Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[dviddy]

Considering they have bar-connections for minifig clips, I doubt very strongly that they would be rubber. I'm positive they will be the same normal plastic as the rest of the masks and armour.

[Lord-Vorahk]

If they were rubber, then the bar clips would make the jumping function useless anyway.

[ToaofPlasma]

Lewa's miru (the green one) looks like a mix of the Phantoka Miru and the Mata Miru.

Also Pohatu's mask is pretty different as well. All my favorite character's masks look so different!

And one more thing, does anyone else wonder how the heads will work? I love the original and Metru heads! They look like actual bionicle faces instead of weird humanoid transparent heads.

[Clone 01354 Productions]

^The Glatorian heads were weird, transparent Iron Man faces. And I did love the Metru heads, since you were able to change the eye colors. However, Inika had the right idea, with being able to slip over the head.

[ToaofPlasma]

Oh man so many Ideas XD

Does anyone see a new game coming out? (After adding more characters if it's A reboot)To be honest, Ninjago should have a game.

[just2good]

Oh man so many Ideas XD

Does anyone see a new game coming out? (After adding more characters if it's A reboot)To be honest, Ninjago should have a game.

Ninjago has two games. Honestly, I could see them doing a game on Bionicle for the Summer 2015 PS Vita/3DS game spot.

[ToaofPlasma]

^I mean an Xbox/PS game. I've always wanted to make a custom ninja!

[TwistLaw]

Although it has already been said, could we keep MLP out of here?

It bothers me to see that cartoon mentioned in this corner of the Internet, especially if it begins to steal pages to the discussion.

Also, talking about voice actors should be as off topic as talking about a possible vidya.

EDIT: just saw how the whole pony stuff has already been buried. Also, MLP has a fairly ambiguous reputation (if you come from 4chan, like me, you should get it). Transformers and Power Rangers are easier brands to refer to.

Edited September 11, 2014 by TwistLaw

[Aanchir]

EDIT: just saw how the whole pony stuff has already been buried. Also, MLP has a fairly ambiguous reputation (if you come from 4chan, like me, you should get it). Transformers and Power Rangers are easier brands to refer to.

Not for somebody like me who knows next to nothing about either of those TV shows. And I honestly don't think it's pertinent how 4chan has managed to pervert the My Little Pony brand, or any other brand for that matter. It's regrettable, but it doesn't make a lick of sense to hold the cartoon and everyone who likes it accountable for the actions of its more unsavory fans. I've seen some horrendously NSFW BIONICLE art, MOCs, stories, jokes, and memes over the years, but it wouldn't make sense to prohibit BIONICLE references in non-BIONICLE discussions on those grounds, now would it?

I think it'd be great if BIONICLE got a video game of some kind, but I'm not sure what I would like to see. It's been a long time since I did a lot of gaming. A point-and-click adventure game like the MNOG would be quite fun, especially if it were designed for mobile devices. Many of the games I enjoy nowadays (specifically the Ace Attorney and Professor Layton games) fit into that genre. But I think how well that could work depends heavily on the story direction — a lot of the Mata Nui Online Game's charm came from the fact that you were seeing the world from a Matoran's perspective. The role of an action hero is not as well-suited to this genre, in my personal opinion.

I would probably have little to no interest in a BIONICLE MMO, and I don't know how smart it would be to make one anyway, given how prone MMOs are to failing. But some of my friends enjoy MMOs, and if a BIONICLE MMO of sufficient quality were released they might be able to rope me into playing it, provided it's free.

I enjoyed the Hero Factory Breakout game (particularly the online version), and it would be great if another game of that caliber were released for the new BIONICLE, but I don't know if it'd be a great fit for what I want in a BIONICLE game. It might be hard to work a lot of storytelling and characterization into such a game.

[ToaofPlasma]

Although it has already been said, could we keep MLP out of here?

It bothers me to see that cartoon mentioned in this corner of the Internet, especially if it begins to steal pages to the discussion.

Also, talking about voice actors should be as off topic as talking about a possible vidya.

EDIT: just saw how the whole pony stuff has already been buried. Also, MLP has a fairly ambiguous reputation (if you come from 4chan, like me, you should get it). Transformers and Power Rangers are easier brands to refer to.

Ok then, do you guys think the other elements will be more important in the story like,

Plasma(Duh)

Psionics

Iron

Etc.

It's like they left out all of the cool elements!

[Chro]

I don't think they will.

That doesn't mean it wouldn't be interesting to see them.

[Aanchir]

I'd kind of prefer the story to avoid some of those. Iron and Lightning are OK, but a lot of the weirder ones like Psionics, Magnetism, and Plasma just don't feel like traditional elements to me.

[Chro]

I would like to see a dichotomy of the tribal / primitive and the advanced / futuristic in Bionicle. I understand that the main point involved the two being interconnected, but I always thought that the contrast of Mata Nui and Metru Nui was really cool, and I'd like to see that expanded upon somehow. Maybe "classical elements" for the tribal Toa, and the other "weirder ones" (thanks Aanchir) such as psionics, gravity, etc. in a more futuristic setting.

Again, I think that it is unlikely for this to appear in the upcoming sets / story, but it would be very cool if it did.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Chro

[Jetrax99]

To be honest, I think an MMO for BIONICLE would be amazing, just long as they add new things on a regular basis, avoid situations that require grinding and keep out the microtransactions.

They also need to add character creation.

[Still Raindrop]

As far as games go, I'd love to see something similar to the MNOLG as far as the thought goes, and I'd like to see it either online for free or for smartphone (or both). That seems to be the way to go if you're looking to make an awareness-raising game. I'd play it on these platforms, but I don't own any consoles, and wouldn't buy them just to play a Bionicle game.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Mariko

[ToaofPlasma]

I have so many questions!

Do you think the Protectors/Defenders will be Good or Bad?

How much do you think mask packs will be and how many masks per bag?

If there are any that is...

[SneakySqeaky]

I'd kind of prefer the story to avoid some of those. Iron and Lightning are OK, but a lot of the weirder ones like Psionics, Magnetism, and Plasma just don't feel like traditional elements to me.

Agreed I never liked that these were considered "elements" and not just sub powers. But then again they stretched out Earth to be earth and stone, and water to be water and ice, so its not like they're following traditional elements. But never cared for all these "Toa of this that and the other" that came along later. It made things way more convoluted and confusing in my opinion. I say good riddance to it all. Give us our straight 6 elements, light and shadow(if they wanna bother) and leave it at that. Those other abilities I think are fine, but they should be sub powers, that way the whole tribe thing doesn't get so confusing.

[Lind Whisperer]

To be honest, I think an MMO for BIONICLE would be amazing, just long as they add new things on a regular basis, avoid situations that require grinding and keep out the microtransactions.

They also need to add character creation.

I'm afraid grinding is sort of a necessity for any MMO - it's how you keep non-dedicated players playing. And when it comes to micro-transactions, annoying as they can be, if they had been included in LU, we might very well still be playing it*.

*Also if the whole moderation system had been re-worked. I get what they were trying to do, but it wasn't until the very last month that any in-game appearances by a Mythran were common. And the chat system blocking numbers was not really very preventative. I get that it was so that people wouldn't give out their phone numbers, but it really froze up trading. And, with the slang number language we made up to facilitate trading, the number blocking became even more of a good idea that didn't quite work.

[SneakySqeaky]

Story wise. I'd like to see them simply try again really. Go back over the story and learn from the mistakes of the previous try. Keep things a little simpler, plan out your story arc well in advance like Avatar(Hey look a non MLP comparison), and not just make it up as you're going along like Greg did. I really hope we get to see Metru Nui again because that was my favorite part to. And just because its established doesn't mean it can't go back to the primative feel like Chro suggested. Just look at Voya Nui, it was sort of industrialized, but also still somewhat premitive. And I really hope they don't do that whole "Universe inside of Mata Nui" thing again either, that was a load of rubbish. I hope the amount of absurd ideas like that are done away with.

[Clone 01354 Productions]

I would like to see a dichotomy of the tribal / primitive and the advanced / futuristic in Bionicle. I understand that the main point involved the two being interconnected, but I always thought that the contrast of Mata Nui and Metru Nui was really cool, and I'd like to see that expanded upon somehow. Maybe "classical elements" for the tribal Toa, and the other "weirder ones" (thanks Aanchir) such as psionics, gravity, etc. in a more futuristic setting.

Again, I think that it is unlikely for this to appear in the upcoming sets / story, but it would be very cool if it did.

I actually love that idea; it can really work out. Basic life=basic powers, and more civilized life and advanced settings means more advanced powers.

[Xeros610]

Well I see Lewa's mask somewhat reminiscent as the original Miru:

Something like this_{-just noticed the black spike on it's head is part of the mask in the golden one, just lighting magic on the green one i think... but i have no more time for editing so just to clarify-}

Anyway, I hadn't noticed the double C bones on Lewa here or here, because it has his shoulders above the head, or at least at the same height (sort of)

maybe the "hair" you have seen is actually the backpack-like thing he seems to have on the back... or the double C bones (maybe it's just my imagination...combined with the night)

_{-(I think this has been told before, but I don't remember quite well)-}

_{-I am saying this because Lewa is one of my favourite Toas, and the hair was a weird idea, also I have noticed some of you were also intrigued so I passed some time seeing it ... and because i wanted to make a representation of this Lewa-}

Edited September 11, 2014 by Xeros610

[CabooseBM]

Little late for the voice actor/actress discussion, but my ideal selection, especially since character gender hasn't been stated yet, though it could be assumed(*Crosses fingers*), but I'm posting what I want to see anyway and actually deciding was HARD WORK MAN:

Onua: Estelle -- ala Garnet of Steven Universe, her voice is GREAT for quiet, but powerful and wise characters.

Lewa: Jake T. Austin -- I liked his voice in Khumba, young but not "modern main protagonist", can be both light hearted and serious.

Tahu: Sumalee Montano -- Really gets that "firey and angry" voice down well.

Kopaka: Steve Blum -- ala Heatwave of Rescue Bots, also angry but with that gruff loner edge

Gali: Nicole Oliver -- A slightly toned down version of her "Princess Celestia" would work perfect, less "God-Princess" and more "Heroic-Caretaker".

Pohatu: Khary Payton -- Booyah! His "Cyborg" is a pretty good fit for Pohatu, often silly and immature but also can be the heart of the team.

Lord of the Skull Spiders: Alec Willows -- He's already voiced an evil giant spider that controls a bunch of little ones: Tarantulas, and that voice would make for a pretty great starter villain voice.

Defenders: ??? -- Don't have a feel for them as characters so I'm going to skip this.

And the most important part: Susan Blu as voice director. You can have a thousand golden voices and it can all fall apart without a good voice director, and Susan Blu has yet to let me down.

Edited September 11, 2014 by CabooseBM

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Story wise. I'd like to see them simply try again really. Go back over the story and learn from the mistakes of the previous try. Keep things a little simpler, plan out your story arc well in advance like Avatar(Hey look a non MLP comparison), and not just make it up as you're going along like Greg did.

Greg didn't plan the main story. The main story was plotted out by the story team. Greg's remark about "making it up as I go along" primarily referred to the serials, since he had virtually free-rein over the directions they took. Indeed, it seems to me that most of the major criticisms of his work are aimed at the serials. I suspect that if Bionicle Story.com had never existed, he would be more fondly remembered in certain sections of Bionicle fandom.

And I really hope they don't do that whole "Universe inside of Mata Nui" thing again either, that was a load of rubbish.

What did you dislike about it? I thought it was rather in keeping with Mata Nui as a giant robot and the Bionicles as his micro-fauna.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Quisoves Pugnat

[Clone 01354 Productions]

^Yeah, I love the whole "We live inside of a robot?" twist. We had always thought that they were just living on an island, and they were going to reawaken a spirit, not a 20 mile tall robot. It was so unexpected, and really, that is what they story needed at that point.

Also, ^^CabooseBM, are you serious about Onua being female? Yeah, and while they're at it, Lego will make Tahu Toa of Ice. Certain things were established by the original continuity, and basic things like gender need to be kept. I mean, do you want to see a really strong, muscular lady, rather than the elegant Gali?

Sidenote: I always thought that Lewa was a girl, until I re-watched MoL a few months ago. I have no clue how I missed that......

[Dorek]

We going back to the gender thing again? I'm okay with some gender swaps in the new continuity (again, assuming it is, but it totally is). Why not, y'know?

I liked the Mata Nui reveal as much as the next guy, but repeating it isn't doing anybody any favors.

Greg didn't plan the main story. The main story was plotted out by the story team. Greg's remark about "making it up as I go along" primarily referred to the serials, since he had virtually free-rein over the directions they took. Indeed, it seems to me that most of the major criticisms of his work are aimed at the serials. I suspect that if Bionicle Story.com had never existed, he would be more fondly remembered in certain sections of Bionicle fandom.

Even the serials were pretty well liked, at least initially; the fixed bi-weekly schedule was a godsend in that regard. They did tend to ramble as they went on (and ultimately were left unfinished...), but I'd think a lot of the criticism also had to do with his occasionally haphazard answers in the OGD, as well =P.