Thank the Canadian government for these great games

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 9th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Ever heard of Fez? How about N+? DeathSpank, maybe? If any of these games are near and dear to you like they are to us (we're looking at you, N+), then you have the Canadian government to thank. Government funding towards game development in Canada helped make each of the aforementioned games come to fruition, according to Gamasutra.

Similar initiatives are being proposed or practiced in many US cities, however, the Canadian government has a long history of promoting game development in the country. It even gave DeathSpank developer Hothead Games over a half million dollars -- to develop a game named DeathSpank! Though it'd be nice to say that such quality stuff was being developed in our backyards, we'll take what we can get. Good games are good games, no?

Tags: canada, deathspank, fez, gamasutra, game-development, government-funding, hothead, hothead-games, n

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

SpaceFox @ Aug 9th 2009 7:36PM

I've only heard of N+. This is the first I hear about Deathspank. Canada GAVE a half million dollars to develop it!?

Sly @ Aug 9th 2009 8:52PM

N+ is so awesome.

Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC Vice President and PR of Wiizers Sweatshop Inc.) @ Aug 9th 2009 9:55PM

N+ for the xbox live arcade was so broken.It could erase your progress
*snaps just like that and I never knew if it was ever fixed and the online CO-OP mode was super laggy.

fco. @ Aug 10th 2009 10:17AM

"Canada GAVE a half million dollars to develop it!?"

It's Ron Gilbert's new game, man! I would have given him twice that, if I had it.

nemesis135n @ Aug 9th 2009 7:38PM

Oh Canada. Oh Canada. I love thee games by thee.

[tre, loquacious lover of long names and anti-activision ambassador that likes alliteration)] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Aug 9th 2009 7:39PM

Is this why Ubisoft Montreal makes such big-budget games? If so, I'm moving there if I get a job in games.

Snowblind @ Aug 10th 2009 6:46AM

Try Dundee in Scotland. There's a lot of big developers there and they seem desperate to get anyone, particularly artists and coders.

Chichok @ Aug 9th 2009 7:42PM

See! We knew all along! Blame Canada!

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Aug 9th 2009 7:59PM

Quoting somewhat funny cartoon shows is always the best way to come off as "clever" on the internet.

Have you heard that the bird is the word?
No?
D'oh!

[tre, loquacious lover of long names and anti-activision ambassador that likes alliteration)] [blogs at trespeak.tumblr.com] @ Aug 9th 2009 8:07PM

In other news, Dethklok, the world's best band EVUH, has decided to go to the Devil's house and MELT his FACE OFF.

sony boy @ Aug 9th 2009 7:57PM

Wow, Canada is better than Germany.

Ben @ Aug 9th 2009 9:59PM

Racist.

Mr Mobius - the wandering artist @ Aug 9th 2009 10:39PM

Only racist if it's not true.

Charlie_Six @ Aug 10th 2009 2:35AM

Lots of racist beliefs are based in truth though.

adr525 @ Aug 9th 2009 7:58PM

i don't care what people say, canada rules.

Wardo @ Aug 9th 2009 8:07PM

Who said Canada didn't rule? I'll find them, and break them.

From your friendly neighborhood Canadian. ;)

sonicspike41 @ Aug 10th 2009 2:33AM

I've been to Canada. It was okay. Got to see the CN tower, and that was pretty impressive. Also got to spend 3 months shoveling snow from a drive way. That was actually rather fun for some reason.

The one thing I didn't like about Canada was the attitude people kept giving off. Many of the Canadians I met thought they were better than people in the US, and would cite tons of random half-true "facts" to make themselves seem better. In the end I realized the two nations share most of the same problems. The difference seemed to be mostly just the judicial/financial stuff.

Charlie_Six @ Aug 10th 2009 2:42AM

Canada does not have many Latinos or Blacks, like America does. They have much higher crime rates than other groups, and stuff like this ultimately makes white people more conservative. I don't think it makes sense to compare Canada to America when the demographics of the two nations are so different.

sonicspike41 @ Aug 10th 2009 4:20AM

I was staying in the "boonies" of Ontario, Richmond Hill. Everytime I talked about going to Toronto or sight seeing the family I was with warned me about how bad the crime rates were, what colors I should/shouldn't wear, what areas of town to avoid, etc. To hear them tell it gangs were all over the place just looking for a fight.

I also heard a few complaints about the max sentence, and how people could get smaller sentences (compared to the US) for their crimes then be back out sooner than they would be here.

Finally, one of the friends I knew there was doing a report on the health care system and in her report included something like, "While free health care is a great thing to have, it can have it's prices too. Once when I was waiting in a hospital waiting room I saw a guy bleeding. He had been stabbed and was told to wait his turn because others like me had arrived sooner."

Though I gotta say, being able to buy 3 liters of alcohol at age 19 sure makes for a nice story when you get back home.

Geist @ Aug 10th 2009 9:34AM

"Finally, one of the friends I knew there was doing a report on the health care system and in her report included something like, "While free health care is a great thing to have, it can have it's prices too. Once when I was waiting in a hospital waiting room I saw a guy bleeding. He had been stabbed and was told to wait his turn because others like me had arrived sooner.""

That's a lie, plain and simple. There's a thing called triage, which dictates which people are treated in which order, depending on the seriousness of their wounds, their ability to live after being treated, the urgency of attention required, etc. If there was a stabbed man who was bleeding severely, he would have been one of the first to be treated.

xtremesniper @ Aug 10th 2009 1:43PM

Unfortunately the people who live IN Toronto don't seem to realize just how much worse it is in other places around the World, particularly similarly sized cities in the US. The warnings about crime rates and gangs is not completely unwarrented, but it's also something to take with a grain of salt. The media goes out of their way to scare the crap out of people whenever anything happens in the city. In contrast, half of the stuff reported on as crimes in Toronto wouldn't even make it to a community newspaper in New York City. But people here would never know it.

BlazeKing @ Aug 10th 2009 6:19PM

@Charlie_Six

You do realize that every time you go to Canada you're still in America, Right?
Thte continent is called "North America" no matter how you look at it. The nation
you're trying to refer to is the "United States" of America.

America plays host to:
Canada
United States (the country in the middle of N. America)
Mexico
Brazil
Chile
Ecuador
Puerto Rico
Republic of Dominica

So the misconception that America = USA should die. Better yet, get a globe people.
The United states is NOT America. Even our politicians don't know this.

sonicspike41 @ Aug 11th 2009 2:41AM

@Geist, the actual thing she put in the report wasn't what I quoted word for word, but that is pretty much what she wrote. She was one of those Canadian people I met who swore everything about Canada was in every way better than the US, so I took every negative critique she had about Canada with a bit of seriousness.

Of course I found it hard to believe, but perhaps there were other circumstances at work that day. It may have been a small wound, all the surgeons/doctors were busy with other patients, all the rooms were filled, etc.

I've also heard "Toronto is such a big and amazing place, it's like your Hollywood." Take that as you will...

Shmil @ Aug 9th 2009 7:59PM

Oh Canada.

tmacairjordan87 @ Aug 9th 2009 8:06PM

Well then here's to America's Hat!

*raises glass*

Bob_Blawblaw @ Aug 9th 2009 9:22PM

Here's to Canada's toilet.

tmacairjordan87 @ Aug 10th 2009 1:31AM

That's one expensive toilet, you sure canada can afford it?

mutd1999 @ Aug 10th 2009 4:01PM

Probably not, tmac, but this toliet sucks. All the debt is overflowing! :(

TheKarmaPolice @ Aug 10th 2009 11:32AM

I'll just ask China for a price check

Wardo @ Aug 9th 2009 8:08PM

Makes me proud to live in such a great nation!

I've played N+ and it is truly a great game.

ToadStoolPorridge @ Aug 9th 2009 9:44PM

What part of Canada do you live in? I used to live in B.C.

Wardo @ Aug 9th 2009 10:58PM

I live in Toronto, Ontario. Are you not living in Canada anymore?

alienterrorist @ Aug 9th 2009 11:09PM

I live in Toronto too!

ToadStoolPorridge @ Aug 9th 2009 11:09PM

Nah. I moved a while ago. I loved Canada, though. It was just a really fun place. I was right near Seattle so I could come into the States when I needed to, but taxes over the boarder were crazy sometimes.

Wardo @ Aug 10th 2009 12:35AM

Look at all the Canadian love up in here!

unboring @ Aug 10th 2009 2:13AM

I LIVE IN TORONTO ALSO ? king and dufferin represent

Imaginarythomas @ Aug 10th 2009 9:34AM

Hey toronto buddy!

Emophia @ Aug 10th 2009 9:49AM

I used to live in Alberta, Calgary.

It was a truly great city.

ChronicTC7 @ Aug 9th 2009 8:09PM

woot woot
yeah canada!

Romyion @ Aug 9th 2009 8:22PM

I've only heard of N+, I bought it and haven't touched it in a year. People barely played online which is one of the reasons I bought it and even a year later after the sale online is quiet. Hopefully someone understands me.

freaparn @ Aug 9th 2009 8:24PM

To be fair, Canada hands out grants for pretty much *anything*, so they were bound to get behind a few notable games at some point. They will financially back: dance, inter-arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, writing and publishing. With a properly worded application, you could even get a grant to film your pasty gamer ass sitting on the couch all day, as long as you had some Canadian content (such as, for example, your pasty Canadian gamer ass!) in there somewhere.

Uncontrol @ Aug 9th 2009 8:27PM

yeah fuck this country!! fuck arts!!

Ben @ Aug 9th 2009 8:41PM

Meanwhile they're laying off loads of teachers.

Canada is either run by a 12-year-old, or someone seriously bitter about detention and homework.

Just A Canuk @ Aug 9th 2009 9:00PM

@ Ben

last that i heard, it's the provincial governments that handle education, not the federal governments.

at lest that's what it is K-12.

freaparn @ Aug 9th 2009 9:32PM

@Uncontrol:

Honestly? Yes, fuck a system of grants that has no sensible filtering process or accountability, that allows tens of thousands of liberal arts dropouts to crank out a crappy, incoherent film crewed by family members, cast with people they know from work, produced for a grand sum of $10k and issued a grant for $150k. As an adult and a taxpayer: Fuck those guys. Being a jackass with a dream of not having to work to pay rent on your studio apartment for the next two years does NOT make you an artist. These types are the Canadian equivalent of Uwe Boll, milking a system too large and stupid to regulate itself, like some giant, retarded dinosaur made of money.

That being said... The system needs reform, not eradication. I have no problem with grants being issued to the arts, I just get disgusted by how abused the program is due to the complete lack of quality control and accountability. Frankly I'd like to see more funding for indie game developers.

Ben @ Aug 9th 2009 9:39PM

Canada: relax. Fucking hell, it was a joke.

A friend of mine recently managed to get a job in a private school and was explaining to me that not only was it difficult for him to get a visa to live there, but it was even harder to find a school that was hiring, rather than firing, teachers.

I took this anecdote and combined it with the news that the government is funding video game development. Video games + less teachers = some witty pun that I clearly didn't come up with.