“Australia! It’s a big country, and to be terrifically unfair and dismissive we’ll be honest and say until recently it hadn’t given us very much. Off the top of our head, we thank it for inspiring an enjoyable episode of The Simpsons, a couple of 2000 AD stories (Oz and Song of the Surfer), and, uh…”

I talked about Australia in this article merely as an excuse to rave about the superb Summer Heights High.

The Montreal International Game Summit has been and gone for another year, and my session coverage has all been published on Gamasutra (though as usual, any interviews or other coverage that I’ve done will take longer to arrive.)

I really like MIGS – not only is it fairly close and in a city I rather like, it’s a nice size and generally a friendly and interesting conference to be at. I’ll be honest and say that this year, perhaps, wasn’t quite as brilliant as the previous two (but maybe they were unusually good.) Still, I’m pleased to see the sessions I wrote up were well received. In particular I’d recommend Jonathan Blow’s keynote – there’s certainly a lot to think about there.

MIGS: Spector Calls For ‘Pioneer Spirit,’ ‘Renaissance’ In Tough Times
MIGS: Valve’s Mitchell On Creating Left 4 Dead’s ‘Filmic’ Visual Style
MIGS: Microsoft’s Fryer On Creating a Culture Of Production
MIGS: Imagining A Hero – Ubisoft’s Mattes On Prince of Persia’s Visual Evolution
Braid’s Blow: ‘How To Make Games That Touch People’
In-Depth: The Difficult Birth Of EA’s Army of Two
Analysis: How To Get Creative With Game Music

“Trukz is a largely text based game where players create a driver, buy a truck and earn money by hauling loads from real-life cities around the world. Cities have distinct supplies and demands, and with cash earned players can buy upgrade and new trucks. Players have to deal with issues such as fatigue, gas prices and weather, and players can cooperate with other drivers by joining ‘companies’ and talk to other players via ‘CB Radio.’”

I liked Trukz – even if I did manage to misspell it “Truckz” for most of the week I was playing it. I would even continue to play it if it wasn’t so demanding on time. My character is now hideously in debt thanks to continually delivering late, so that’s that, I guess.

“So here’s the most interesting fact that we thought we could start this article off with: depressingly awful-sounding holiday comedy Four Christmases was directed by Seth Gordon, the man behind excellent-if-not-entirely-honest documentary King of Kong. Isn’t that weird? Why would that be the next thing you did?”

A short Film Friday today, but a Billy Bragg reference, so it’s all okay.

“From gaming to GPS systems, we round up the best in new technology.”

The publication of this article was a red-letter day indeed – after living in Toronto for nearly four years, I’ve finally “made it” by having my work published in one of this fine city’s alternative weeklies.

Above and beyond saying that, I’m not sure I’ve got much to say about this rather straight-forward article (does what it says on the tin, etc.) other than for readers to consider this “Eye Weekly’s” top tips for holiday gifts rather than specifically mine (although it does feature a hefty dose of my personal opinion) because, honestly, a totally personal holiday gift guide could have been all video games!

“Someone recently told us they were giving their friends two reviews of films they’d recently seen—their opinion and then the ‘Torontoist’ opinion, where they were ecstatic about any success, but resolutely unforgiving to even the smallest flaw. They were making a point—they liked Burn After Reading—but in a way they’re kind of correct.”

This is a true anecdote.

“NeoPets is, essentially, an online ‘virtual pe’” simulation, where players take care of pets by buying them food, toys, clothes, and other accessories using a virtual currency called Neopoints, which can be raised by playing games and other methods. Players can interact with each other through in-game mail, discussion boards and groups.”

I tried to be positive about NeoPets, oh goodness, I tried, but I hated every second of using it. It’s easily my least favourite virtual world/social network yet.

“If you happen to read Gamasutra as well as GameSetWatch (and I hope you do, because it’s important to cut your intake of unusual game-related nonsense with hard-hitting industry reportage—otherwise, you won’t get all the nutrients that’ll help you grow up strong and healthy) you might have read a few reports I wrote last week from the Ontario Game Summit and Game On: Finance.”

The Artcade has been mentioned across the internet, but not in too much detail, so I decided to write up a slightly more in-depth report and add a hefty dose of opinion.

Usually I just throw up these links without too much thought, but I really do suggest you follow this one and read the whole article, because I think it’s worth it, and you’ll also reach the links for some very fun indie games, so what’s to lose?

“Does it ever feel like Paul Rudd should be more famous than he is? Most people probably sort-of recognize him and think, “Oh yeah, that guy… he was good in… that film,” but put no more thought into it. But generally, as “that guy” in “that film” he is very good, indeed! Plus he loves Super Nintendo!”

Ah, YouTube, how you have changed the world. With a few keystrokes and a couple of clicks I can see Paul Rudd playing Super Nintendo or Matt Le Blanc eating ketchup. No longer do I have to rely on you, “Before They Were Famous” TV specials!