A chat with ... 'Guild' creator Felicia Day

Whitney Matheson | USA TODAY

Before the Internet became chock-full o' Web series — heck, before many of us even knew what the term meant — there was The Guild.

Created by Felicia Day in 2007, The Guild followed a motley crew of online gamers. It was an instant hit, wrapping earlier this year after six seasons.

This week marks the arrival of The Guild: The Official Companion, (Titan Books), a title Day describes as "a really honest assessment of how we created something from nothing." The other day I chatted with her about the beloved series and the tough time she went through after it came to an end:

Felicia: Congratulations on the baby. You missed Comic-Con last year because of it, right?

Me: I did. Comic-Con isn't a great place if you're hugely pregnant. I'm actually skipping it again this year.

A lot of people are skipping it this year, which is interesting to me.

Yeah, I used to be able to discover new stuff, but it got to the point where it was just too crazy.

Yeah, that's why this year we actually have an off-site event for everyone. It's kind of a static lounge for people to play tabletop games, drink and play video games. I was like, "(Let's do) what I actually enjoy here" vs. "Let's throw more panels at people's faces."

We're also having disco parties at night that are open to the community. I just feel like all of those parties are so exclusive that most people who go to Comic-Con don't have anything to do at night. It's kind of disenfranchising — the regular people can't have any fun, because you have to be on the list. I (just wanted) to make a fun hangout.

You attend so many conventions.

I'll be going to New York, but I'm actually cutting back a lot. I did a lot of them because it was good when we launched Geek and Sundry to get the word out. I feel like the company is really defined now, and now I can kind of turn my head back to creating new projects, writing-wise. I'm missing Dragoncon for the first time in five years, and I'm a little sad about that because it's my favorite. Have you ever been to that one?

No, but I'd love to go.

It's kind of the best of everything. It's all run by fans so there's no big booths. All the panels are informal, and all the actors just go party at night. It's just the best place to see any cosplay whatsoever.

You've created a new book about The Guild, which is great. I have to admit, though, I didn't realize Season 6 was the last season!

At the time, I didn't announce it was the last season, because, to be honest, I was very stressed and overwhelmed. But because of creative things and just the logistics of what web series have become, it really needed to be the last season. It's been six years, and we've seen so many tidal waves in the ebb and flow of the web series world. Now is an interesting time in that there's a flood of content out there.

And as I was writing Season 6, it seemed to come to a close because Codex has found something that fulfills her in a professional way. She's also found this support group in her friends, and she's healed so much. I felt like it almost closed her storyline.

It's bittersweet, but at the same time I feel we lasted longer than most TV shows and have more fans who are now enjoying the other things I'm making. It was tough, but I think it was the right thing to do. You never want something to linger around long enough that it starts to smell bad. (Laughs)

You've said you've saved every piece of fan art. What are some of the strangest items fans have given you?

I don't know about strange and creepy like made out of people's hair (laughs), but I'm looking at all the stuff right now — there's a woman who has an artisan knitting shop, and she made a Codex-colored yarn. I have so many different dolls: one made out of pipe cleaners, D&D figures that have been repainted, Lego figures. You name it, we've gotten something. And I do keep everything.

Just to see that participation from a show I created in my garage ... I don't think I could ever make anything that means more to me. We didn't just own the show, we shared it with people.

You understood the power of social media from the start. Personally, I started on Twitter fairly early, but I've become a little more guarded about what I tweet and what my social media habits are. Have you changed at all in that way?

Yeah, I think it's interesting. If you got into social media early, it was a different world. It's the same with releasing a Web series — that was a different world five years ago. There was an audience that was smaller and easier to contact.

Now it has exploded in a good way, because people want to use these platforms to connect with other people and consume things. But at the same time, I feel like the platforms themselves have not graduated to make it manageable for people. Multitasking isn't good for the brain. Whether you're a Twitter follower, a YouTube subscriber or a Facebook friend, natural social instinct is to collect people and to not kind of see them later. But unfortunately, with social media, you collect them and they're in your life, whether you really want them or not.

So it's almost not even our fault, it's almost incumbent upon the platforms to grow up with us as users and make social media usable again. Because you start to disengage when you're just flooded with information.

Are there any platforms other than Facebook and Twitter that you find are more manageable?

Well, whatever's newer is easier, because you have fewer people on there. Like, on Instagram I don't follow as many people. On Goodreads I don't follow as many people, because it's a more specific service. On Tumblr I'm really careful about not following too many things. I enjoy going on there to discover new things more than anywhere else now.

Speaking of Goodreads, I remember one time we talked and you gave me some great book recommendations. What are you reading now?

I have my Vaginal Fantasy book club, where we're always reading genre romance novels. This month we're doing Tipping the Velvet, which is an amazing lesbian Victorian historical novel. I've also actually had ... After The Guild, just all the work and adjusting to running a company, I was kind of depressed and I went through some hard times. So I've been reading some interesting books to help me get through that. My favorite was this book called Quiet about introversion …

Oh, I read that.

Yeah, I was just confused about why I was feeling overwhelmed all the time and trying to adjust to having people work for me. Surprisingly, I think if you're known on the Internet, you're probably an introvert. I'd highly recommend that book, because it helped me to understand a little bit more of what I go through.

When you say you were feeling depressed, are you talking about clinical depression?

Oh yeah. I don't think I've had a problem with depression, but certainly before The Guild, I was up and down because acting is so up and down. I never realized that success can bring as much pressure as not having anything, so when something that significant in your life like The Guild ends … It seems like you have a complete loss, because your identity is so tied to one thing, and you've thrown your passions into that one thing.

I woke up and I realized, "I haven't seen a movie. I don't know who I am anymore …" I actually did go through severe depression and anxiety attacks where I couldn't sleep for weeks. It was definitely several months of being not myself. I just thank my friends, and I'm seeking help. I've tried to take the pressure off myself to always be making something and try to find who I am a little more before I dive into another project.

My friend Wil Wheaton always shares a lot about his depression and anxiety problems, and just reading about that really helps. So I hope by my sharing any of that also helps someone to say, "If you are going through that, I don't feel so alone."

I agree. I've also dealt with depression, and I went through a horrible time a couple years ago. Reading other people's stories definitely helped.

Yes. It's really tough — you lose yourself so much that you don't know who you are anymore. And rather than knowing how to take steps to find yourself again, you just feel lost and like giving up. To me, it's about rebuilding yourself step by step. And honestly, when you come out of that you're a better person.

I'm so glad you're feeling better. Thank you for talking to me, Felicia. It's always a pleasure.

Thanks, Whitney.