Before I saw Here Comes Dr. Tran and Roybertito's 60-Second Short at Spike and Mike's animation festival at Nerd Prom (alias San Diego Comic Con) last year, I thought the old convention of people literally clutching each other while laughing was made-up.

It seemed like something that just got started in comics and cartoons and went from there. I have't been so wrong about basic human behavior since I tried to pay that truck stop whore to squeegee my 18-wheeler. Not only was I clutching the poor guy sitting next to me in that darkened auditorium while I laughed like a nitroused jackdaw, it was getting hard to see the screen or hear anything because I was tearing up and the crowd was in similar hysterics.

Roybertito's 60-Second Short is the funniest few minutes of cinema I have ever seen, and Here Comes Dr. Tran is the second funniest.

Now I'm going to blow your minds by relating this seemingly endless anecdote to gaming. The new PSP Warioware-like puzzle game, Work Time Fun (WTF for short) features a brutally obvious little Tran on the cover.

From the sideparted black hair, to the teeth, to the screaming, to the very obvious insecurity in both wee Vietnamese, the similarity is jarring. I emailed Breehn Burns, accomplished cartoonist and animator as well as Tran's creator, but as of press time haven't heard back. Thanks to Tara for the tip. Eliza "great, now I want Ph " Gauger

Lone Sausage, Breehn Burns' production company
Work Time Fun [Playstation.com]