From The Guild's Cyd to Dr. Horrible's Penny, Felicia Day's roles are the envy of geek-kind. We asked her to share some of her wisdom in an area we could all use some help with right now: the perfect gifts for geeks. From a hardbound comic collection to Ewok sartorial flair to a loan that will digitally empower people around the world, these picks are what your recipient never knew she wanted.
Walk by actress Felicia Day at Comic-Con and you're sure to see the geek culture icon surrounded by fans — maybe even one dressed as Codex, her character on the long-running web series The Guild. After making her name on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Felicia launched the series in 2007 as an ode to her love of online role-playing games. The show returns for its sixth season today on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel.
I caught up with the It girl of geek culture to talk the latest on The Guild, the rise of mobile gaming, and what it means to be a geek girl.
What's new in season six of The Guild?
I’m really excited about The Guild this season as far as Codex goes, because she starts to work at the game itself. And for those new to the show, if you start from season one, I know sometimes it can seem a little too "inside gamer-y" for people; so, season after season we’ve been broadening our scope. Geek culture has been broadening over the years, and people who aren’t necessarily MMO [massively multiplayer online role-playing games] players will really love this season.
Have you seen the online gaming world The Guild is based on change with the growth of social-media-based games?
I definitely think gaming is much more mainstream now because of social games as well as mobile games. People are casually playing a lot more games, and that's probably echoing up the gaming food chain. There are still your triple A titles that took five years of work, but a lot more people are considering gaming just a part of their lives. As the seasons of The Guild have gone on, the show has grown past just being about MMO players playing with each other online. The characters have full lives, and in season six, we see Codex go into the actual game to have a job for the first time; so it’s about expanding our world, which is an interesting parallel with gaming, as well.
Keep reading for Felicia's all-time favorite video games and her advice for geek women after the jump.
Geeky stars flooded the stage during Saturday's 2011 Spike TV Video Game Awards. Zach Levi played host for the night, Felicia Day looked fantastic in an orange mini dress, Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto accepted the Video Game Hall of Fame Award, and deadmau 5 was on hand to make a musical appearance.
We got our first look at Dragon Age: Redemption starring Felicia Day back in February, but now that the six-part miniseries is just around the corner (the first episode airs online on Oct. 11), we finally get to check out the full trailer. You only have to wait a few more days to see one of our favorite geek girls in action, so until then, get a sneak peek below.
Even if you're not a fan of the Dragon Age franchise, you're probably going to want to catch one of our favorite geeks, Felicia Day, in her latest web series. Since unleashing the World of Warcraft-themed web show The Guild (and making a few awesome music videos), Felicia is continuing her web/video game entertainment series' domination with six-part Dragon Age: Redemption.
Kicking off this Summer, the series follows Felicia as Tallis, an Elven assassin, as she embarks on a quest to track down a dangerous mage during the same time period as Dragon Age II (which hits consoles on Mar. 8). There's not a whole lot to see in the trailer just yet (the agony!), but if you're a fan of Felicia Day (and why wouldn't you be?), it's worth checking out.
Get your first look at Dragon Age: Redemption after the break.
We've loved Felicia Day even before she made us LOL during her first The Guild music video last year. Not to mention the fact that Felicia has starred and guest-starred in several geek-worshipped shows like Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and of course the online sensation The Guild (Season Three is available for download on iTunes now, and DVD on Feb. 15 for those of you who want to relive the magic), which makes her one of the more recognizable figures in geek culture today.
Felicia is not only a fabulous actress, but she's also an inspiration for geek girls everywhere — talented, beautiful, and knows her way around an MMO. Truth be told, we've got a bit of a girl crush.
Why do you think online gaming (and World of Warcraft in particular) is so close to people’s hearts and so widely accepted among such a variety of people?
It's hard to create a community in real life now, most of us don't even know our neighbors, our lives are so spread out between home and friends and work. Online gaming allows you to create a home and community of sorts, as well as provides engaging entertainment. I personally would rather be solving puzzles and finishing quests than passively absorbing a TV show or movie.
Do you think gaming and technology brings people closer together, or creates more of a distraction in relationships?
It depends on the person and how you use it. I certainly have been annoyed by people fiddling with their phones while I'm physically sitting across from them, but at the same time I keep in touch with my brother much better over the Internet than when we ever lived in the same city. I think the thing to be careful of is that technology or gaming doesn't become exclusionary to the people physically in your life.
Find out what Felicia thinks about geeky pick-up lines, her favorite trends, and why she won't be eating any prix fixe dinners with her boyfriend this Valentine's Day when you read more
With the third season of the web based series The Guild starting August 25, the fantasy MMO characters are appearing in a new music video called, "Do You Want to Date My Avatar?" With The Guild star Felicia Day serenading us with lines like, "You'll never see my actual face, our love will be in virtual space." The video basically mocks all of the stereotypes associated with people having really hot avatars in role playing games like World of Warcraft. The beat is catchy and the lyrics are even better.
If you asked me what House needed, I think the last thing I would have said is another character. But that's what we got anyway on Tuesday, when Michael Weston arrived as Lucas, a new private investigator House hired. House creator David Shore is tossing around the idea of building a spinoff around Lucas if the character clicks with the audience, so I'm curious to know if he clicked with you. That and more on this episode when you read more
I would have posted this yesterday when the first act of Joss Whedon's online musical series was available online except for the fact that it wasn't actually available for most of the day. All the fans (like me) who were lured in by the funny preview for the series were trying to view the first webisode, and too many curious eyes caused the site to slow to a halt.
Now it's working fine and it is my pleasure to announce that Act I of this funny, bizarre musical starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion is awesome. It's adorable and sweet and tons of fun to watch. The first few minutes of Dr. Horrible just talking to camera is a little slow, but once you get through that, there's a super-cute little musical number/love song set in a laundromat and the rest flows along nicely from there.
The only thing I'm not getting is why it's called "sing-along" when there's no real way to sing along (unless you watch a few times, I guess!). Tell me your thoughts below after watching the first act here. Enjoy!
