[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's daily link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.]

Totally triumphant in its return to the week is GameSetLinks, even if its sentence structure is all jacked up, and we're starting out with a gloriously random set of links, including a great example of why 1UP's new Retro Blog is carefully constructed to care about gaming's past. Bravo, chaps.

Also in here - more Ruffian/Crackdown 2 quizzical looks, a discussing of Russian gaming, thoughts about the horridness of crowdsourcing in animation and how it may or may not work here (no comments on which extreme Top Secret is proving), Offworld's super-dreamy IGF guide, pinball snowboarding crossover weirdness, and more.

Houdini can do it:

Ruffian Games — Your Friendly Neighbourhood Development Company - Profile page
New official site for this company - really quite a lot of people who worked on Crackdown, hmm? We'll see if that rumor is true in due course, most likely.

Gaming In The Russian Cosmos, Part 1 | Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Excellent piece on the Russian PC scene - it just appeared in PC Gamer U.S., a good few months after the UK appearance, curiously.

1UP's Retro Gaming Blog : Heart on Fire: Key Moments in the 16-Bit Era - #01
The Parish/Barnholt combo on 1UP's Retro Blog is starting to look really good and thoughtful on gaming history - excellent.

The LA Times on the Future of Animation Production | Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation
Ex-Sony exec Yair Landau tries a crowdsourced animation business model. Complaints ensue - and game types should think about it carefully.

The Offworld Guide to the 2009 Independent Games Festival - Offworld
IGF judge and Offworld dude Brandon Boyer does a great job of rounding up some notable finalists.

ASCII by Jason Scott / PinPin, Or The Fun Injection
Wow, a joint pinball and snowboarding documentary series? Mind blown.