Dread (by Epidiah Ravachol), uses a similar character creation mechanic to help players immediately identify with their characters. It this case they fill out a questionaire about their characters that help them uncover their motives and secrets. It works particularly well for Con games or one-shots where you want to engage your players quickly (much like your Backstory mechanic).

Here’s a link to Dread on Indie Press Revolution:
http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/products.php?publisherLink=impossibleDream

And here’s a review:
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11974.phtml

Thanks for the great show.