Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[King of Nynrah]

No...No...it couldn't be...NO...

Look at the horns/spikes on Bfahome's picture. Then look at this.

<image>

This theme wouldn't happen to be revolving around reviving a giant spirit, would it? And the mask wouldn't happen to be shaped like the giant spirit's head?

Because we know they've never done anything like that before...

And in one swift moment of lucidity, I have either just figured out the entire "secret" plot-line for Bionicle, or found the most ridiculously identical coincidence.

<other image>

No, definitely no giant robot hiding behind there with their head sticking out. Nope.

Right?

While this made me laugh a lot, it'd probably be more likely if the Mask of Creation had six spires instead of five...

Edited September 20, 2014 by King of Nynrah

[Lind Whisperer]

I don't think the mask has anything to do with the glatorian arena, a coincidence, methinks. but An interesting analogy nonetheless.

Almost certainly. But the similarities are surprising...

While this made me laugh a lot, it'd probably be more likely if the Mask of Creation had six spires instead of five...

True.

But, it is a mask, and it only has room for five unless it covers the head entirely/really messes up the design.

It's probably not the plot-line, but it does make you think...Although if it does turn out to be the plot/near enough to the plot to be almost the plot, my sentence-under-my-profile-pic is so getting changed to "Called the Bionicle 2015 plotline...in 2014."

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

I made the mistake of reading Brickset comments.

Though thankfully not too prevalent, I was quite taken aback by the passive aggressiveness that consistently appears.

Those who are actually willing to explain their dislike of BIONICLE usually target its simplistic building system for smaller sets and superficially violence-oriented story, but it hardly seems enough to justify the bashing it receives from other less polite people whose age I would think great enough to act more maturely, if they be old enough to hold a grudge against a line that began in 2001.

Could any forum-frequenting LEGO fans from BIONICLE's first years give me an in-depth view of the cause of this?

Edited September 20, 2014 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[Aethersprite]

Masks that attach from the sides? I'm actually fine with that! At least it kills the whole masks-aren't-supposed-to-attach-by-the-front debate.

Anyway, the Mask of Creation looks really ornate! Looking forward to seeing it in a set, hopefully soon!

I made the mistake of reading Brickset comments.

Though thankfully not too prevalent, I was quite taken aback by the passive aggressiveness that consistently appears.

Those who are actually willing to explain their dislike of BIONICLE usually target its simplistic building system for smaller sets and superficially violence-oriented story, but it hardly seems enough to justify the bashing it receives from other less polite people whose age I would think great enough to act more maturely, if they be old enough to hold a grudge against a line that began in 2001.

Could any forum-frequenting LEGO fans from BIONICLE's first years give me an in-depth view of the cause of this?

From what I've gathered reading the Brickset comments, the general disdain for Bionicle over there (right now, at least) is due to the fact that many of the fans over there were hoping for a reveal for another theme like Doctor Who (via Ideas) or Fantastic Four. When they found out it wasn't what they hoped for, much less a theme they couldn't care less about, they started to get a little harsh. I don't think AFOLs dislike Bionicle - they just can't be bothered by it, and would rather see the effort and attention being spent on it be diverted to a System theme they care more about.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Lockon Stratos

[Lind Whisperer]

I made the mistake of reading Brickset comments.

Though thankfully not too prevalent, I was quite taken aback by the passive aggressiveness that consistently appears.

Those who are actually willing to explain their dislike of BIONICLE usually target its simplistic building system for smaller sets and superficially violence-oriented story, but it hardly seems enough to justify the bashing it receives from other less polite people whose age I would think great enough to act more maturely, if they be old enough to hold a grudge against a line that began in 2001.

Could any forum-frequenting LEGO fans from BIONICLE's first years give me an in-depth view of the cause of this?

I wasn't around back then, so I can't say, but I think some people just feel the need to look down on other people, and will jump at any excuse no matter how poor.

On the good side of things, these sorts of people don't tend to do more than just occasionally connect with the hobby(at least on Eurobricks).

My personal stance is that we all have different likes and dislikes, and we should use them to "build upon," and to find new ways of doing/looking at things.

But I do admit that I don't agree when people say that we should just calmly accept when a franchise decides to make a violent/unwanted change. If we're the ones paying for it, and it's not a single person doing all of the work(I make an exception for single authors), then we as a fandom have a right to express our feelings about how the franchise is being handled.

[Chro]

Many people in the Lego fandom (and some people in the Lego company too, apparently?) don't consider constraction (Bionicle specifically) to be "real Lego" and hate it for that reason (which is clearly BS).

Edited September 20, 2014 by Chro

[InfurnallDragon]

Many people in the Lego fandom (and some people in the Lego company too, apparently?) don't consider constraction (Bionicle specifically) to be "real Lego" and hate it for that reason (which is clearly BS).

Then they are clearly missing the building aspect and compatibility with normal LEGOs. Maybe we'll see some more stuff like IFB's mix of "real" LEGOs with constraction pieces. Like the beast's designs, I do not really care for the mini-figure forms of constraction figures (shudders at toa mahri).

So if BIONICLE is coming back in full force with multimedia promotions like the Old Days we definitely need to get a music group to make an action-packed trailer like this timeless piece:

This is the kind of stuff that made BIONICLE exciting.

Edited September 20, 2014 by InfurnallDragon

[Lind Whisperer]

So if BIONICLE is coming back in full force with multimedia promotions like the Old Days we definitely need to get a music group to make an action-packed trailer like this timeless piece:

This is the kind of stuff that made BIONICLE exciting.

We need more C R Y O S H E L L music, period.

[Mandate]

From what I've read on other websites (Facepunch, etc) it seems the reason BIONICLE lost favor wasn't the plot, but rather the sets. The gear functionality in the earliest sets was one of the selling points for many people, and when they removed them for a CCBS-ish style system, people started to lose interest. It would make sense, given the return of gear functions and that every time we've gotten new info it seems like we're actually getting a continuation.

Seriously though, I hope we get a revamp of CCBS in 2016 that gives us the best of both worlds between the Technic and CCBS constraction systems. The ease to build (and functionality) of CCBS, but has the wonderful style of the Technic constraction.

[Grima]

Accessibility of the story was also a big factor, though. Like, DV has said he has talked to employees at LEGO and they have told him plot accessibility was a huge problem as Bionicle dragged on.

[Mandate]

Accessibility of the story was also a big factor, though. Like, DV has said he has talked to employees at LEGO and they have told him plot accessibility was a huge problem as Bionicle dragged on.

I know. I'm just saying it's not the only factor in it. I suppose as time goes on now we're getting a clearer view of where everything went to Bara Magna wrong. Story accessibility, set function loss other than blasters, weak ball joint connections, story accessibility (referring to Bara Magna, it was too shallow), etc. It seems they never found a sweet spot after 2003.

[SirPuddings]

And wait: people said that the Mask of Creation would mean continuation

Just because people said, doesn't mean it's true.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

I know. I'm just saying it's not the only factor in it. I suppose as time goes on now we're getting a clearer view of where everything went to Bara Magna wrong. Story accessibility, set function loss other than blasters, weak ball joint connections, story accessibility (referring to Bara Magna, it was too shallow), etc. It seems they never found a sweet spot after 2003.

Perhaps it was only the novelty that made me love it, but I found 2004 a great year once past the Great Disk fetch quests. The dystopian city setting worked well.

Edited September 20, 2014 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Accessibility of the story was also a big factor, though. Like, DV has said he has talked to employees at LEGO and they have told him plot accessibility was a huge problem as Bionicle dragged on.

I'm curious as to why this was supposedly the case. Despite, or perhaps because of, the oft repeated nature of the claim, no-one ever seems to give any examples of problems with plot accessibility.

[Grima]

I'm curious as to why this was supposedly the case. Despite, or perhaps because of, the oft repeated nature of the claim, no-one ever seems to give any examples of problems with plot accessibility.

In 2008, to fully comprehend what was happening, you would have to catch up on seven years of story material, spread out across various forms of media (books, comics, online games, movies), which is a daunting task. Downright offputting. Most people would see a commercial on TV, think "I have no idea what's going on" and not pay it any more mind.

A long epic isn't necessarily a bad story to tell, but it's not always suited for the sales of a toyline, and it definitely doesn't work when that story is told sporadically over several different mediums, with no one medium telling the whole thing.

[Jetrax99]

Hate to go off topic a bit but has anyone received the September-October Lego magazine yet?

[Quisoves Pugnat]

In 2008, to fully comprehend what was happening, you would have to catch up on seven years of story material, spread out across various forms of media (books, comics, online games, movies), which is a daunting task. Downright offputting. Most people would see a commercial on TV, think "I have no idea what's going on" and not pay it any more mind.

But did you really need to fully comprehend what was happening to appreciate the story? Were the TV commercials any less accessible than those from 2001? Just because back-story exists doesn't mean it is perpetually relevant. Blink sits upon more than twenty-five years of Doctor Who continuity, yet you don't need to know any of it to appreciate the story.

[Logan McOwen]

Hate to go off topic a bit but has anyone received the September-October Lego magazine yet?

I did just yesterday! Nothing Bionicle-y in there, just 2014-related stuff. There is a double page spread on the IFB combiners though.

[Grima]

But did you really need to fully comprehend what was happening to appreciate the story? Were the TV commercials any less accessible than those from 2001? Just because back-story exists doesn't mean it is perpetually relevant. Blink sits upon more than twenty-five years of Doctor Who continuity, yet you don't need to know any of it to appreciate the story.

Doctor Who is almost entirely episodic; you can watch an episode with minimal understanding and still get a fulfilling experience.

Bionicle is an epic. Starting in the middle is like starting Lord of the Rings at Return of the King. Sure, there are self contained plots, but there are also overarching plots that will be difficult to comprehend unless you start at the beginning.

[CabooseBM]

I hope those new masks can be attached to other things but if they don't, well, oh well, I was never all that into using masks as armor and whatnot.

I'm at the caboose of the Hype Train...

You called??

[Cheatster9000x]

Why just not link this? http://cache.lego.co...w/r/bionicle/-/

How did you find this? URL guessing?

...but I'd be damned if I didn't say that mask looks f---ing gorgeous.

[Mutant Orc]

So if BIONICLE is coming back in full force with multimedia promotions like the Old Days we definitely need to get a music group to make an action-packed trailer like this timeless piece:

This is the kind of stuff that made BIONICLE exciting.

Wow, never seen that before- its great! Thanks for sharing.

[Gatanui]

How did you find this? URL guessing?

...but I'd be damned if I didn't say that mask looks f---ing gorgeous.

Apparently it was accessible through lego.com/en-us/bionicle for a moment before that was fixed, or so one guy reporting it to the BZPower news says.

-Gata

[Timeline15]

In 2008, to fully comprehend what was happening, you would have to catch up on seven years of story material, spread out across various forms of media

I hadn't even started with Bionicle until 2006, and I understood 2008 just fine. They needed a mask to resurrect their "god". I didn't know the history, or even who the nuva were, but I still got the enjoyment out of it.

[tafkatb]

I'll confess I have little experience with constraction, and BIONICLE's original run coincided almost exactly with my dark ages, but I'm happy for you folks! I've been told this is, indeed, next year's Big Bang theme, so we can probably expect a lot of media support for the new line.