Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[bacem]

I honestly don't know if Mixels qualifies as constraction. They're definitely articulated figures, but they're far from the typical definition of "action figures". It'd be good to find out, though.

i also think they would qualify. they have the same level of articulation of matoran.

[Merc4hire95]

I don't know anything about Hero Factory or Bionicle returning, but its the basic nature and cycle of themes in LEGO to be replaced by a(its) successor(ex. Space Police=Galaxy Squad, Kingdoms=Castle, Alpha Team=Agents, etc.) in a matter of 2-4 years give or take. What's rare is the return of a theme, hence this years(2013) biggest shocker Ninjago Rebooted. We all have our own reasons to why Bionicle should and should not return/be rebooted, but I for one welcome an all new constraction theme. Personally I would want TLG to grab inspiration from both HF and Bionicle by having the combination of bones and specialized pieces to make the figures. As for the themes backstory, I have always been amazed by Metru Nui as it seems TLG put a lot of effort and creativity into creating this world full of culture and advanced technology, so a setting like Metru Nui with characters like the Matarons and warriors like the Toa's would be a success in my book.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Merc4hire95

[Meiko]

I don't know anything about Hero Factory or Bionicle returning, but its the basic nature and cycle of themes in LEGO to be replaced by a(its) successor(ex. Space Police=Galaxy Squad, Kingdoms=Castle, Alpha Team=Agents, etc.) in a matter of 2-4 years give or take. What's rare is the return of a theme, hence this years(2013) biggest shocker Ninjago Rebooted. We all have our own reasons to why Bionicle should and should not return/be rebooted, but I for one welcome an all new constraction theme. Personally I would want TLG to grab inspiration from both HF and Bionicle by having the combination of bones and specialized pieces to make the figures. As for the themes backstory, I have always been amazed by Metru Nui as it seems TLG put a lot of effort and creativity into creating this world full of culture and advanced technology, so a setting like Metru Nui with characters like the Matarons and warriors like the Toa's would be a success in my book.

With those examples you just named, you're naming themes in the same genres succeeding each other (space, castle, etc), while we only know this an "action figure" theme. Hero Factory is about robot heroes on fictional planets. Bionicle is about robot heroes on fictional planets. This unconfirmed 2015 theme could be about something completely different. They can coexist. LEGO's never had some rule that says two action figure themes can't exist at the same time.

[Merc4hire95]

With those examples you just named, you're naming themes in the same genres succeeding each other (space, castle, etc), while we only know this an "action figure" theme. Hero Factory is about robot heroes on fictional planets. Bionicle is about robot heroes on fictional planets. This unconfirmed 2015 theme could be about something completely different. They can coexist. LEGO's never had some rule that says two action figure themes can't exist at the same time.

I never said HF and a new constraction theme could not co-exist, you miss-read my comment and yes HF and Bionicle are in the same genre, as you so clearly said it yourself, "Hero Factory is about robot heroes on fictional planets. Bionicle is about robot heroes on fictional planets.". I was merely expressing my view on this unconfirmed new constraction theme rumor.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Merc4hire95

[LegoPanda]

I never said HF and a new constraction theme could not co-exist, you miss-read my comment and yes HF and Bionicle are in the same genre, as you so clearly said it yourself, "Hero Factory is about robot heroes on fictional planets. Bionicle is about robot heroes on fictional planets.". I was merely expressing my view on this unconfirmed new constraction theme rumor.

bionicle weren't robots the where biological creatures that looked like robots

[Kalhiki]

bionicle weren't robots the where biological creatures that looked like robots

To the uneducated, they were robots.

[Lyichir]

To the uneducated, they were robots.

Exactly. That's one of the things I like about Hero Factory, actually. It makes fewer excuses about its nature. That makes it easier to explain the theme to people ("No, honestly, they're not robots, even though for the most part they have no biological features in the sets!" versus "Yup. Robots."), and makes the "set forms" (which in almost every case is the original depiction of the characters) more obviously canon. It frustrated me to no end the way some Bionicle fans couldn't grasp that Hero Factory heroes, despite being robotic, had just as much free will and personality as Toa. They had been conditioned after years of Bohrok and other drone-like robots to insist that robots must always be soulless entities, when Hero Factory is far from the first or only sci-fi story where that's not the case.

[Jetrax99]

Obviously they've never heard of Transformers.

[Timeline15]

Obviously they've never heard of Transformers.

Transformers were never really "robots" (yes, I know the catchphrase is 'robots in disguise') But robot is often taken to mean machine. Transformers are not machines, they are biological animals who's cells happen to be made of metal. They have DNA, and the parts from one cannot just be used to repair another, it works like a human organ transplant. Machines, on the other hand, are constructions without life that were created by others to preform a function.

Anyway... I should probably go back to talking about Lego now XD

Edited December 12, 2013 by Timeline15

[Bob C]

I thinm it's hard to really predict what will happen to Lego's constraction themes. What happened in the past is not a very accurate indicator, as toys were the main play thing those days (other than expensive game console s). Now we have 99 cent apps that take very little attention to play, and I think Lego will try to compete with that kind of thing- kind of like chima. It's not the Best thing, but it will be a source of income for Lego

[Merc4hire95]

bionicle weren't robots the where biological creatures that looked like robots

Yes the story took Bionicle to an entire new level of organic beings covered in metal, but the toy franchise began as Bionicle(bionic ergo use of mechanical parts, Robocop comes to mind) being a robot constraction figures, hence there gears and abstract designs. The sets themselves are robots, the backstory is obviously canon to the figures, but the theme was always about sentient robots. Point is, its not about being "uneducated", more rather about knowing the theme and second of all following the story behind it. Before this goes on to a battle of Bionicle fanboyism, lets get back to the topic at hand.

[Aanchir]

Transformers were never really "robots" (yes, I know the catchphrase is 'robots in disguise') But robot is often taken to mean machine. Transformers are not machines, they are biological animals who's cells happen to be made of metal. They have DNA, and the parts from one cannot just be used to repair another, it works like a human organ transplant. Machines, on the other hand, are constructions without life that were created by others to preform a function.

Anyway... I should probably go back to talking about Lego now XD

See, this is the kind of thing I'm glad Hero Factory doesn't do. An explanation of something that makes it unnecessarily complicated is hardly an explanation at all. You could just say there are intelligent robots, and if people are bound and determined to take issue with that then that just means they have a shoddy imagination.

Granted, saying "yes, they're robots, but there's a bit more to it than that" would be just as acceptable as saying "yes, they're robots, full stop", and would still be much better than saying "no, they're not robots at all, and everything you know is a lie". The "there's more to it than that" explanation pops up in comics and other media all the time and is an extremely convenient type of "soft retcon" — it adds depth to the story without making that new knowledge fundamental to having a correct understanding of the story. You can put any number of lengthy explanations behind Superman's heat vision or the Flash's super speed, but they are fundamentally still heat vision and super speed, which are easy concepts for any audience to grasp with or without knowing the "science" behind it.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Aanchir

[_shaddow_]

Yes the story took Bionicle to an entire new level of organic beings covered in metal, but the toy franchise began as Bionicle(bionic ergo use of mechanical parts, Robocop comes to mind) being a robot constraction figures, hence there gears and abstract designs. The sets themselves are robots, the backstory is obviously canon to the figures, but the theme was always about sentient robots. Point is, its not about being "uneducated", more rather about knowing the theme and second of all following the story behind it. Before this goes on to a battle of Bionicle fanboyism, lets get back to the topic at hand.

You know that Bionicle means "Biological Chronicles" right ? they were always meant to be Robot/biological hybrids.

[LegoPanda]

the tree virtues uploaded a video about it

[Mesonak]

the tree virtues uploaded a video about it

BE WARNED: That video is so blown out of proportion with speculation it's not even funny. We went a little overboard in analyzing the info and presenting every possibility. :P

Still, it was entertaining.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Mesonak

[LegoPanda]

i put it here mainly for the info

[Merc4hire95]

You know that Bionicle means "Biological Chronicles" right ? they were always meant to be Robot/biological hybrids.

I see you clearly missed the Robocop reference, and the bionic part, ooh and the last part were this forum should get back to the to topic of the rumor instead of it getting flooded with Bionicle debates. Lets keep this from out breaking into a fanboy war and get back to all the fun of speculating on what this rumor could indicate besides the revival of Bionice.

TTV had some good ideas, I would love if they made a mech theme that's similar to that of the HF 2014 winter line-up.

[vexorian]

Nobody really cares about the story excuses to sell toys. Transformers and Bionicles are robots for 99% of the populace.

[LegoPanda]

a lot of people care about the story, why do you think HF sels less han bionicle did

[Jetrax99]

Info? What info? There is literally no info other "new constraction theme in 2015". Why does it warrant a video? And why title it "Return of Bionicle/End of HF in 2015"?

Are you trying to give the fanboys of both lines a reason to go nuts????

Just....WHY???

[vexorian]

a lot of people care about the story, why do you think HF sels less han bionicle did

Tons of more Licensed themes, plus NinjaGo.

[Shakar]

a lot of people care about the story, why do you think HF sels less han bionicle did

Oh I'd like to see proof for that. Edited December 12, 2013 by Shakar

[Mesonak]

a lot of people care about the story, why do you think HF sels less han bionicle did

I think that there's a multitude of reasons for why that could be the case other than the story.

Info? What info? There is literally no info other "new constraction theme in 2015". Why does it warrant a video? And why title it "Return of Bionicle/End of HF in 2015"?

Are you trying to give the fanboys of both lines a reason to go nuts????

Just....WHY???

Uh, well...

The mere fact that we're getting a new constraction line in 2015 is interesting enough to make a video about, because the wording on the Linkedin page suggets a full-blown theme rather than a sub-theme like the Superhero/Chima ultrabuilds. So this'll be the first new constraction theme we'll receive in five years. That's already big enough news. Then you get into the debate of whether this new theme's existence automatically means that Hero Factory will be canceled; this was discussed in the video and both sides of that particular coin were elaborated upon. We bring up some old quotes by Lego in Customer Service emails where they state their goal to create many Constraction lines instead of limiting themselves to one at a time. We discuss signs that could potentially point to HF's impending end, such as its gradually declining number of sets (although it appears to have stabilized at 8 per wave), promotions, TV specials (now reduced to only 22 minutes a year), and the ending of the book series. Finally, we bring up the possibility that we know a lot of people are automatically thinking of when they hear this news and that is the return of BIONICLE. We give reasons why it's likely not the case, specifically that it's called a "new" theme rather than a "new take" or "revival" of an old theme (and contrast that line with the line about a past project of his, a re-imagining of Castle) and then talk about our hopes for this new theme and what it could mean for HF IF it is canceled.

As that long, overblown paragraph clearly shows, there's more than enough material to warrant a video about this subject even if 90% of it is speculation. It's still important news.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Mesonak

[ToaJaller78]

the tree virtues uploaded a video about it

Mesonak, you and the others are feeding the fanboy.

[Vinyl Scratch]

a lot of people care about the story, why do you think HF sels less han bionicle did

Yano, comparing HF sales to BIONICLE's isn't that good considering that HF has been around for 4 years and BIONICLE went through 13/12 years.

... (I think)

Plus, BIONICLE ended due to the declining sales. From what I get HF isn't doing as great as BIONICLE's earlier years, but I'm pretty dang sure it's doing better than 2009 considering it's still going strong.