19 replies to this topic

[DeLaSouth]

In that, I mean the diversity & difference between sets in style, pieces and theme.

For instance, the 3.0 story was based around 1 theme; tribal rainforest; and the 3.0 villians seemed to feel very similar to each other (with of course certain differences like animal-type & colour scheme), the 3.0 heroes seemed similar too.

However, with Breakout, the story bases around a bunch of different themes; sky, swamp, underwater, urban, inter-planetary; and as you can see the villians are VERY diverse in their themes, the heroes too.

So.. do you think that these individually-themed lines (such as Savage Planet & the 2013 Winter theme which I am not at liberty to directly say) are good ideas to use as lines? Since they offer only a certain amount of diversity in themes?

I can't really put it any easier.

[Randy Disher]

I prefer lines with variety.

[Ballom]

The overall aesthetic's always about the same, IMO. Doesn't really matter much what the story claims to be.

~B~

[Gatanui]

I think I prefer waves based on one single theme. Sure, there may be less diversity between sets in that wave, but there is more diversity between waves that way because else, too many themes are used for one single wave. Now it´s hard to use an underwater or even ice planet theme without letting it feel old anymore.

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Apr 08 2012 - 09:12 AM.

[Indigo Individual]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

[Gatanui]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

Not that there wasn´t any diversity in Savage Planet. I don´t think a giant yellow wasp, a red gorilla/elephant hybrid, a grey wolf and a green scorpion have much in common.

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Apr 08 2012 - 09:27 AM.

[Indigo Individual]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

Not that there wasn´t any diversity in Savage Planet. I don´t think a giant yellow wasp, a red gorilla/elephant hybrid, a grey wolf and a green scorpion have much in common.

-Gata

They don't have much in common, but I think the person who made the topic was pointing out the similarity in the builds. Which, unfortunately, is unavoidable due to Hero Factory's building system (with the exclusion of most titans, and that scorpion).

[Gatanui]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

Not that there wasn´t any diversity in Savage Planet. I don´t think a giant yellow wasp, a red gorilla/elephant hybrid, a grey wolf and a green scorpion have much in common.

-Gata

They don't have much in common, but I think the person who made the topic was pointing out the similarity in the builds. Which, unfortunately, is unavoidable due to Hero Factory's building system (with the exclusion of most titans, and that scorpion).

Raw-Jaw and Waspix have significant differences as far as the build is concerned. You can argue that they have similar pieces, referring to the bone and cladding pieces and obviously you are right about those similarities being unavoidable. Likewise, you could say the Barraki all used the same head design and similarly built limbs and pretend that that made them similar, though.

-Gata

[Indigo Individual]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

Not that there wasn´t any diversity in Savage Planet. I don´t think a giant yellow wasp, a red gorilla/elephant hybrid, a grey wolf and a green scorpion have much in common.

-Gata

They don't have much in common, but I think the person who made the topic was pointing out the similarity in the builds. Which, unfortunately, is unavoidable due to Hero Factory's building system (with the exclusion of most titans, and that scorpion).

Raw-Jaw and Waspix have significant differences as far as the build is concerned. You can argue that they have similar pieces, referring to the bone and cladding pieces and obviously you are right about those similarities being unavoidable. Likewise, you could say the Barraki all used the same head design and similarly built limbs and pretend that that made them similar, though.

-Gata

The main difference in Waspix was the thing about the four arms, wings and the legs.
And while the Barraki's head build was similar, you could also argue that the head's themselves were all very different.

[Gatanui]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

Not that there wasn´t any diversity in Savage Planet. I don´t think a giant yellow wasp, a red gorilla/elephant hybrid, a grey wolf and a green scorpion have much in common.

-Gata

They don't have much in common, but I think the person who made the topic was pointing out the similarity in the builds. Which, unfortunately, is unavoidable due to Hero Factory's building system (with the exclusion of most titans, and that scorpion).

Raw-Jaw and Waspix have significant differences as far as the build is concerned. You can argue that they have similar pieces, referring to the bone and cladding pieces and obviously you are right about those similarities being unavoidable. Likewise, you could say the Barraki all used the same head design and similarly built limbs and pretend that that made them similar, though.

-Gata

The main difference in Waspix was the thing about the four arms, wings and the legs.
And while the Barraki's head build was similar, you could also argue that the head's themselves were all very different.

So we have returned to the point that the looks make the differences rather than the build itself. I think we can safely say the Savage Planet sets feature a great diversity, even if using similar pieces.

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Apr 08 2012 - 09:53 AM.

[Indigo Individual]

Well, yes, the appearances were quite different. You win.

[DeLaSouth]

Well, while Savage Planet was all the same theme, think back to the Barraki. They were all the same theme, and they were very different. A lot of diversity there.

Not that there wasn´t any diversity in Savage Planet. I don´t think a giant yellow wasp, a red gorilla/elephant hybrid, a grey wolf and a green scorpion have much in common.

-Gata

Well, they're all rabid beasts, with very bold vibrant colours.

[Akuna Toa of Sonics]

In my opinion, yes, these types of lines do.

[Chols]

I am sort of biased towards Savage Planet due to my own interests, but I do love its thematic consistency. They took one primary concept (animal-inspired characters) and based all the products, the setting, and the plot scenario around that idea. Even with this foundation, I believe they managed to give the line a great amount of variety, especially in terms of set design (especially when compared to Ordeal of Fire, which featured a lot of cut-and-paste set designs. I guess that's not the most fair comparison because OoF's purpose was to establish the new building system, but I believe SP's theme was superior nonetheless).

Arguably, Breakout is also founded around a single concept (a mass prison breakout), but this concept allowed for more variety in settings and did not necessitate consistent villain designs. This lead to a variety of interesting character motifs and locations, though as I watched the Breakout TV special I couldn't help but feel that there was too much going on at once, even though it was fun.

I don't think I can really say which approach I prefer. The fact that Hero Factory has phases of both all-encompassing theme s and more general themes shows the series itself has room for a lot of variety. Though personally I think Breakout had the best concept so far, while Savage Planet remains my personal favorite.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

I definitely am enjoying the Breakout waves a lot more than the Savage Planet wave, even if Savage Planet did open the doors for diverse set designs by breaking away from the more formulaic designs of the previous waves. It does make me curious about what they might follow it up with, though. More uniform waves make it easy to create a new wave that diverges greatly from the one that came before, but a diverse line like the two Breakout waves makes it more difficult to make a wave that feels entirely new and unexplored.

[Lyichir]

I prefer more varied lines like those of 2010 and now 2012. This has less to do with the variety in heroes (although I love that too) as with the variety in the villains. Part of what I like about Hero Factory compared to BIONICLE is that rather than having multiple villains of the same species, Hero Factory features a veritable "rogues gallery" of villains with differing origins, appearances, and personalities. This was less the case in Savage Planet, where there was essentially one villain with multiple "minions", and in Ordeal of Fire, where all of the villains shared the same general theme, making them less unique.

[The Inquisitive Automaton]

I think it's better to have the Savage Planet-esque lines than in Breakout. With those, you get to cover a wider area of your selected theme or environment and the experimentation looks good. However, when you've got the Breakout lines, you're limited to just one or two sets for each environment and as a result, there's less ground covered.

[Meiko]

I thought the Savage Planet line was plenty diverse, and I liked it for that. I haven't really been able to find a story in the Breakout series besides the villains broke out. I do however like the simplicity in the Breakout series above Savage Planet, because it allows for more unique tie-ins to the story. That's just my opinion though, but I can see where you find Savage Planet lacking diversity.

[Angel Bob]

^^ Well, the "main" story of Breakout is how the titular event distracts the Hero Factory long enough for Black Phantom to take it over and set up the next story arc. Anything more would be spoilers.

Anyway, I prefer Breakout to Savage Planet for many reasons, the foremost of which is that Breakout had fewer cringe moments in the episode, but that's not relevant to the current discussion. I also prefer the set diversity in lines like Breakout; I prefer to cover many themes rather than just one. Ideas like Jawblade don't come along often.

[Ptah]

I'll try and keep this focused on the sets rather than the story. If I get caught up in the story it will be a long 10 page critique.

Here's what I like in the current wave (The Breakout): I like the hero and villains are matched in specific settings. Furno and Jawblade under the sea for an example. It explains why the sets have the accessories they do. This is like the Vikings sets a few years back where each set had heroic Viking minifigs, a vehicle and a monster.

Where Lego could improve on this is to flesh out the locations on the website and the series. Water, Ice, Swamp, City? They've used such venues for decades how about mixing it up. Maybe tell us the Water planet Scylla has a fluorescent kelp forest or the Ice planet, is in the middle of a decade long winter. Some background info that makes the Breakout and the sets more engaging.

Here is what I like about the previous wave (Savage Planet): I liked the variety of the heroes. The helmets and claw really sold me on the sets. I bought all of them except Rocka. Instead of generic guns/tools, the claws and how they were set up were a little accessory change that has drawn me into buy sets since the Turaga in 2001. Oddly, the villain sets didn't wow me. The scorpion and the wasp have been done so many times, I can build a better one from parts. The hybrid and Fangz seemed too expensive for what they offered. And the Witch Doctor seemed the most out-of-place villain in a long time.

If my choice is between one central theme (Savage Planet) versus several mini-episodes (Breakout), I'd chose the mini-episodes. The mini episodes look to have more flexibility. Both in set design and in storytelling.