Links: The Guild

The Web is a big place, so big that it's easy to miss independently-produced content no matter how famous or well-promoted it is. Case in point: I watched "The Guild" for the first time this weekend:



"The Guild" is a comedy web series created by Felicia Day and directed by Jane Selle Morgan and Greg Benson. The show focuses on a guild of MMO players and their awkward interactions with real life. The show's won a boatload of awards, so it's really astonishing that I had never heard of it.

A lot of the actors are improv theater alums, which explains why the series draws comparisons to "The Office." There are moments of cringe-inducing hilarity (especially from Clara, a character who's so addicted to playing that she forgets to feed her children), but it's all very tongue-in-cheek; don't expect some "Mazes and Monsters" excoriation of MMO gaming.

In fact, Felicia Day, who also stars in the series, is a lifelong gamer herself. And not "hardcore" in the "Yeah, I play Halo once in awhile" sense - I'm talking Amiga-Zork-King's Quest-WoW kind of experience. "The Guild" reflects this knowledge, so it's essential viewing for anyone familiar with the vocabulary; if you know terms like "pulling" or "dps," you'll fit right in here.