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The Guild ends the year with DVD release and new comic
The Guild, the award-winning web series by Felicia Day, has a couple of new offerings for this holiday season. Season 4 of the popular web series is now available on DVD through Amazon.com as well as iTunes. The DVD version of the release is packed with extras, including the Game On music video, recaps of earlier seasons, featurettes involving Cheesybeards and Zaboo's mom as well, as audio commentary with the cast and gag reels. The iTunes release is available in both standard and HD versions. An iTunes exclusive bonus feature, The Making of the Team Cawkes Painting, is included when you purchase the entire season. The Season 4 DVD is $10.99 on Amazon; the iTunes version is only $9.99 for HD, or $5.99 for standard edition. And if you happen to be looking for something to read rather than something to watch, The Guild has also released a new one-shot comic titled Vork. Written by Day and actor Jeff Lewis, who plays Vork in the series, this comic centers around Vork and his role within both the game world and real life. As with all Guild comics, the story takes place before the events in Season 1 of The Guild. The comic's only $3.50 from Dark Horse, and you can choose one of two variant covers: Darick Robinson's gladiatorial version of Vork, or the more simplistic, real-life Vork styling of Gilbert Hernandez. For more on The Guild, you can check out the entire series on MSN.
The Guild Season 4 finale
Video: Season 4 - Episode 12 - Guild Hall Season 4 of Felicia Day's The Guild comes to an end with the 12th episode in the season, "Guild Hall." Most of the episode takes place within the game world, showing off Vork's design for the Knights of Good's guild hall, the culmination of that whole Zaboo's mom debacle, and lots of teases for the next season. This season was pretty spot-on and I really enjoyed every episode. I think the entire crew has hit this great stride, especially after last season's awesome Vork-in-a-van episodes, which were highlights for me. Everything was top-notch, and The Guild is only getting better and better as the seasons progress. Good on you, Guildies -- and we're anxiously awaiting the next season!
Helpful hobbits see fundraising as Child's Play
Hobbits -- is there anything they can't do? First they're taking the One Ring into the heart of Mordor to save Middle-earth from Sauron's grip, and now they're out on another journey, this time to bring relief to hospitalized children in our world. You may be quite familiar with Child's Play, a charity started by Penny Arcade's creators and designed to raise money to buy video games and systems for children's hospitals. This year, MMO gamers are getting in on the action, as A Casual Stroll to Mordor, a LotRO blog and podcast, is attempting to raise $5,000 for Child's Play by presenting the fundraising as steps along Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin's famous journey from the Shire to Rivendell. Dubbing it "The Fellowship Walk," each milestone toward the $5,000 goal is represented by a different stage of the Fellowship's journey on their site. The Lonely Mountain Band, The Guild and other individuals are donating special items to be given away over the next month in an effort to attract more donors. Merric, one of the founders of the blog, found himself hospitalized as a child, and found out first-hand how helpful video games are in distracting kids from the pain. You can learn more about their effort -- and perhaps chip in a few bucks yourself -- by heading over to A Casual Stroll to Mordor! Oh, and happy birthday to Frodo and Bilbo!
The Guild season 4, episode 10
Video: Season 4 - Episode 10 - Festival of the Sea Codex gets a little help from her friends to fill up Cheesybeards this week on The Guild, Felicia Day's awesome web series that you've all been keeping up with, I'm sure. I've been loving this season, especially the whole Vork/Zaboo's mom relationship, which takes a fun turn in this episode. Wil Wheaton, as usual, still kills me every time he shows up. Season 4 has been ramping up really well, and I'm sad that there are just two episodes remaining. Looking for more on The Guild? We've previously interviewed Felicia Day at BlizzCon 2009, and Michele Boyd gave us an interview for 15 Minutes of Fame. And of course, the cast of The Guild was also kind enough to stop by our BlizzCon reader meetup last year and say hello to everyone.
The Guild season 4, episode 9
Video: Season 4 - Episode 9 - Pirate Paddy Pirates' Day is coming next weekend, which makes "Pirate Paddy," the latest episode of The Guild, the award-winning web series by Felicia Day, just a wee bit more appropriate. This week the story moves on to Codex's commercial for Cheesybeard's, which has been abruptly taken over by Bladezz and his mad editing skills. When everything blows up in her face, Codex is struck with a sudden realization -- but will she manage to pull herself out of the mess she made? Meanwhile, Tink and Clara are mired in their own problems -- mainly an error in ordering products for their new business, which has quickly overtaken Clara's home. You can check out episode 9 above, and find any episodes you've missed and get caught up on The Guild's official series channel. Looking for more on The Guild? We've previously interviewed Felicia Day at BlizzCon 2009, and Michele Boyd gave us an interview for 15 Minutes of Fame. And of course, the cast of The Guild was also kind enough to stop by our BlizzCon reader meetup last year and say hello to everyone.
The Guild season 4, episode 8
Video: Season 4 - Episode 8 - Busted The Guild, the award-winning web series by Felicia Day, is still merrily chugging along with season 4. This season features all kinds of new problems for Codex and her cohorts in the Knights of Good. Season 4 has taken the focus a little further away (but not too far) from the game and moved it to Codex, who is still dealing with the disastrous fallout from the events at the end of season 3. In the latest episode, "Busted," things are rapidly coming to a head as Codex tries to juggle her real-life, failing, fake relationship with her failing computer and her new job, as well as the return of Zaboo's mother -- which is creating all kinds of chaos. The gaming element is still present, of course, as the Knights of Good struggle to come up with the funds for a new guild hall, and the rakish guild leader of the Axis of Anarchy, Fawkes (played by Wil Wheaton), is stirring up all kinds of trouble in the name of mischief. Or is it in the name of something else? You can check out episode 8 above, and you can find any episodes you've missed and get caught up on The Guild's official series channel. Looking for more on The Guild? We've previously interviewed Felicia Day at BlizzCon 2009, and Michele Boyd gave us an interview for 15 Minutes of Fame. And of course, the cast of The Guild was also kind enough to stop by our BlizzCon reader meetup and say hello to everyone.
The Daily Grind: Do MMOs belong in the mainstream?
Age of Conan on The Big Bang Theory. Second Life on The Office. World of Warcraft on South Park. The Guild transforming into an internet phenomenon. The Simpsons and FoxTrot creating parodies of virtual worlds. It seems as though everywhere we turn, MMORPGs are toeing the line between niche and mainstream, especially thanks to the whirlwind of WoW. As MMOs become less of a fringe activity and more accepted in popular culture, I have to ask -- is that a good thing? After all, geeks are highly protective of their territory, often seeing themselves as the faithful guardians of That Which Society Rejected. To suddenly see that pastime become accepted and embraced by the crowd may prove disorienting -- and even disturbing. So do MMOs belong in the mainstream? As they become more widespread, is there something essential that's being lost in the translation? Are the faithful guardians resentful of MMO devs who may cater to the casual crowd over them? Is there a risk of overexposure and backlash? Won't somebody please think of the children?
Felicia Day premieres The Guild music video and Xbox Live Avatar items at Comic-Con
Felicia Day was one of the biggest gamer stars at this year's Comic-Con -- she premiered the trailer for her Syfy movie Red, sat on a panel about "Girls Gone Geek" and made two announcements to the packed room during The Guild panel on Saturday afternoon: First, the gang has put together its second music video, dubbed "Game On" (which you can watch online or on Xbox Live); and second, Microsoft (which posts The Guild videos in HD on Xbox Live every Tuesday) will be releasing Guild-related Avatar skins this fall, so you can dress up your Xbox Live Avatar as your favorite Guild member. In between her busy schedule of panels and signings, I caught up with Day to chat about what she's been playing, the new music video and about whether or not The Guild webseries, currently in its fourth season, has outgrown its gamer roots. Find our conversation posted after the break. [Image credit: YGX]
Game On! The cast of The Guild releases new music video
They've done it again. Almost one year after the ridiculously catchy "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar," the cast of The Guild has released a second video. Game On begins with Codex trying to back off of gaming a bit. "People say it's weird," she says. Zaboo, with his typical over-the-top enthusiasm, has hired an entire troupe of dancers to lure her back in. It's a fun video with shades of Benny Lava in some of the subtitles, and the typical antics of our favorite Guildies are in full force. Vork is stoic (read what you will into the meaning behind his faux-Vishnu costume), Clara and Bladezz are ogling various dancers, Zaboo is flailing about, and Tink is strutting her stuff. Check out the video on The Guild's site.
The Guild's new music video: Game On
The Guild has released a new music video, which was originally debuted at San Diego Comic-Con last week. This time, they've jumped from the virtual scene into the Bollywood scene. Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh) leads a song in which he tries to convince Codex (Felicia Day) to put down her book and jump into the game. The set is complete with a full ensemble of dancers, wonderful choreography, the rest of The Guild's cast and even a real elephant. They did a wonderful job of mimicking Bollywood style and still keep with their usual sense of humor, which shows up in everything they do. This comes in the middle of their season 4 storyline involving the quest to build the better guild hall, as well as Codex's usual dose of drama where gaming and real life collide. Check out their latest adventures on Bing.
The Guild season 4 begins
The Guild fans, rejoice! The award-winning web series starring Felicia Day is back for a fourth season of quirky comedic goodness. Episode 1, entitled Epic Guilt, is available right now for your viewing pleasure via Bing and the Microsoft Network. If you need to do some catching up on the storyline or just wish to refresh your memory of the happenings in the season 3 finale, head on over to The Guild series channel and search for what what you need -- it's all there. We've previously interviewed Felicia Day, most recently at BlizzCon 2009. And of course, she was also kind enough to stop by our BlizzCon reader meetup and say hello to everyone. Enjoy the show!
15 Minutes of Fame: The Guild's Michele Boyd
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. You probably know Michele Boyd as "Riley" of The Guild, the so-called "stupid tall hot girl" who's into FPS and is a ranked Halo player. Now, get to know Michele as a WoW player and gamer in her own right. Does she game with her cast-mates from The Guild? What's she playing right now? What about work? After all that, does she ever feel "gamed" out? WoW.com's 15 Minutes of Fame gives you an inside view with this exclusive interview with Michele, chatting about how she blends The Guild (the show) with her guild (in game). 15 Minutes of Fame: First on everyone's minds -- what's your WoWstyle, Michele? Michele Boyd: I play on Zangarmarsh. I actually started out on Dark Iron, a PvP server -- but I gotta say, I enjoy not worrying about getting ganked every five minutes. Trying to level your way through Stranglethorn when you're watching your back for rogues upped the stress level quite a bit! l like the competitive nature of the quests and getting the best loot/gear. It's fun in raids when you're competing over who's top of the DPS meter, but the friendly atmosphere of a guild means you're genuinely happy for people when they win rolls on a best-in-slot piece of gear. Unless they beat you.
The Daily Grind: What's your best relationship that started in a MMO?
I have a confession to make: I would not be married with two wonderful kids if it wasn't for the internet. Yes, I hold my head up high when people ask how my wife and I met, and I tell them... an online dating website. That sort of thing might have been odd and unusual ten years ago, but nowadays, forming great relationships through the internet is almost as common as in real life -- and just as meaningful. So our question today is less about the gaming side of things and more about the social aspect: what's the best human relationship you've experienced that started in a MMO? Did you meet a significant other, a wife, a husband, a confidant, a best friend, a soulmate or a crony in game? Did a game help to rescue an estranged relationship and smooth over the cracks? Has your guild gotten so close that you meet regularly to help each other solve mommy issues?
The Guild comic: There's an app for that
If you like The Guild comic book and would like to read it on your Apple device, there is now an app for that. Dark Horse Comics has released an app on iTunes that allows you to read issue #1 electronically for less than a buck. If you prefer your comic books in paper form (or want both), issue #2 is available in stores now. You have your choice of two covers, one drawn by Kristin Donaldson and the other drawn by Matthew Stawicki. The comic chronicles the origins of The Knights of Good from The Guild web series and is written by Felicia Day herself. The artist is Jim Rugg, who was also one of the artists in the Dr. Horrible comic. Like The Guild? We do, too! We've got all the episodes of season 3 posted: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and the season finale. We've also chatted with all of the folks at BlizzCon, including Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and Jeff Lewis and Michele Boyd. And as if that wasn't enough Guild, here's the liveblog of their panel, and the guys were nice enough to stop by our meetup as well. Stay tuned for more Guild here on WoW.com!
The Guild picked up for a 4th season
Felicia Day tweeted today that The Guild has been picked up by Microsoft for Season 4. She says that she loves working with Xbox/Microsoft and is already beginning preparation. This has been a week of good news for Day and The Guild, as they also won two Streamy awards on Sunday. Sean Becker won Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series and Day won Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series. If you need your fix right now, you can always watch Seasons 1 through 3 online or on DVD, and Felicia Day also writes The Guild comic. After the jump, you can catch an interview with Felicia at this month's Streamy awards where she talks to former WoW.com producer Barb Dybwad about the upcoming season.
WoW.com's April Fools Round-up
April Fools! Or at least it was yesterday. Some love the pranks, some find the pranks boring, some wish to see the pranks fall down a dark, dark hole, never to return, possibly to be eaten by a grue. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, we've gathered a short list of Blizzard and WoW-related pranks across the web: Blizzard Pranks World of Warcraft EPEEN: New from Blizzard, the Equipment Potency EquivalencE Number system! WoW Armory Tuskarr Invasion: Folks checking out the armory may have noticed their characters transformed to tuskarr, their achievements reported as 'cheesed,' and a whole lot of gear ninjaed and summarily vendored Battle.net Matchmaking Service: Battle.net decides to play eHarmony and place lonely gamers with suitable partners Battle.net Neural Interface: New from the Blizzard Store, the Neural Interface promises a lifelike gaming experience Blizzard Mobile Games: Up for 2010 from Blizzard Mobile Games are Blackthorne 2: Thorne Harder, and Queen's Quest! Diablo Gamer Blanket and Body Pillow: Wave goodbye to the cold as best as you can while swaddled in this Diablo 'gamer blanket!' Diablo Deckard Cain GPS System: Now you can listen to Deckard drone while you drive! Other WoW-related sites El's Extreme Anglin': El reports on the latest Cataclysm feature: Aquariums! MMO-Champion/Paragon/Premonition: MMO-Champion breaks the news that Paragon will be moving to US servers come Cataclysm and merging with the US Guild Premonition. Sponsored by AXE! Nihilum: Nihilum breaks some rules and brings us screens and video from the Cataclysm alpha Wowhead: Wowhead, er, TACOhead brings news of a new in-game item, the Hellfire Kickin' Taco Supreme! Tankspot: Tankspot announces their change to Farmspot Warcraft Pets: Breanni fills us in on some new non-combat pet... er... features coming out in Cataclysm World of Raids: World of Raids reports on the new Observation Deck and Spectate features coming in Cataclysm The Guild: The Guild proudly announces its new foray into the world of animation! Curse.com: Curse.com fills us in on Cataclysm -- exclusively available for the IPad WoW.com: And of course, there's us. Our day was filled with takeover after takeover, from Twilight to Muscle March to Saturn Six -- we've decided to return to WoW news. For now... Love them or hate them, at least they're done for the year, right? Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief and start believing what we see again. Did you laugh? Did you see a clever prank we missed? Or did you hide indoors all day and fervently wait for it to all be over? Let us know -- and check out the gallery below for screenshots from the various sites listed above! %Gallery-89602%
The Guild comic available for pre-order
The comic adaptation of the popular, award-winning web series The Guild is now available for pre-order from Things From Another World (TFAW). Published by Dark Horse, the comic is written by series creator and actress Felicia Day herself and drawn by indie comic artist Jim Rugg, who drew the Plain Janes graphic novel. The first issue will be available in two variant covers done by Cary Nord and Georges Jeanty. Readers will learn about the origin of the Knights of Good, as the comic chronicles Cyd's life before she joins the guild, how she became Codex, and how she meets her fellow guild members. The story includes tidbits not found on the web series, making it a delight for fans and serve well as an introduction for those who have never watched the show. The 32-page comic is scheduled to hit the stands in March 24, 2010, and will sell for $3.50. Like The Guild? We do, too! We've got all the episodes of season 3 posted: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and the season finale. We've also chatted with all of the folks at BlizzCon, including Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and Jeff Lewis and Michele Boyd. And as if that wasn't enough Guild, here's the liveblog of their panel, and the guys were nice enough to stop by our meetup as well. Stay tuned for more Guild here on WoW.com!
VGA 2009: Felicia Day on Felicia Day
This past Saturday brought us the Spike TV Video Game Awards and – before experiencing the litany of world exclusives that awaited us inside – we spent some time outside cruising the red carpet and talking (briefly!) to many of the game developers and talent. We squeezed them for information as fast as we could while simultaneously wishing them holiday cheer and good tidings. Yes, it was as awkward as it sounds. Here's what we learned from Felicia Day about, well ... Felicia Day. How's the show going? We just, a couple of weeks ago, the last episode of Season Three came out so we're between seasons right now. We're waiting for an update from Microsoft ... or Xbox. And I'm writing a comic book for Dark Horse before we start Season Four. Jim Rugg is the artist, but we have some amazing cover artists ... I can't say who yet, but when I get the art back I'm just blown away. We talked with Blizzard about the 5 & 15 year anniversaries for Warcraft, and we asked them why there are no girls in the "What's Your Game" commercials and they asked us for suggestions. Why haven't you done one? I know! You know, that would be a good call for me ... I'm one of those people who are recognized in certain circles, and not in others, and I like to keep it that way. But it would be great, I mean ... I'm a WoW girl, I love it! So you think you could see yourself in one of those wacky commercials? I would hope that they wouldn't be able to put my head on their character, like with the Mr. T one. Because that would just be too creepy. It already was creepy! I was trying to do like my "Thanksgiving" quest and I'm all "Stop with the Mr. T!" They were all over the place! Are you working on anything now? I'm filming the last episode of Dollhouse. The way that they wrap everything up is amazing, they really did it. I think I still have some apocalyptic dirt on my neck still. Also, I'm on an episode of Lie to Me ... I've been working for Fox a lot and I don't know why! Are you playing anything else besides WoW right now? Well, I play everything ... except I haven't played Uncharted 2 yet. I don't have a PS3. You know ... those are tax-deductible. Maybe I need to pick one up.
The Guild sells out for Christmas
It was just on Sunday that we first heard about a Guild Christmas special, and now here it is. The Guild gang have decided that the web series thing isn't really happening with the money, so they're taking the advice of commenters and selling out with six different pieces of merchandise, one for each Guild member. They're actually pretty funny, from a Codex "answer Orb" to a talking Tinkerballa doll to a Vork unbreakable bank (unfortunately, all of the items have been recalled for various reasons). There's some cool guest stars in the mix as well -- see if you can spot Heroes' James Kyson Lee (in a Delorean!) and our buddy Alex Albrecht, along with a few other familiar faces. Good stuff, and man, The Guild crew is getting really good at making some quality video. No word whether these will show up on Xbox Live at all (they're actually out now on YouTube, so this may just be something the guys did for fun, outside of the Microsoft agreement), but you can watch them all right now above. Merry Christmas, guildies! All I really want for Christmas is a Vork unbreakable bank -- in these troubled times, it's really the safest thing to do with your hard earned money. Like The Guild? We do, too! We've got all the episodes of season 3 posted: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and episode 12 above. We've also chatted with all of the folks at BlizzCon, including Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and Jeff Lewis and Michele Boyd. And as if that wasn't enough Guild, here's the liveblog of their panel, and the guys were nice enough to stop by our meetup as well. Stay tuned for more Guild here on WoW.com!
Felicia Day says The Guild comic is coming in Spring 2010
Felicia Day told us back at BlizzCon that she was going to go undercover for a little while as The Guild's latest season wrapped up, but undercover for this woman seems to mean that she's only in two TV shows and prepping for a comic book release. She showed up in last night's Lie to Me episode, singing, and in this interview over at Newsarama from the Video Game Awards with Sandeep Parikh (who himself just showed up in Tiki Bar TV -- slightly NSFW, language) she says she's still working on the unfortunately canceled Dollhouse as well. So that's where Eliza Dushku got her addiction from. She also says that the Dark Horse published Guild comic book is due out in spring of next year -- Jim Rugg is working on the art right now -- and fans of The Guild may even get a little Christmas present from the show and Microsoft. We'll keep an eye out for that for sure. So even though we're in between seasons (and we assume that season 4 is upcoming next year, even though we haven't heard an official announcement on that yet), there's lots of Guild goodness to go around.
