The Guild: Season 1 proves that you don’t have to be a big studio to put out a polished DVD. The production values on this small press title ensure that it wouldn’t look out of place on a DVD shelf at any retail store; the cover art and design is professional-level, the disc is printed with a full-colour image, and there’s even a glossy insert included which provides a glossary of gaming terms for the non-gaming viewer. The DVD’s menu is quite basic, which makes it very easy to navigate through the menu choices. The ten episodes of the web series are available in both “play all” and chapter form, with optional English subtitling, and there are two commentary tracks — cast, or director and producer — for each episode. The bonus materials consist of cast interviews, audition footage, three gag reels (two of them exclusive), the popular Christmas Carol Video, and the Season 1 Script (PDF format). There’s also an Easter Egg hidden in the Bonus Materials menu, so be sure to look for it. The DVD is NTSC Format, but should be playable on any computer or newer, region-free DVD player.
It’s quite a different experience viewing The Guild on DVD, compared to its original YouTube presentation; details that weren’t noticeable in the tiny YouTube frame are now visible, and in place of watching short intallments of the series every few weeks, as was the case in the original online run, the story now unfolds in one continous, movie-like block.
The Guild: Season 1 is available through the store at watchtheguild.com for $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping and, according to Felicia Day’s blog, Season 2 is set to start shooting in September. In another blog post Felicia Day says, “with the DVD sales we will be back paying [the cast of The Guild] for the first season, so thank you if you bought a DVD!”