigantic spiders that violated you in order to give you one of their offspring. Now you can cuddle up a storm without giving up your dignity. Isn’t that exciting?

So obviously if you want more info, you can read the Ozimals blog. Beta testers are required to sign up for the Ozimals forum to submit their bug reports. Their official website also has some info on it too. Something to be aware of is that, according to their beta procedure, in order to maintain fairness, they’ll be wiping all the beta bunnies at the end of their testing period. You’ll get an exclusive Beta Tester gift with a lifetime bonus as thanks for testing, though. The rest, I believe, is up to us to discover as of (hopefully) tomorrow!

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