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World Building and Feeling Alive

Soran

Entry posted by Soran

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Howdy,

 

World building.

 

An interesting concept for anyone. I particularly find it to be entertaining and exciting. I've done lots of world building for my own personal stories I've written (Outside of BIONICLE), in fact it's probably one of my favorite parts about the story writing process. This is no different with my latest series, "The Road to Home".

 

It's weird to me. I enjoy coming up with my own worlds and stories but I still feel deeply connected with the BIONICLE world that was laid out for us. A world that for the most part was hardly ever explored, which is a shame really. But it paved the way for people to create stories involving those elements that paved the way.

 

I've got this interesting layout that I've been working on in regards to the TRUTH series. I'm basically making it a game inside of a comic. I want people to interact and I was to see just what people are interested in. This has come up with me focusing on world building. With the basic layout of what I had pre made for the series, I had roughly… 30-40 characters. However minor or major these characters are, they were featured on those 7 or so islands that the comic takes place in. Then I started thinking about a Non-BIONICLE story I'm writing, which deals with the concept of what makes something "human". What qualities of humans is most important?

 

I've transitioned this to what makes a person or character seem alive. Sure, I can add a random character to a story and throw a sob story in there but it wouldn't do much for the audience. It is just a character that they won't care about. I started thinking about what makes something seem alive. So I decided to analyze a movie that displays this very well. A move probably most of you have seen. Wall-e.

 

Through rewatching this movie I was able to garner just what it is that makes a character seem alive or almost human. They must be intelligent, they must show compassion, curiosity, and various different emotions. But something I had only realized through rewatching Wall-e was that another trait that made Wall-e appear human was the fact that he had a job. He did actual work. I always just forgot about that for whatever reason but it's truly one of the things that matters most. It's makes the character relatable because they have ambitions.

 

This then had me thinking about the MNOG everyone loves. The world building in the game was fantastic. It worked out well. I realized then that it was also because even the smallest of characters seemed alive because of their work. Their work often defined them as well. This matoran is a part of the Ta-Koro guard. why? Because he cares about the protection of his home and his peers. This next person is a scholar. We can deduce that he's a curious person who questions everything relating to the life around him. He ponders the essence of the world. From taking pre-established character traits from elements (like Ko-Matoran being rather cold and calculated in personality) and combining it with a job that defines more of their personality, you can create a fully fleshed out character using nothing more. You've given the character ambitions, a personality, and work. These traits alone give you an interesting character that can only be expanded on further through dialogue, conversation and story.

 

This has been my thought process as of late as I realized something the other day. Metru-Nui is small. I mean, in comparison to the many other islands in the matoran universe, it's like a small to medium sized landmass. It had hundreds or even thousands of matoran. The island that Soran is on currently, the Northern Continent, is considerably larger. I don't even have over 100 characters spanning 7 islands. I'd like to think that I was super duper planned but I really had little to go off of in the series. Probably more in contrast with other people who make up a story as they go, but much less for what I've got planned. So I resolved to fix that. I've decided to come up with different cultures, characters, protagonists, antagonists and so on on each of the islands. I've got so far a pretty decent spread for the northern continent so I'm rather excited. Being able to figure out the different points in time in the actual BIONICLE storyline that connect, that's been fun. Hopefully this project goes on well for me. I can't imagine that I'll get bored by it but I can tell that there's a chance I could get burned out. Creating some of the elements for the comic has been a lot more difficult then I originally anticipated. But I suppose that's a topic for another time.

 

For now I will say that lately I've been world building. Actually now that I think about it, does anyone remember the World Builder game from LEGO? That game was neat, I really miss it.

 

Anyway, that's about it for this entry. I thought it was interesting.

 

~Soran

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Soran

Wow, so little responses...

 

It feels so empty here.

 

Most of my longer thought processes get little responses. I assume most people either don't have the patience to read through it all or don't know what to say.

 

~Soran

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The Hip Historian Iaredios

Here is how I group the matoran.

 

First,there is High Matoran Culture, which is based in Metru-Nui. Highly advanced and have a custom of having the top of their masks be silver.

 

Standard Matoran Culture, which as you can guess it, is the most widespread culture for the matoran race. it is primitive but also has access to some technology, such as chutes,mining rails, and ski carts. I imagine they being much like the matoran of the island of Mata-Nui.

 

Then, there is Frontier Matoran Culture, which has no advanced technology and barely anything beyond primitve/basic stuff (spears and stonework) and might go so far as to say that such technology is magic. I also imagine they have taken to worshiping other beings than Mata Nui as deities, like the smith master (artakha), the punishing one (Karzanhi), the dark skinchangers (Makuta race), etc. Oh, and they paint their masks maori-style.

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Soran

Here is how I group the matoran.

 

First,there is High Matoran Culture, which is based in Metru-Nui. Highly advanced and have a custom of having the top of their masks be silver.

 

Standard Matoran Culture, which as you can guess it, is the most widespread culture for the matoran race. it is primitive but also has access to some technology, such as chutes,mining rails, and ski carts. I imagine they being much like the matoran of the island of Mata-Nui.

 

Then, there is Frontier Matoran Culture, which has no advanced technology and barely anything beyond primitve/basic stuff (spears and stonework) and might go so far as to say that such technology is magic. I also imagine they have taken to worshiping other beings than Mata Nui as deities, like the smith master (artakha), the punishing one (Karzanhi), the dark skinchangers (Makuta race), etc. Oh, and they paint their masks maori-style.

 

That's definitely an interesting way to group them and honestly it makes a lot of sense. Had I not been lazy I would probably use this format for the TRUTH series but it's too late. Also, I wouldn't be able to input the Frontier Matoran Culture since I view them as being a part of the Southern Isles and they won't be visited in the series. 

 

I do like this concept though, it's quite nice.

 

~Soran

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