The subject of computer game addiction has been pretty prominent in both mainstream news and online blogs for a few years now - especially in relation to World of Warcraft (even WIkipedia has a tab under WoW titled ‘Game Addiction’). The release last month of the latest expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, again coincided with similar - and mostly relevant and much-needed - debates on the issue.

(NB there is even now an online WoW rehab clinic, WoWDetox, for those worried about their use).

Like many others, this blog covered the debate - but since then has not featured much WOW or even gaming news. So this week we’re going to put the spotlight on something really positive coming out of the WOW community and try to redress the balance a little as regards some of the bad press that perhaps inevitably surrounds the addiction debate.

In that spirit then, congratulations to the makers of WoW sitcom The Guild, which has recently been picked up for a second (online) season by MSN video, with a bigger budget and wider release planned. A great example of quality fan-created spin-off media doing well.

For those new to the show (which claims to have over 10m viewers), The Guild is a sitcom about a group of WOW players who meet in the real world. Created by Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress Felicia Day, the show is delivered in short episodes of three to six minutes, with the first series comprising ten in total.

I have just watched the first season in its entirety (it comes in at around 45 mins total) and found it very entertaining and well crafted. The show is pretty simple in terms of set-ups and plot, and relies on an excellently funny script which is well acted by the cast (including Felicia Day). The WOW humour probably means the show will struggle to make it onto television - but its brilliant online success thus far renders this slightly irrelevant in my view.

As well as producing the show, the creators run a Guild website with other such fun as blog posts from the show’s characters and my personal favourite - a twitter stream from Vork, the in-game clan leader, which features great posts like ‘spent hour lecturing Macy’s cosmetics employee that perfumes are more expensive and 148X less effective than naturally released pheromones’. Brilliant (when you watch a few episodes and see Vork’s character you’ll understand…)

Anyway, for those who fancy a pretty funny dose of geeky humour (though not neccesarily WoW players - I have never played but still followed and loved the show) check out www.watchtheguild.com for the first season and a range of info and links on the second. As well as being a quality show, great press for WoW players (who, let’s face it, sometimes get a bit of a kicking in mainstream media), The Guild is also an exciting example of semi-professional/professional online digital media and a success story in what is an ever maturing new medium. Well done guys!

Dejan Levi
www.etondigital.com