BlizzCon 2008: WoW Insider meets The Guild

We here at WoW Insider have been big fans of The Guild since day one -- way before Felicia Day sold appliances or hung out with Dr. Horrible, we knew she and her show were something special. And so, when we finally got a chance to meet The Guild today at BlizzCon, we made sure to take it.

They've been doing a lot of press lately -- they've been to ComicCon recently, they're actually hosting a panel here at BlizzCon, and lots of different community sites are sitting down to talk with Felicia and her Guild. So we wanted to try and ask them something they'd never heard before, and we think we pulled it off: the entire cast, made up of Robin Thorsen (who plays Clara), Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Jeff Lewis (Vork), Vincent Caso (Bladezz), and Felicia herself submitted to even our strangest questions with grace, dignity, some chipmunk-related jokes, and the kind of pull-together attitude that makes watching their adventures as a guild so much fun.

Jeff Lewis had actually just come off the main BlizzCon stage when we retreated behind a curtain for the interview -- he'd done a quick set of silly jokes in character as Vork (right after folks had come up telling their own bad jokes for the joke contest), and as we started talking, all of the cast members were congratulating him on the job he did.

Sandeep: I was freaking out.

Robin: He was freaking out more than me.

Sandeep: I couldn't even, like, watch. Yeah, I was freaking out.

Robin: Because they were booing before.

Felicia: Yeah, they were booing people.

Sandeep: And they were booing, like, bad jokes. And your whole schtick was bad jokes.

Felicia: Yeah, but he's Vork.

Robin: It was so good, you did so good.

Sandeep: Yeah, you did a great job.

Jeff: I was so nervous.

Vincent: You couldn't have done it better, man, it went perfect.

Felicia: They loved it.

Sandeep: I think if you'd gone before -- we should have gone before all that.

Felicia: Before the joke stuff? He was supposed to go right after the costume contest, but something got mixed up, and they actually moved him up, he was supposed to go at 8. But whatever. He has an interview to do, let's do that.

WoW Insider: Hi, I'm from WoW Insider. So being that I'm from WoW Insider, I have to go around and ask everyone's race and class. What do you play?

Felicia: I have a 68 and a half Warlock Gnome.

Jeff: Level 70 Night Elf Warrior.

Vincent: I have a 53 Human Rogue.

WI: Oh, we should ask, what's your spec for the Warrior, Jeff?

Jeff: It was Fury, and now it's Protection.

WI: Prot. Good call.

Sandeep: I'm a 32 and five eights. I'm a Human Warrior, and my spec is Fury.

WI: Did you get the mount yet or no?

Sandeep: Oh yeah, I did.

WI: Great. You play WoW, Robin?

Felicia: Robin doesn't play.

Robin: I don't play, sorry.

WI: Oh. Is there a reason why you haven't played yet?

Robin: No. I tried it. I would get too addicted, I think.

Felicia: She plays a lot of -- she's really good at Mario Kart. She kicks my ass.

WI: That's good. The first thing I wanted to ask is just if you ever wished you had made a show about rich and famous people rather than, you know, MMO players. Does it wear on you, meeting all the weirdos at these shows?

Felicia: No, I'd rather meet quote-unquote weirdos than rich and famous people. They're kind of boring.

Sandeep: Those people are d-bags!

Vincent: Yeah, man. D-bags.

Felicia: We do not enjoy -- the Hollywood types are not, they're fine. But I like meeting fans one on one who treat you like you're one click away rather than like "I'm skyscrapers more important than you."

WI: The series itself is very -- sorry, did you have more to say?

Felicia: (Laughs) I just don't know what that meant.

Sandeep: It's great.

WI: I think it works. The series is totally as grassroots as it gets. Do you think you could have done this with any other premise? Could you have done a show about golfers or anything else not about MMO players?

Felicia: I think so. I think if you have a passion for it, and there's a set group of people out there who do it, then making a show about that, rather than just a bunch of white people in New York who are attractive and twenty something, is a better idea.

Sandeep: I disagree. I disagree with you.

Felicia: OK.

Sandeep: I think you tapped into something that people are really passionate about, and that they're doing online specifically, and then you're doing a web show about it. I think it was like a lot of things coming together. I don't think it's easy to replicate the success of The Guild.

Felicia: I thought he meant just like could you make a show about chipmunks. Raising. About raising chipmunks. And I think you can. But I don't know how many people would watch it.

Sandeep: But there aren't ten million people online doing chipmunk raising.

Felicia: Definitely different. Definitely different.

WI: If only there was an MMO with chipmunk raising. If only.

Sandeep: I'm actually a level 52 chipmunk raiser.

WI: Oh are you? Already? You're only 30 in WoW, but you're up to 50 raising chipmunks.

Sandeep: I'm big time, yeah.

Felicia: He likes that chipmunk leveling.

WI: I wanted to run around and get your favorite moments of the series so far. This is probably one of those questions you get asked all the time. How many interviews have you guys done today?

Vincent: A million.

WI: Really? A million?

Jeff: Around there.

Felicia: We haven't actually had that question yet.

WI: Cool, so let's go around. What's your favorite moment so far?

Robin: Umm, I think it's... what's my favorite moment?

WI: Should we come back to you?

Robin: Sure, I'll pass right now.

Sandeep: Mine was squeezing Codex's face and pooing. Having to go poo.

Vincent: Boss battle. Totally.

Jeff: I think the first time they meet. It's such an awkward, a socially awkward kind of moment.

WI: When they met up at Cheesybeards?

Jeff: Yeah. It's already tough meeting new people, but then we're all like socially awkward. The characters are socially awkward.

Felicia: I would have to say that's my favorite moment, too. Just because it's 30 seconds of silence, and most people would never put that on the air anywhere.

WI: So what's happening in season 2?

Robin: A lot of crazy antics.

Sandeep: But we can't reveal any spoilers.

Robin: Yeah we don't want to reveal any spoilers.

Jeff: I'd say that a lot of characters interact with each other that haven't yet.

Sandeep: Yeah, a lot of different characters interact with each other.

Vincent: We actually end up killing off about half the cast.

Felicia: Yeah. We had to squib a lot of people in my backyard last weekend, so...

Jeff: The new show is called "It's All Coming Up Vork."

WI: Oh, I can't wait to see it, that'll be great.

Felicia: Wow, that is a disturbing image.

WI: Is there anything you want to answer that you haven't been asked yet? Anything you want to be asked?

Sandeep: What's my cup size?

WI: Sure. What is your cup size?

Sandeep: Extra large!

Felicia: I would say that supporting web video is important. It's a grassroots show, and people don't appreciate, if you're not in the film business, you don't understand how many people it takes to make one episode. I would say that making that episode itself takes like 20 people. But then making the show a success is like every single viewer who links it. So really, it's a show for the fans. And I love that. And I want to keep that. Even if we get funding.

WI: Cool. Thanks very much, keep up the great work.

Like The Guild? We do, too! We've got all the episodes of the first season: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. And don't forget to check out our interview with Felicia Day, The Guild's appearance on Mahalo Daily, their visit to Blizzard, and The Guild's gag reel.