News Flash: Family Guy's MacFarlane funny in person

I was at the 2008 Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts - the Elans - last night. Last year's affair was hosted by William Shatner. This year we were treated to Seth MacFarlane, creator and writer of Family Guy (he also performs many of the voices for the show, including Peter, Stewie, and Brian).

MacFarlane launched into a 30-minute monologue to open the show, and he proved to be as funny a stand-up as he is as an animated satirical television show writer.

Riffing on how Canada is different from the United States - "everything that we do wrong, Canada does right" - MacFarlane also demonstrated that he is not afraid to push a few buttons. Not that that is a surprise to anyone who's a fan of his show. He joked about Heath Ledger, AIDS, and Jesus Christ ("it's time for America to invent a new imaginary friend").

He's clearly taken with our country, though, saying that he's from Hollywood, the land of movie making, but it was nice to be in Vancouver where they actually make the movies. He also said that his asking price for hosting the show was $100,000, which was only about 400 Canadian dollars.

What I didn't know about MacFarlane was how talented an impersonator he is. Given his ability as a voice actor, it doesn't come as a complete surprise, but his Michael J. Fox, circa Back to the Future, was uncanny. He's a passable Bryan Adams, Bill Cosby, and Bob Hope, too.

How about that exclusive?

I had the chance to interview MacFarlane before the show began. I asked him why he used his own voice for the character of Brian, the dog in Family Guy. He said that originally, it was because it was the most opposite to the voice he had come up with for Peter. "There's always a character, from a writing standpoint," he continued, "that you kind of model after yourself in a lot of ways, and Brian is probably the closest."

So Brian, then, is Seth. As an animated dog.

As for the pointing monkey in Chris' closet? "It's an easy way out of a scene," he said.

I finished my three-minute interview by asking him how his broadway musical was coming along. "It's still on the drawing board," he said. And the novel? "The novel is non-existent, I don't know who you've been talking to."

I'm not sure it was in the script, but MacFarlane ended his opening monologue with the bit where Stewie is making fun of Brian's attempt to be a novelist.

The awards went to . . .

In terms of the awards handed out to Canadian-made video games, BioWare's Mass Effect was the big winner, snaking best character, best writing, best art direction, best game design, and game of the year.

Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes took the prizes for outstanding innovation in gaming and best PC game, Slant Six's SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Tactical Strike took best handheld game of the year, and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed was awarded best console game and best original music score.

The end of it all

MacFarlane ended the show with a song and dance number. In the 100th episode of Family Guy, "Stewie Kills Lois," the writers and producers planned a musical number in which
Stewie, when he's President of the United States, sings about everyone who is on his "list," and who, therefore, had better watch out. The bit was cut at the last minute to get the episode down to time, and will end up as a special feature on an upcoming DVD release, but last night MacFarlane performed it live.

The video screen projected the fully-animated scene, and the soundtrack was missing Stewie's voice track, so MacFarlane - as Stewie - sang along with the video.

A priceless end to an amazing performance by MacFarlane and all the award nominees and winners.

These Canadian developed games kick ass

Talented Canadians always make me proud. Feist is a breakout pop success. Sidney Crosby is a phenomenon and an ambassador for the game of hockey. Sarah Polley and David Cronenberg are the toast of moviedom. And in the realm of video games, too, Canadians are being heralded for their creative works.

The developers at Vancouver’s Next Level Games brought Mario’s soccer franchise to the Nintendo Wii, and with Mario Strikers Charged (rated everyone 10+), they’ve ratcheted up the intensity. At its core is soccer, so you dribble, pass, and shoot the ball in your attempts to score in your opponents’ goal.

But this is a Mario game, too, so there are supercharged moves and powerups that give your matches some added excitement. You get to create your own team of four—a captain and three sidekicks—and you can play against a friend or the Wii itself. You use the position-sensing Wii Remote, but not nearly as much as you might think. For the most part, you rely on the buttons and the thumbstick.

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike (rated teen) was created by Vancouver’s Slant Six Games. This edition of Sony Computer Entertainment’s SOCOM series is a fresh take on playing as a Navy SEAL. To begin with, you don’t control your squad; as the commander, you direct the actions of your three squad members, telling them where to go and what to do, but you don’t actually move them or pull the trigger.

While demonstrating the game for the Georgia Straight, Slant Six’s design director, David Seymour, explained that “The reason this is a great game is that this is not twitch gameplay. You get all the good stuff, but with a refined interface.” He’s right. Because the game was created for the PSP and not ported from a different system, the control scheme is innovative and quick to pick up.

Created by Torontonian Jonathan Mak, Everyday Shooter (rated everyone) is a delightful twist on the Asteroids-inspired games in which you use one joystick to control a ship and another to control firing. What Mak did was create a game where not only are no two levels alike, but playing it is—get this—soothing. This is largely because of the game’s true genius: its soundtrack. Instead of using sound effects of explosions and firing lasers, Mak uses guitar riffs, so as you move your ship from one location to another on the screen, you hear notes being played on an electric guitar. And when you destroy a fleet of enemy ships, you hear complementary guitar sounds. Put it all together, and you get a smooth, harmonizing solo-guitar soundtrack that you create by playing the game. Which begs the question: do guitars make a sound in outer space? Everyday Shooter is available from Sony Computer Entertainment for the PS3, through the PlayStation Network.

All of this Canadian video-game talent will be officially recognized at the second annual Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts—the Elans—at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts on February 15. Last year’s emcee was William Shatner; this year, organizers have confirmed Seth MacFarlane—creator, writer, and star of Family Guy—as host. If you want to go, a limited number of tickets are available to the public through www.theelans.com.

[originally published in the Georgia Straight]

Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts

Wow, it's like the week of award nomination announcements.

The Elan Awards - the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts - announced the various shortlists this morning in Vancouver.

The event, which will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane (creator, writer, and star of Family Guy), is on February 15 in Vancouver. Tickets are available to the public.

These awards actually recognize animation and video games, which means the list is loooong. You can get the entire list over here, but here's the list of video game nominees:

Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed
Company of Heroes: Opposing Forces
Mass Effect
Skate

Best Console Game
Assassin’s Creed
Mass Effect
Scarface
Skate

Best PC Game
Company of Heroes
War Hammer 40,000 Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
Power Rangers: Super Legends

Best Sound Design
Crash of the Titans
Need for Speed ProStreet
Skate
Mass Effect

Best Original Music Score
Assasins Creed
Mass Effect
Company of Heroes
War Hammer 40,000 Dawn of War: Dark Crusade

Best Character
Commander Shepard (Mass Effect)
Crash Bandicoot (Crash of the Titans)
Death Jr. (Science Fair of Doom)
Tony Montana (Scarface)

Best Art Direction
Assassin’s Creed
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
Mass Effect
Skate

Best Handheld Game of the Year
Chicken Little: Ace in Action
High School Musical Sing It
Socom U.S. Navy Seals: Tactical Strike
Sonic Rivals

Best Game Design of the Year
Assassins Creed
Mario Strikers Charged
Mass Effect
Skate

Best Mobile/Casual/Arcade Game of the Year
Skate
Candace Kane's Candy Factory

Best Writing for a Game Production
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes: Opposing Forces
Mass Effect
Scarface

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
Mass Effect
Skate
War Hammer 40,000 Dawn of War: Dark Crusade

International Video Game of the Year
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Crysis

'Family Guy' creator to host Canadian game awards show

Seth MacFarlane, creator and star of Family Guy, has been named as host of the second annual Elan Awards.

The Elans are the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts. Last year, the inaugural event, William Shatner hosted the festivities.

Honouring the talent behind the video game and animation industries in Canada, and also the students who are working for a career in those industries, the second Elans are being held on February 15, 2008 at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts.

Unlike many awards programs, the public are allowed to attend the Elans. The ticket price isn't cheap - $250 a seat for general admission and $100 for student seats - but for those of you who have some disposable income and a desire to see MacFarlane in person, secure your seats here.

Asked what he thinks about hosting the event, MacFarlane said, "I am extremely excited to be hosting the 2nd Annual Elan Awards. I am, of course, heavily involved in animation, and gaming seems to be the wave of the future. But most of all, I’m excited to purchase inexpensive prescription drugs and smuggle them back into the United States."

Just a taste, I think, of what to expect on Feb. 15.

Anyone out there planning to attend?