Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Lord Oblivion]

Just for clarification's sake, the picture is:

1. A picture of a picture.

2. Folded, you can tell that paper has been folded both horizontally and vertically (although not perpendicular to the edges of the paper).

3. Of MUCH better graphic designs compared to the joke one that was shown.

4. Following the designs of these already released displays.

5. Not an "official" leak, so you cannot judge it based on quality alone, when other leaks by retailers are final products that have actually been produced to some degree.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Lord Oblivion

[Zenerius]

Anyone could put a blacked out Sonic and Samus on a box.

Can't forget the Cage.

Regardless of if this image is photoshopped or not, it still looks strikingly similar to previous prelims of box stands. And we know that there is a very good chance of this being real, considering LEGO has actually been trying to eradicate the images off of Flickr and Tumblr. I'm not saying that these could not have been photoshopped, just simply stating that it isn't likely.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Zenerius

[Bfahome]

Dorek's little example is easy.

Anyone could put a blacked out Sonic and Samus on a box.

Then what's the "hard" part? Building a spider thing and taking blurry pictures of it?

[DraikNova]

A possible explanation for the Avsa: could it have been used as a stand-in for an unfinished mask design?

[Aanchir]

Then what's the "hard" part? Building a spider thing and taking blurry pictures of it?

Correction: building lots of different things, taking pictures of them, and posing and arranging them in ways that look like real product images and key visuals.

It's not that this is impossible. But the BIONICLE community has never had a hoax of this magnitude. The most we've ever had are people who put a blur filter and a caption on already crappy-looking MOCs and pretend a retailer let them look at and photograph them. Never a whole display designed by somebody who then crafted an elaborate story behind how they got to see the images. Does anyone legitimately think that those idiotic fake 2008 set "leaks" somebody mentioned in either this or another thread took more effort than this?

Even people who create BIONICLE MOCs for LEGO Ideas or to post in BIONICLE fan communities rarely go to such lengths for posing and presentation, especially when most of the details will be blurred out anyway and only the poses and layouts will be discernable. Most MOCists use fairly neutral poses and compositions for their MOC images compared to this — not a figure lava-surfing, or a figure reaching out for a floating mask, or any of that sort of thing. Incidentally, so do most people who have deliberately tried to fool BIONICLE fans with fake "leaks".

If this does turn out to be a hoax, then I anxiously look forward to the grand reveal so we can hear the story of just how this was planned and see details of the MOC photos used for the display. But frankly, I think it's unrealistic that after four years of absolute silence a group of trolls or pranksters within an already-ailing community would get organized for a hoax this elaborate. If this is a hoax, it's clear to me that several people are in on it, considering that the people allegedly responsible for spreading the image and then attempting to cover it up are known to be different from the person who initially leaked the image.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Aanchir

[Leewan]

Can't forget the Cage.

Man, that would be an awesome story : Tahu goes on a quest to find the most powerful Kanohi ever to defeat the Great Beings who want to destroy MU's inhabitants : the dreadful Kanohi Cage.

More seriously, the fact that it was photoshopped doesn't necessarily means that it's a fake. It can be an early and quickly made version of a prototype display, just to show how it would look like.

[Chro]

It does look photoshopped, regardless of how real or not it is. The perspective looks weird and it overall just seems flat.

Not sure if this helps, but it's a picture of a picture on a piece of paper that came out of a printer that ran out of colored ink

[Bfahome]

Even people who create BIONICLE MOCs for LEGO Ideas or to post in BIONICLE fan communities rarely go to such lengths for posing and presentation, especially when most of the details will be blurred out anyway and only the poses and layouts will be discernable.

Well that's the thing. The image is so small and blurred that you wouldn't really need highly detailed graphics in the first place. The downfall of most of the previous fakes was that they were much clearer, so it was easy to see how much of a hodgepodge they were. All we can really see here are general outlines and shapes, with pareidolia taking over to make something a Hau or Avsa.

Personally I'm remaining neutral until something official, or at least more concrete, is released. But saying that there's no way these could be photoshopped, or that it would take some herculean effort, is wrong. Even the rest of the display pictures have the same weird "flat" look, since they're probably not photos of real display stands, just mock-ups. Chances are, real or not, they're the product of someone's labors in an image editing program.

[exxtrooper]

I've posted this on other sites, but this is related nonetheless:

Though all jokes and witty-ness aside I am really excited for this, while we can't be completely certain, I do enjoy seeing every single bionicle-related community forum, imageboard and alike suddenly blowing up like this.

Like Aanchir has mentioned, I can't recall any lego community for that matter ever being hit by a leak of THIS magnitude. 

The handful of people who do know the truth I do respect the decision and willpower it takes to not freely make anything "worse" for the sake of TLG, and even slightly contributing to the discussion.

The entire lego community pretty much turned into one M. Night Shyamalan movie over night, the happening itself is actually quite interesting.

On 7/3/2014 at 10:45 PM, Aanchir said:

Thanks for that insight. Unless somebody went to great lengths to game the system (or our friend Exxtrooper is part of the hoax and very, very good at fooling us all), that makes these images sound pretty legitimate.

Though clearly not the case, I'm gonna take that as a compliment.

For the record, I'm not that clever, and have a too big mouth to have ever been a part of something sneaky.

Edited February 12, 2019 by exxtrooper

[SmoothJazz]

This is a more elaborate prank than I've ever seen in this fandom...

-"Separately" is spelled wrong, written as "Seperately"

In the context of Aanchir's recent post, even the misspelling seems to imply that this is real. Just consider all of the reasons he listed in the post; a hoax of this quality would require immense planning and execution. I highly doubt that someone making such an elaborate hoax would fail to notice such a misspelling after putting so much thought into other aspects.

[Zenerius]

Does anybody know anything about Lego "recruiting" Bionicle community members for some sort of project or work related to their site? It could very well be connected to this.

EDIT: Nice catch SmoothJazz! You are right; the fact that the word is misspelled might actually add to the realism of this. If this were fabricated and so much effort was put into one little image, then surely they would make it seem as authentic and professional as possible. Maybe the word is misspelled due to some translation error or likely just a typo.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Zenerius

[Master_Data]

Another problem: when did Tahu gain a fifth finger? I know they created a new mold, but this is something to consider.

And another: If the spider is a Visorak, why does it have six legs?

If you look at the photos, it seems like there is a Kanohi and weird spider-like thing (does not look like a visorak) included in the sets we can see clearly. It completely follows the HF line over the past 2 years- include the main character and a smaller one to create a conflict. They've done brains and the creatures from this year's line-up, so it seems logical that it would continue on.

@Vinyl Scratch: That is exactly my point. Tahu is supposed to have a normal Hau and the picture has a Hau Nuva, which creates a problem. If this is real, Greg Farshtey will explain all of this to us; if not, these are reasons it could be fake.

Does anybody know anything about Lego "recruiting" Bionicle community members for some sort of project or work? It could very well be connected to this.

EDIT: Nice catch SmoothJazz! You are right; the fact that the word is misspelled actually may add to the realism of this. If this were fabricated and so much effort was put into one little image, then surely they would make it seem as authentic and professional as possible. Maybe the word is misspelled due to some translation error or likely just a typo.

Not aware of any. It would be productive for some BZP members who have some access to Greg Farshtey to ask him and see what he says.

[Zenerius]

Time for my updated list of evidence! At this point, I feel like a detective investigating a murder case.

Real:

-Originally came from a source known for releasing authentic preliminary sets

-Multiple sources had the image and revealed it around the same time

-Source could potentially lose job for leaking

-Images surfaced around the time of the "Leak Season"

-Images seem authentic, and looks similar to other preliminary sets

-Asger Johansen mentioning a new theme for 2015

-Lego attempting to take down images on sites such as Tumblr and Flickr (according to Exxtrooper)

-"Separately" spelled wrong, could be a typo or translation error*

Fake:

-Images surfaced unexpectedly and out of nowhere

-Not very difficult to photoshop

-Boxing plans image is very sketchy and unrecognizable

-No confidential watermark

-Most sources remove photo due to "problems" with Lego

*Could be considered as both fake and real supporting evidence

[Jetrax99]

Another problem: when did Tahu gain a fifth finger? I know they created a new mold, but this is something to consider.

And another: If the spider is a Visorak, why does it have six legs?

If you look at the photos, it seems like there is a Kanohi and weird spider-like thing (does not look like a visorak) included in the sets we can see clearly. It completely follows the HF line over the past 2 years- include the main character and a smaller one to create a conflict. They've done brains and the creatures from this year's line-up, so it seems logical that it would continue on.

@Vinyl Scratch: That is exactly my point. Tahu is supposed to have a normal Hau and the picture has a Hau Nuva, which creates a problem. If this is real, Greg Farshtey will explain all of this to us; if not, these are reasons it could be fake.

Not aware of any. It would be productive for some BZP members who have some access to Greg Farshtey to ask him and see what he says.

1. They all had 5 fingers in the movies (MoL-WoS) so that isnt a problem.

2. All Visorak are dead.

3. Most likely just a redesigned Hau, not the Hau Nuva.

[Zenerius]

Another problem: when did Tahu gain a fifth finger?

I'd like to ask the same question about the Stars, when Tahu gained a third and fourth finger

And another: If the spider is a Visorak, why does it have six legs?

It probably isn't a Visorak but a spider-like rahi. You know, like a mutant Fikou spider. That would be pretty cool!

EDIT: Dangit Jetrax99, you ninja'd me.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Zenerius

[Master_Data]

1. They all had 5 fingers in the movies (MoL-WoS) so that isnt a problem.

2. All Visorak are dead.

3. Most likely just a redesigned Hau, not the Hau Nuva.

When did they all die? Makuta sent them to fix some of the damage Mata Nui unleashed on his body during their fight. The Mahri didn't manage to nab them all. Are you saying that they all died when Makuta died?

It probably isn't a Visorak but a spider-like rahi. You know, like a mutant Fikou spider. That would be pretty cool!

EDIT: Dangit Jetrax99, you ninja'd me.

That would definitely be awesome. However, it looks like these sets are rehashes of previous sets (Tahu, Takanuva, someone thought they saw Gresh).

[Jetrax99]

When did they all die? Makuta sent them to fix some of the damage Mata Nui unleashed on his body during their fight. The Mahri didn't manage to nab them all. Are you saying that they all died when Makuta died?

That would definitely be awesome. However, it looks like these sets are rehashes of previous sets (Tahu, Takanuva, someone thought they saw Gresh).

I'm sure I read somewhere that they were all dead. Could be wrong.

Yup. I was wrong. Maybe. BS01 says they were "wiped out to extinction" and that they "became a wild species and migrated to Spherus Magna". Still, definitely not Visorak.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Jetrax99

[Zenerius]

When did they all die? Makuta sent them to fix some of the damage Mata Nui unleashed on his body during their fight. The Mahri didn't manage to nab them all. Are you saying that they all died when Makuta died?

When the Toa Nuva retrieved the Heart of the Visorak (controls all Visorak) They used it to destroy the entire species. Retrieving the Heart was one of the steps to awakening the Great Spirit.

EDIT: If you had seen TTV's episode covering the image, they had talked about the colors. The Gresh-esque character is actually blue.

EDIT 2: They didn't destroy the entire species, they imprisoned them. Sorry for the inaccuracy. They were released on to Spherus Magna after Makuta fell.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Zenerius

[Master_Data]

EDIT: If you had seen TTV's episode covering the image, they had talked about the colors. The Gresh-esque character is actually blue.

That sounds really cool. I'm getting more and more exited!

Edited July 4, 2014 by Master_Data

[exxtrooper]

Most bionicle Moulds don't exist anymore/are buried somewhere. We'll mostly get a bunch of new moulds.

[Master_Data]

EDIT 2: They didn't destroy the entire species, they imprisoned them. Sorry for the inaccuracy. They were released on to Spherus Magna after Makuta fell.

I can see how you thought they were killed. The Mahri came so close.

[Zenerius]

Exxtrooper's post of the photo on Flickr (that got changed due to TLG) has pieces of information regarding the group of MOCists "recruited" by Lego to send some of their creations in.

"You'd be surprised; Aanchir is actually close to correct. Djokson, VBBN, and myself were contacted (via VBBN) by someone from TLG asking for samples of our MOCs... but apparently we weren't good enough or something, and we never heard back."

-[ Chro ] AKA Ben

"Guys, (Chro) isn't a Lego designer, don't be silly. The people at fault for the leak are members of our Skype group, so everyone in it knows everything, and we aren't allowed to say it all. Though (Chro) is being overly cryptic; it is definitely real. Also, multiple sources didn't get it at the same time; it all came from one person, and it spread fast. Our group will probably find out more information soon, and while we may not leak further pictures if they are compromising, we can definitely tell you about the information we learn, and you can choose to believe is because we are reliable."

-Grayson (not Steve)

Take a look at the Flickr page.

This information suggests alot of different things... Notably more images regarding the theme.

If you would like this information removed, just notify me.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Zenerius

[TheGreatSpirit]

I'm willing to bet it's real, considering TLG's actions regarding the images. I think that it will be a summer theme though, so HF can have one more line to close it up (like the Stars, except hopefully much less dreadfull).

EDIT: Just asked Greg a few questions regarding a theoretical return of Bionicle

My question:

"Hi again Greg, just one, completely theoretical question this time:

Lets say that, some time in the future, Bionicle comes back.

Would you or would you not be told in advance of such a thing, and would you be heading the story again?"

His response:

"I know of all LEGO lines scheduled for 2015 - I have to, it's my job. That is different from being able to discuss them in public. What I learn as a result of work is considered confidential.

And, hypothetically, while I would certainly want to work on a new incarnation of BIONICLE if it happened, there is no guarantee I would be on the story team let alone heading it. I would simply help in whatever way I could and whatever way I was needed to."

Notice how he says 2015 when nowhere in my question do I mention 2015

Edited July 4, 2014 by TheGreatSpirit

[adotnamedstud]

I really feel like a newbie when it comes to Bionicle because I had just sold all of mine and some constraction superheroes. It seems pretty cool that if this is real, us non-Bionicle fans could start collecting some new things and probably have an easier time following the story. Because I have no idea why but even just after seeing both images, I was drawn to it. Although they were blurry and unofficial for now I really hope to buy some of these. I missed the chance back in 2008-2009(?) and I feel kinda bad about that because I have always had a somewhat disrespect for Bionicle. It's odd how my perspective changed by some blurry photos. That being said, I am pretty freakin' excited to see what LEGO does what this theme if it's for real.

[Zenerius]

You know what would be kind of funny and irritating?

The whole thing is a hoax created by Lego.