The Alphaville Herald

Cyber-escort as power gamer: Interview with Daphne Molinari

by Alphaville Herald on 13/09/04 at 11:53 pm

One thing that we?ve learned from observing social MMORPGs like TSO, There, and Second Life, is that power gaming is alive and well in these games, albeit in a different form than in EQ and SWG. In this interview we talk to an impressive example of this phenomenon ? Mistress Daphne Molinari. She tells us about her early days in TSO, running a #1 Romance House and working with The Dream Team on developing the Kingware Software nude skin patch, then about moving to the infamous There Escort Services (who knew she was so good at spades!), and then on to SL where she now co-manages the escorts at Club Elite. Since in r/l she is also involved in the adult entertainment industry (phone sex, and formerly co-managing a r/l escort service) she has some interesting insights into the similarities and differences between these worlds. She also has some interesting insights into the differences between the various social MMORPGs. But does she consider herself a power gamer? Read on?


Daph on the floor of the old Club Elite (from the SLH archives). Note SLH reporter Miravoir Psaltry in the background — always hard at work!

Uri: was tso your first MMORPG or did you have some experience before that
Daphne Molinari: TSO was my first
Uri: Do you remember when you joined? was it in beta?
Daphne Molinari: yes it was
Daphne Molinari: i was one of the first people in the game
Uri: When you came to tso who did you hook up with first and what were you doing in the early days
Daphne Molinari: I was actually quite a loner for a bit.
Daphne Molinari: Then met various people here and there.
Uri: what cities did you play
Daphne Molinari: My first city was Alpha, then when it was released to the public I moved to Interhogen.
Uri: you are currently friends with Big John Jade and Ana Lily in SL, you met them in tso, yes?
Daphne Molinari: I met Big John Jade in TSO, I did not meet Ana until I came here
Uri: did you meet him early in your tso career or later, and what was his name there
Daphne Molinari: I did meet him pretty early in my days at TSO, he at the time was SupermanSimX
Uri: what was he up to in those days
Daphne Molinari: Alot of dancing and skilling. lol
Uri: but then at somepoint Kingsware Software was formed…
Daphne Molinari: Yes, after the days of Midnight Dreams Love, a house that he created and made the number one Love house in TSO I bought the house from him and he began his creation with the Skins patch.
Uri: stop go back. so it sounds like he was up to more than dancing and skilling if he had the #1 romance lot
Daphne Molinari: Well yeah I guess lol it?s been a long time.
Uri: this was in IH?
Daphne Molinari: Yes it was.
Uri: was it a legit romance prop or one of the more fun varieties
Daphne Molinari: It had its “perks”.

Daph at the interview. You can tell she’s impressed by me. She is… right? A little?

Uri: did you work there?
Uri: before you took it over?
Daphne Molinari: I was a roommate before I purchased it, but we did not “work” in those days.
Daphne Molinari: It was more fun and if you clicked with someone we had heart shaped rooms to go to.
Uri: ic, so its more like you gave it away back then, lol
Daphne Molinari: me personally, no. I was not as colorful then as I am now. LOL
Uri: so John turned over his romance lot to you and then went to work on the nude skin patch for tso. did you get involved with that at all?
Daphne Molinari: Yes, I was involved with that along with TOmmy Stone.
Uri: who was tommy stone?
Daphne Molinari: A friend of ours who also was very creative and to this day still designs clothing.
Uri: is he in SL now?
Daphne Molinari: He has an avatar here and has vends set up but I dont see him in game much.
Uri: so he is only here for business purposes then?
Daphne Molinari: That I am not sure of. He is also in There and is very prestigious there with his clothing and racing team.
Uri: what is the line of clothing that he sells?
Daphne Molinari: Dragonfly Designs
Uri: what is his name in There?
Daphne Molinari: TOmmy Stone
Uri: ok, so what did you do on the nude skin patch project — you specificially
Daphne Molinari: For the most part I was the model for the female clothing, I also helped in finding the most appropriate mesh for the clothing that was made.
Uri: what does that mean — finding the mesh
Daphne Molinari: In 2D and 3D modeling there is a “mesh” an invisible framework that moves with the avatar as it moves
Daphne Molinari: to make the clothing look realistic and sit correctly on the body.
Uri: so are you the one that figured out that the yellow showgirl outfit would be the best one for the nude woman batch?
Daphne Molinari: I think it was a team effort finding that one. It started on the nurses outfit and we tried numerous meshes to find the right one.
Uri: I *like* the nurses outfit — patch version
Daphne Molinari: yes that one was very popular lol
Uri: do you have any idea how many downloads there have been of the patch?
Daphne Molinari: to date?? no but there were tens of thousands of hits on the site even while I was still in TSO
Uri: would you guess that most tso players use the patch?
Daphne Molinari: undoubtedly

Daph offers me some DP while we conduct the interview. I was hoping for some Cris, but its better than what I’m used to (Pink Champale). Hmmm, I think I might be underdressed.

Uri: So John left tso and went directly to SL, but you went to There first, correct?
Daphne Molinari: Yes I came here in Beta with John to see SL but my system was not able to handle the game so i did not stay.
Uri: do you remember when you left tso for There?
Daphne Molinari: yes, December of 2003
Uri: Ah, about the time I got kicked out of tso, lol
Daphne Molinari: awww lol
Uri: So tell us about your career in There
Daphne Molinari: My career in there…hmmm
Daphne Molinari: It was very social, I really had many good friends and just enjoyed the atmosphere.
Daphne Molinari: I was in many clubs, DJ’d for a few radio stations, and played alot of paintball.
Uri: what was your name there
Daphne Molinari: Daph
Uri: but you were also an escort for There Escorts Inc, no?
Daphne Molinari: Yes, I was.
Uri: was that the first escort service in There?
Daphne Molinari: I’m not sure if it was the first, I think it was. There were others that had started but did not last very long.
Uri: The format of that club is that the escorts are auctioned, no? i.e. no set prices.
Daphne Molinari: That is correct.
Uri: since rumor has it that you tend to be a bit of a Domme, what did you think about being acutioned off. Doesn’t seem like you.
Daphne Molinari: Oh we had alot of fun, it all depends on the company you are with. The purpose of the auction was not for set “lifestyles” it was for entertainment and donating money to new members to the game.
Uri: well how much would Daph go for at auction?
Daphne Molinari: At first not very much, lol I think i was sold for like 800 my first time. My highest bidder though paid 20,000 for me.
Uri: hmmm your spades game must have improved
Daphne Molinari: ugh, not a spades fan
Uri: yes, I thought not.
Uri: so when did you come to SL permanently?
Daphne Molinari: Well I signed up again with this account on June 29, 2004
Daphne Molinari: I did not though really start getting into the game until mid July
Uri: oh wow, so very recently!
Daphne Molinari: Yes I took a break from the social life and went to Lineage II
Uri: oh cool, how was that ?
Daphne Molinari: It is an incredible game, I still play there also.
Uri: wowzers!
Uri: ok, when you cam back to SL, did you got to work at Club Elite right away?
Daphne Molinari: Yes, it was actually my first stop once I created my avatar. It had been so long since I had seen John that I wanted to say hi!
Uri: haha, did you start as a dancer or was it straight to Escort?
Daphne Molinari: I started as a Dancer here at Elite, then became an escort and befriended Terminator.
Uri: Terminator Brodsky
Daphne Molinari: Yes
Daphne Molinari: He is the manager of the Escorts in Second Life
Uri: at Elite?
Daphne Molinari: yes he is the manager and I am co-manager

Daph in her Club Elite-provided apartment with Terminator Brodsky. Together they manage the 24 escorts at Club Elite. Term is strapped, I guess cuz he heard I was in the complex.

Uri: ah ok…how many escorts work for elite now?
Daphne Molinari: about 24
Uri: yikes, but are most of them part time?
Daphne Molinari: we try to enforce at least 3 to 4 nights per week
Daphne Molinari: not all are completely active
Daphne Molinari: but very few are no shows
Daphne Molinari: that really depends on the person
Uri: how many hours do you have to put in in a night?
Uri: on average
Daphne Molinari: about 3
Daphne Molinari: most of us though practically live at the club
Daphne Molinari: so no need to enforce that
Uri: What are the current rates for a session with an escort at Elite
Gina Fatale is offline
Daphne Molinari: 500L per 30 minutes
Uri: session usually lasts a half hour or do they go an hour sometimes
Uri: or two
Daphne Molinari: depends on the customer
Daphne Molinari: most sessions are average of 30-60 minutes
Uri: Why do you think the escort job is so popular here?
Uri: is it a way of living out a fantasy?
Daphne Molinari: Well on the escorts side, the money of course and the abilty to be, how can we say? Creative in ways that most aren’t.
Daphne Molinari: For the customer, well…obvious reasons.
Uri: yes
Uri: I’ve heard.
Daphne Molinari: SL offers a multitude of Mature items to use
Daphne Molinari: and since this game is mostly adults well they tend to like to explore.
Uri: well, do you think people are exploring behaviors that they otherwise can’t in r/l because of their r/l partners or the inherent dangers?
Daphne Molinari: Most definitely.
Daphne Molinari: In a virtual world most inhibitions are left away from the pc.
Uri: so how much money *can* an escort make. What do you make in a typical week, for example
Uri: just as an escort
Daphne Molinari: At the moment I pretty much concentrate on hiring and promoting the service.
Uri: do you get paid to do that?
Daphne Molinari: But an average escort can make anywhere from 2k to 5k per week.
Daphne Molinari: I get paid for being in management, and as a dancer in the club.
Daphne Molinari: I also do photography for the escorts and texturing work for builders.
Daphne Molinari: and advertising materials
Uri: 2-5K seems pretty weak to me
Daphne Molinari: you can make much more if you work hard.
Daphne Molinari: well you get what you put into it.
Uri: well what do the top end escorts make
Daphne Molinari: That i’m not sure of, I do not do get involved with what they are doing and money that comes back to the house is given directly to BigJohn.
Uri: well, what do you think you could make if you put your mind to it
Daphne Molinari: Me personally, well if I really wanted to and found a good base of regulars at least 50k per week or more.
Uri: I want to get to your advertising and photography work in a sec, but first…
Uri: you’ve done some real life work related to the escort biz… do you feel at liberty to discuss that a bit?
Daphne Molinari: sure
Uri: in particular, what the similarities are
Uri: as i understand… you do some phone sex work now… or manage a service, and you used to manage an escort service in rl
Daphne Molinari: yes that is true
Uri: you personally take calls?
Daphne Molinari: Yes I do, I specialize in fetishes and role play.
Uri: does that background help you in your work at Elite?
Daphne Molinari: Yes it does, it takes a different type of person to work in the adult industry on the internet.
Daphne Molinari: I write erotica and have had a knack for this type of thing since I can remember.
Uri: Do you think there is a lot of potential for the adult industry in online spaces like SL? Is it going to be a growth market for the industry?
Daphne Molinari: I don’t think so, the differences come down to 1 major thing.
Daphne Molinari: Real cash, and game money.
Uri: well I guess I don’t see the difference
Daphne Molinari: the 2 worlds will never quite meet
Daphne Molinari: lets see how can i paint a picture for you?
Daphne Molinari: In a game you can do things to make game money and still only pay 9.95 for life or per month.
Daphne Molinari: My RL time brings in 60.00 per hour or more RL money.
Daphne Molinari: that is just phone work.
Uri: well maybe you need to charge more here
Uri: Don’t you feel you are giving it away here then, especially if you use voice in SL
Daphne Molinari: I am not at liberty to change the rates, I work for a service.
Daphne Molinari: I dont use voice often at all.
Uri: well I guess I don’t understand now. You can use voice in SL, and you can supply them with a hot chat partner (with your Santana Lumiere avi no less) and all kinds of fetishware and animations, and you are saying you charge less because what? no phone?
Daphne Molinari: Like I said before, at the moment I am not taking on clients, I have a few that I still work with but I make my money in other venues.
Daphne Molinari: I actually have one that pays me quite well for service and am pretty comfortable
Uri: I’m surprised you don’t try to cultivate more clients like that (after this interview that should be pretty easy)
Daphne Molinari: I dont know if that is some thing that I want to really take too much of on. This is my leisure time and to be in a world working all the time would take away from other things I like to do in here.
Uri: ic
Daphne Molinari: But to get a few Financial Domination clients in here would be nice. ;p
Uri: hehe, those guys are sickos
Daphne Molinari: No they are not…they like to worship females. LOL

Hey term isn’t the only one packing heat. Check out Daph with the latest edition of the Seburo Compact-Exploder. I guess in her line of work…

Uri: what about your advertising work then?
Daphne Molinari: Yes I do advertising work here.
Uri: Do you do advertising for Elite and the escorts, or other clients as well
Daphne Molinari: I have a few clients that I do work for and working on opening a studio for my work.
Daphne Molinari: Basically I photograph people and also use work they give me such as textures to compile an ad in Adobe Photoshop
Uri: sweet, let us know when you open it.
Daphne Molinari: oh i will.
Uri: OK, I have a kind of philosophical question for you now…
Daphne Molinari: sure, get philosophical on me.
Uri: You’ve been a very successful player in TSO, There, and now here. Do you think of yourself as a kind of power player in social games? In a way something analogous to power players in combat -based games?
Daphne Molinari: Well i don?t know if I would go that far, I do have a good knowledge of social games but have also experienced the fighting games such as lineage and gained the same respect there as in here.
Uri: is it an accident that you were successful in both or is their a deep similarity?
Daphne Molinari: Though some of what I do to most people is not what most would like to admit to.
Baccara Rhodes is offline
Daphne Molinari: No i think it has alot to do with the way I carry myself and portray myself.
Uri: how does that help in Lineage?
Daphne Molinari: I am in a fantasy world, but not with a fantasy personality
Daphne Molinari: In lineage I was a “healer/mystic”
Uri: ah
Daphne Molinari: without my type of character most cannot get far
Daphne Molinari: in battle or in leveling
Daphne Molinari: in both worlds i tend to have that ‘take under the wing’ and guide persona
Uri: so there is an element of that both in being a healer and in running a cyber-brothel?
Daphne Molinari: yes i have been called dynamic, captivating and mystifying
Daphne Molinari: people are drawn to me and tell me i have wisdom beyond most expectaion
Daphne Molinari: words are powerful
Daphne Molinari: and in situations the right ones at the right time can bring light to alot of darkness and confusion
Uri: exit question?
Daphne Molinari: ok
Uri: First, give an impressionistic comparison of the differences between TSO, There, and SL.
Daphne Molinari: ok
Daphne Molinari: TSO was the starting point of an incredible outlet for people to socialize with people that they would normally never get a chance to.
Daphne Molinari: You could build houses and skill and have events and compete for top houses.
Daphne Molinari: John brought in a new light to a world that was “controlled” and changed gaming for the better.
Daphne Molinari: or should I say the “Dream Team” did?
Uri: hehe
Uri: with the nude skin patch?
Daphne Molinari: With the nude patch and the clothing. It gave us hope for user created worlds.
Daphne Molinari: Then there was There.
Daphne Molinari: Moving to 3D and implementing more expanded forms of user created objects.
Daphne Molinari: IT was more realistic and game users more of an opportunity to show their talents.
Daphne Molinari: (Actually SL was before there but for me it was in this order)
Daphne Molinari: SL is one step beyond.
Daphne Molinari: Not only do you have user creation, but you have mature content. Something that was not legally offered in the other 2.
Uri: but it existed…
Daphne Molinari: to a degree
Daphne Molinari: but not to this scale
Uri: true enough
Daphne Molinari: it was more of the shhhhh lets not get caught doing this in the other 2
Uri: hehehe
Uri: sometimes that can be more fun
Daphne Molinari: well…
Daphne Molinari: i think when you are free to explore and not have to worry about being “reprimanded” you tend to express yourself in a more creative way.

Daph gets casual at the Rose Thorn property.