Red vs Blue

(note: these videos contain some foul language, if you care about that sort of thing.)
http://redvsblue.com/archive/?id=58
http://redvsblue.com/archive/?id=62

YOUR TOAST HAS BEEN BURNED, AND NO AMOUNT OF SCRAPING WILL REMOVE THE BLACK PARTS!

Red vs Blue has for a long time been one of the most well known and well-received machinima on the internet. It uses the Halo multiplayer mode to record character motions which are then dubbed over by human actors. The popularity of the series has inspired many imitators, and the developers at Bungie (the company behind Halo) have even implemented certain things into later Halo games with Red vs Blue in mind.

But why did it catch on? Well, RvB started off as a comedy series with a unique delivery (the Halo engine) and effective jokes about Halo, about its characters, and about people. These two aspects combined to create a small internet boom as the video spread virally among fans of the game, who themselves were numerous. People who played Halo were able to identify with the characters because the series was filmed by playing the game, which meant that the characters were almost players themselves. People who didn't play Halo were able to identify with them simply because they were very funny.

As both viewers and creators grew more and more attached to the characters, the series began to develop a stronger storyline, while retaining the comedy that had made it popular in the first place, allowing it to draw in more people while retaining old viewers. With the release of each new Halo game, the creators had more and more opportunities to make better and better videos, to the point where they now have almost a cinematic quality. With Halo 3's introduction of the ability to record footage from a multiplayer battle and view it from different angles, the crew were able to create scenes beyond the limits of their previously-used "cameraman" character and make good-looking slow-motion scenes, cinematic camera angles, etc. While some old fans were turned off by this aspect (I myself find the 3rd season to be the best balance between comedy, plot, and showiness), the sheer spectacle it provides is really eye-opening as to how powerful a vehicle for video production machinima can be.

Red vs. Blue is a pioneering machinima production that continually pushes the boundaries of the game engine that supports it and shows how effectively a game engine can be used to create relatively high-quality cinematic media for a low budget (basically just a console, a game, some microphones, and a computer). It's definitely worth checking out.