Felicia Day has long been a proponent of geek culture. The Guild, her original web series, is no exception. Currently in its fifth season, The Guild chronicles the (mis)adventures of a crew of hardcore gamers…mostly in showing how real life is much more complicated than life in the gaming universe. It’s built quite a following over the years and I’m here to tell you why you should join that following.
It’s Short
Let’s be honest. Time is as valuable as anything these days. Attention spans are shorter than ever–especially when it comes to the unknown. No one wants to spend hours with something only to realize they hate it.
That’s why this is perfect.
Episodes of The Guild are broken into manageable chunks under ten minutes each. Most of us aren’t so wired that we can’t sit still for ten minutes…right? Right!? And hey, no commercials–doesn’t get any better than that.
It’s Long
I know, I know. I just got done telling you it was short–and that still applies. But it also has four complete seasons with a whole bunch of episodes. And that means you’ve got plenty of viewing time before you catch up to season five. No long waits between each episode for you. You could watch entire seasons in one sitting if you wanted!
It’s Free
Ah, the magic word. Everyone loves free stuff. Most of us are probably willing to accept something free even if we don’t want, need, or could ever conceive a use for it, just because it’s free. As of today, The Guild website has all episodes online for your viewing pleasure. Come on, admit it. If you weren’t considering it before, you definitely are now.
It’s Cheap
I get it, I did it again. Don’t worry, it’s still free. But say you like it. Heck, say you love it. What then? Maybe you want something a little more permanent? If that’s the case, you should be able to find any of the seasons for around $6-$10. Not a bad deal and a nice way to show support for a great web series.
It’s Funny
And I mean that. Regardless of whether you are a gamer or not, The Guild is genuinely funny. The situations are awkward, the banter is witty, and the characters are entertaining. And when it comes down to it, if you don’t find it funny and decide to quit after a few episodes, it’s not like you’ll have wasted a lot of time (see “It’s Short” above).
And…That’s It
Was that so hard? Honestly, in the time you took to read this article you probably could have watched all of episode one. And no there’s no counter-balance to “It’s Funny.” Hopefully the lack of symmetry doesn’t drive anyone nuts. Enjoy!
Jennie Ivins
JC Kang
Ah, you are awesome!!!
I saw this on Patrick Rothfuss’s Blog last week where he basically said ‘I presume all Geeks know and watch The Guild’ and I was dismayed to be thinking – ‘What the hell is the Guild!?!?!?’ – I now know 😉
Just watched episode one too – amazing how much you can recognise yourself in this episode… I say ‘amazing’ and mean ‘worrying!!!’
Rothfuss is definitely a Felicia Day fan…awesome that he had that on his site. I haven’t been over there in a little while, but he’s always full of little gems.
Yup, started watching it because of Rothfuss’s recommendation. Started re-watching it because of Rothfuss’s reminder. Pretty great stuff.
When I was playing WoW someone linked it in the General chat and I actually stopped playing to figure out what the heck they were talking about. This was when there were only about four episodes out. I loved it! For some reason after the second season finished I fell off the band wagon, but love seeing all the actors in other things and knowing where I saw them first 🙂
The first time I heard of The Guild was actually their original music video “Do you want to date my avatar?” Classic.
By the way, anyone who hasn’t seen it should check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNyg1ftMIU