Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Voxovan]

Yes, but have any of the Toa been capable of in such a short amount of time (few weeks alone with a Protector) learning what a needle is, let alone hay, and then finding out/creating a metaphor using the two? I'm not really sure if we can say the Okotoan culture can be called "closer" to human culture/s in comparison to Gen 1, after all, the Matoran played sports, created art, had a significant (in comparison to Gen 2) number of religious beliefs, created machinery (Boxor comes to mind), and so on.

Wow, we're now discussing if there are needles and hay in Bionicle universe? Please...

[Mandate]

Wow, we're now discussing if there are needles and hay in Bionicle universe? Please...

What does that have to do with what I said?

[Lyichir]

Yes, but have any of the Toa been capable of in such a short amount of time (few weeks alone with a Protector) learning what a needle is, let alone hay, and then finding out/creating a metaphor using the two? I'm not really sure if we can say the Okotoan culture can be called "closer" to human culture/s in comparison to Gen 1, after all, the Matoran played sports, created art, had a significant (in comparison to Gen 2) number of religious beliefs, created machinery (Boxor comes to mind), and so on.

Well, a needle is a very simple functional tool, like a fishhook—it'd be almost necessary for sewing, and considering the Protector of Fire was first seen in a cloak that we can only assume is some type of fabric, it's not improbable that needles would be used by the villagers.

As for hay, it's an easily harvested organic material. Even assuming that the villagers don't have any sorts of beasts of burden that need feeding, hay would still be a useful material for building (like thatched roofs and the like) or as kindling (for torches, bonfires, etc.).

So even if you're going to read that much into a simple idiom, it's well within the realm of possibility that both needles and hay exist on Okoto.

[Mutant Orc]

I think the main reason why they mightn't have hay in Okoto is not because of the civilization but because of the climate...none of the regions look very good for farming. Anyways, they could find some way of doing it I spose. Clearing areas of the jungle maybe...

But the Orcs have restaurants in LOTR (or at least menus), so I s'pose the Toa and the Protectors could have hay...

[Clone 01354 Productions]

I am just now realizing that every single line Lewa has said was a joke (of some sort...), which completely fits his personality.

And did anyone else notice that at the end, when all the Toa walk away, they are heading to the Protector-mask building? So I guess that's where Ekimu is buried....Which reminds me: I get that Ekimu is old and...well, lifeless....But when he wakes up, and he's back to normal, I want him to have a powerful, commanding, and young voice (I don't know why, but I imagined Makuta and Ekimu to be teens/early 20-year-olds at the time of their fight....)

ALSO: What if that pedestal is where the Golden Skull Spider mask was, but it's now in the hands of the Skull Villains--and now, THEY have control of the Skull Spiders? (At this point, I'm just hoping that they will have a role in the summer, because if not, then they were a total waste of my time.)

Edited April 25, 2015 by LN-01354

[Voxovan]

ALSO: What if that pedestal is where the Golden Skull Spider mask was, but it's now in the hands of the Skull Villains--and now, THEY have control of the Skull Spiders? (At this point, I'm just hoping that they will have a role in the summer, because if not, then they were a total waste of my time.)

Skull Slicer uses this mask, he just painted it silver.

[Kalhiki]

Skull Slicer uses this mask, he just painted it silver.

Paint is also in this universe alongside needles and haystacks.

I find it kinda funny we're discussing needles and haystacks and their presence on the island. But it does bring up an interesting thought on what kind of society Okoto has. I feel there may be some flat land for hay to exist in the Water and/or Jungle regions. Likewise, I'd think they'd also possess beasts of burden for either food or simple to pull wagons or the like.

I don't know. I'd like to see more of Okotan culture in the future. Don't have much as of now.

[Mandate]

Well, a needle is a very simple functional tool, like a fishhook—it'd be almost necessary for sewing, and considering the Protector of Fire was first seen in a cloak that we can only assume is some type of fabric, it's not improbable that needles would be used by the villagers.

As for hay, it's an easily harvested organic material. Even assuming that the villagers don't have any sorts of beasts of burden that need feeding, hay would still be a useful material for building (like thatched roofs and the like) or as kindling (for torches, bonfires, etc.).

So even if you're going to read that much into a simple idiom, it's well within the realm of possibility that both needles and hay exist on Okoto.

Again, what does that have to do with what I said? I was disputing whether or not needles and hay would have come up in a conversation in such a small time, I was not claiming that they did not exist on Okoto. Please read through what I said.

[GK733]

So a graphic novel eeh? Who do yout think will be drawing those? II'd hope it's the same concept artist that made IFB and this new Bionicle. Hopefully we get comics at some point, would love to see this guys take on Gen2 http://chuckdee.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=%2F&q=lego I was rather surprised he had his part on the Hero Factory comics too so it's not that far guess for him to come back.

[Lord-Vorahk]

I love how the reaction to Lewa using a common idiom is "How does Lewa know what that means?" Omega-level pedantics in the action figures board!

...

We're really lacking in things to talk about, aren't we?

Isn't it time something Bonkle-flavoured replaced ol' Vonnie up the top there?

[Dorek]

I love how the reaction to Lewa using a common idiom is "How does Lewa know what that means?" Omega-level pedantics in the action figures board!

...

We're really lacking in things to talk about, aren't we?

Isn't it time something Bonkle-flavoured replaced ol' Vonnie up the top there?

Part of that toxic "must know everything" G1 mentality, really. There's a time and a place, and then there's just picking bones =P.

Also I like Von Nebula still being there >:

[Lord-Vorahk]

Nebby stopped being relevant in 2010. They kinda pretended he mattered in 2012, but then did nothing with him and just focused on "The "Hero" Factory attacks random animals" plot for two years and then the line died.

At this point, I'd like to suggest Tahu, Ekimu, or Makuta to replace him.

[Leewan]

We need something that represent the diversity of Lego Action Figures, not a single character.

[Lord-Vorahk]

Well, ATM we've got Bonkles and that's about it. THe Star Wars ones are coming soon, but honestly I don't think the Mixels count, since they're brick-built. And also generally ugly-as-sin, but that's another matter entirely.

[Kalhiki]

Part of that toxic "must know everything" G1 mentality, really. There's a time and a place, and then there's just picking bones =P.

Also I like Von Nebula still being there >:

Do G2 characters have bones??? :P

Sorry, getting carried away.

In terms of Von, I like him up there. I enjoyed HF, and I don't want it to be completely dead. Von's keeping the spirit alive.

[Still Raindrop]

Yes, but have any of the Toa been capable of in such a short amount of time (few weeks alone with a Protector) learning what a needle is, let alone hay, and then finding out/creating a metaphor using the two?

I mean, the Toa already have use of language--it's not too far a stretch to assume that they're familiar with idiom, figures of speech, etc.

I do see why people found this expression odd--in G1, expressions did tend to be very specific to Mata Nui and the Matoran universe. This sometimes added to immersion, but it also sometimes led to a "hold your hippogrifs" situation. Since needles and hay presumably exist on Okoto, I see no reason for the writers to go out of their way to create a new expression (I'm a Trekkie, and Star Trek has a history of adding in odd expressions when they're not needed--it can be silly).

[Lord-Vorahk]

FOr the same of things staying up-to-date, though... Vonnie replaced whatever was there before when Bonkle ended. Now HF has ended, it only makes sense for him to be replaced in-kind.

Alternatively, if we're going to go with the "Everything gets a rep" idea, then have something from HF in there with things from the other lines, but something that represents the series better.

[Jacob_9821]

The next Bionicle designer video has gone live, this time on Onua. It's surprising how much the sketches look like Darth Vader. I'm glad they went for a look closer to the original Pakari.

[TheBrickPal]

FOr the same of things staying up-to-date, though... Vonnie replaced whatever was there before when Bonkle ended. Now HF has ended, it only makes sense for him to be replaced in-kind.

Alternatively, if we're going to go with the "Everything gets a rep" idea, then have something from HF in there with things from the other lines, but something that represents the series better.

H symbol, Cubit, and Mask of Creation?

[DraikNova]

We could have the H symbol as the middle of the Unity, Duty, Destiny symbol on the background of a cubit, but that'd be a bit much. Also, it amuses me greatly that I managed to spark off such a discussion with a minor comment. I think it could just a case of Translation Convention, where the Okotoan expression has the same meaning but refers to different things. Considering how unlikely it is for two completely separate cultures to share an expression, it'd make more sense than the expressions being consistent, even if they have hay and needles.

[Tazakk]

Now that all the episodes for 1HY2015 are out, I've compiled all nine episodes into a single video, cutting out all of the unnecessary repetition. Came out to about twelve and a half minutes. I did the best I could with the audio transitions, but it ends up a tad awkward in places - there was really only so much I could do. In any case, enjoy!

[Leewan]

Excellent, Tazakk ! Thank you !

[GK733]

Now that all the episodes for 1HY2015 are out, I've compiled all nine episodes into a single video, cutting out all of the unnecessary repetition. Came out to about twelve and a half minutes. I did the best I could with the audio transitions, but it ends up a tad awkward in places - there was really only so much I could do. In any case, enjoy!

I would had added some faded black screens between some of episodes and included part of the Legend. You did good though.

[Kalhiki]

Just what I wanted to see, Tazakk! Haven't watched yet... I'll get on that. Thanks in advance, though!

[Kalta the Noble Mind]

To be honest, I would prefer a more set-accurate look for the comic. Not completely accurate, I'd like to see them stylized, but not in the same style as the webisodes. I'm not a fan of that style to be honest, and if I had to pay for it, well, I wouldn't. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it just doesn't appeal to me.

i am imagining Carlos D'Anda's work when you say stylized set-accurate art. he kept most of the form and sillhuette of the toys intact while filling in both "gaps" and "blanks" the gaps are like fattening the spine/abdomen of the toa so they look more full and solid,as well as squashing the black ball sockets so the orbs of the limbs better lined up with the proper shoulders and hips.

the blanks are more standard stylization where he fleshes out the bare bones of the toy such as making the molded gear detail in the pelvis into a separate piece and properly separating the joints in the sculpts. he also characterization, such as bulking up tahu's form to enphasis his hero stature, or enlarging onua's arms to enphesis his strong,underground dweller nature , or making kopaka's mask more geometric to enphesis his cold sharp demeanor or lewa's limbs stretched and thinned to make him look slinky and bendy like a monkey, or the angling of gali's chest socket so it looks more like a human woman's bust,as well as thickening the wide parts of her legs so they look like women's thighs. and pohatu's shrinking of his gearbox and the widening of his other end so his upside-down body construction looks more natural. and i love how he made the eyes expressive and solid with specular and shading denoting an actual object behind the mask.

he essentially pushed and prodded the initial bionicle designs until they made sense as living moving beings. they weren't lego toys that were plopped into natural environments asomuch these are natural beings native to these environments who coincidentally resemble lego toys. if i make sense.

stuart sayer does similar stylization but embraces the “flaws” of the toys rather than try to fix them like D’anda did.

he enhanced and exaggerated the geometric shapes and greeble of the toy’s elements for full effect.

the piraka’s wide torsos and thick limbs were warped and bent to emphasize the brutal size and strength suitable for the orc-like thugs. their feat are suitably organic talons and their teeth are sharp and gnashing as well.

the voya-matoran had their cobbled together builds put on full display to emphasize the weakness of these robot people who were put back together poorly,playing up the vastly different elements used to show mismatchned-ness.

the toa as well as axonn i think had their humanoid torsos sculpted just a tad to enphisize heroic builds yet still paid homage to their element built nature.

but where sayer shined was the background characters where he basically made them all up on his own using original deigns that i would swear could have come form the official prototypes. he had the freedom to make original bit characters.

i guess using those two artists what i want out of the artist for the new graphic novels would be “pragmatic verilsmatude” , where they keep the general shape/look of the toys but are suitably modified to either work out logistics like the articulation of the toa mata or to enhance/manifest character traits like the threatening designs of the piraka.

i figure the area this artist should have most creative license would be the bone elements of the CCBS construction. the initial shapes of the figures are more defined by the shells and add-ons so the characters can still be recognized as their toys if yo keep the shells intact. and the bones are bland as is so it is preferable to add invented detail.

i kind of liked those european comics where they had more mechanical greeble to them,and the skull spiders looked more like clockwork drones.