Bboy Joker - smartest use of YouTube yet?

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The amazing stop motion, set design (all green screen), music, lighting, reflections, and shadows make this "video" captivating from the start, but about 20 seconds in you realize that Bboy Joker is not only a bad-ass video idea but also an online advertiser's wet dream. It doesn't take long for your mind to start reeling with other ideas for great applications of the interactive video concept.

In addition to being extremely well-executed, creative, and fun to play, it's pretty incredible to think about how well this game lends itself to a platform like YouTube. Each individual visitor is almost guaranteed to generate several impressions, and the level of engagement is high. The game squarely hits a specific target audience (in this case, Batman and/or break fans) while still offering enough mainstream appeal to reach almost anyone. Using high profile characters like comic book heroes positions the game incredibly well for upsell opportunities from related companies.

You can also view The Making of Bboy Joker, which succinctly depicts the execution of the project - including Batman's prosthetic hip replacement. Patrick Boivin, the developer, has also created YouTube games for Street Fighter and Iron Man vs. Bruce Lee, as well as an interactive video for Iggy Pop's "King of the Dogs".

Given the inherit limitations of YouTube, the arcade game format may not be the best long-term application of the interactive video concept. For me personally, it's mostly the breakdancing that keeps Bboy Joker interesting after the first few plays, and without being exceptionally clever with the choice of subject matter, the novelty of the YouTube video game will quickly wear off. But the interactive music video (or story-telling) concept, while it may initially seem to lack the same mass appeal, can be taken in so many directions that I'm surprised we're just now seeing it.

At the very least, it's a new millennium, visually dope Choose Your Own Adventure. And if it also makes a little ad revenue in the process, you can't be mad at that.