30 replies to this topic

[Flaredrick: the Sniper]

Obvious. The story of a reformed Spherus Magna and the troubles that happen.

[Grandmaster Lehvorak]

It might be a problem because you got to appeal to the audience of today. It is because you need to sell it to both old and new audiences. In the business world it is all about profit. Lego might have to work hard on getting the attention of new audiences out there aside from pleasing us old fans if they want to benefit.

 

Lehvorak

[Chro]

... the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. 

Where'd you hear that? There are plenty of members who'd like that to happen, but probably just as many against it. The site has no collective mission to bring back Bionicle.

Anyway, on-topic, I'd figure we'd see a semi-futuristic Spherus Magna, long after the Reformation. Cliche as Bionicle stories go, but it'd work.

[Sir Kohran]

I know that I'm new here, but from what I have already seen, the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. My question is, what do do think the storyline would be if the product line were to be resumed? 

 

BZPower has no goal beyond discussion, creativity and the maintenance of the community that was built up in Bionicle's lifetime. Bringing back Bionicle is for Lego to do, not us. It is their property and their decision to make, not ours.

 

As for the question, one of the reasons for the line's cancellation was the cumbersome complexity of its story, so I imagine a new storyline would simply start from scratch.

[Makuta_of_Oz]

I only wish that many BZPers wanted Bionicle back.

 

Greg Farshtey is taking steps to prepare Bionicle's story for a potential return, introducing a number of dangers on Spherus Magna, a number of potential main villains and a whole new world that is independent on the old world and story.

[~Shockwave~]

I know that I'm new here, but from what I have already seen, the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. My question is, what do do think the storyline would be if the product line were to be resumed?

- Curius

 

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaano. While a lot of us might like it back. this is not the goal. the goal here is to discuss a toyline that was (and still is) a part of our lives.

 

And personally, I think that, for the time being, I'ts best to stay the way it currently is. I cannot imagine where you got that idea.

[Cratak]

If Lego did bring it back (which I do not see them doing for a long, long time), they would probably start from Spherus Magna being reformed. As Makuta of Oz said, Greg already has multiple possibilities if the story did continue. I don't think they would highlight on any old characters (that would be for the online serials), but they would have new teams of both Toa and Glatorian in the limelight. They'd also probably keep this team around for a while, maybe adding a few characters into it as the story goes along like they're doing with Hero Factory.

 

Probably.

 

Or they could just scrap everything and build a totally new universe, just with the same types of beings.

[Lord Nektann]

I think there are a couple options for Lego here.

 

1. Continue with present story, having maybe Velika as the main antagonist, replacing Teridax. Spherus Magna is so huge, you can come up with anything. You can make a new species, new armies, new things. It's a WHOLE planet and there are tons of locations you can explore with new characters.

 

2. Do something on Spherus Magna, but with new characters and continue with classic ones through serials. It can be set on Spherus Magna, but with entirely new people elsewhere on the planet. Possibly this could be Bota Magna Agori, with maybe Lewa being a returning classic character.

 

3. Go to Core War era. They could do a thing in the past with the Great Beings, Glatorian, and lots of plot devices in the past. There's a lot of ground to cover in the past and could be very intriguing. 

 

4. Explore the universe. Mata Nui visited countless inhabited planets. You could visit one and establish it as in the Bionicle universe, and use serials to keep up with classic characters. An interesting thought is a group of people who have developed a spiritual belief based on Mata Nui from when he visited them.

 

5. Alternate universe. Keep with the prime ones through serials, but essentially reboot the Bionicle story. You could have the point of divergence be when GBs designed interior islands, and designed a much different internal society in Mata Nui to keep the locations fresh. This would be an interesting new look at the Bionicle story.

 

Those are what I think Bionicle's options are.

[Kraahlix]

I know that I'm new here, but from what I have already seen, the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. My question is, what do do think the storyline would be if the product line were to be resumed?

- Curius

 

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaano. While a lot of us might like it back. this is not the goal. the goal here is to discuss a toyline that was (and still is) a part of our lives.

 

And personally, I think that, for the time being, I'ts best to stay the way it currently is. I cannot imagine where you got that idea.

 

He's new. Maybe hasn't looked around as much as you have.

[Makuta Matata]

Probably something Spherus Magna related. 

[~Shockwave~]

I know that I'm new here, but from what I have already seen, the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. My question is, what do do think the storyline would be if the product line were to be resumed?

- Curius

 

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaano. While a lot of us might like it back. this is not the goal. the goal here is to discuss a toyline that was (and still is) a part of our lives.

 

And personally, I think that, for the time being, I'ts best to stay the way it currently is. I cannot imagine where you got that idea.

 

He's new. Maybe hasn't looked around as much as you have.

 

I'm well aware of that. But nowhere does it say that that is our mission. And, from what I've seen only a few members partitioning for that nowadays. So I can't see where that idea came from.

[Lord Nektann]

I know that I'm new here, but from what I have already seen, the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. My question is, what do do think the storyline would be if the product line were to be resumed?

- Curius

 

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaano. While a lot of us might like it back. this is not the goal. the goal here is to discuss a toyline that was (and still is) a part of our lives.

 

And personally, I think that, for the time being, I'ts best to stay the way it currently is. I cannot imagine where you got that idea.

 

He's new. Maybe hasn't looked around as much as you have.

 

I'm well aware of that. But nowhere does it say that that is our mission. And, from what I've seen only a few members partitioning for that nowadays. So I can't see where that idea came from.

It's not 'our mission' so much as that most people here would love it to come back. There are some who want it to end and were glad it ended, but they're the minority. Most would like it to return.

 

Another thought for Bionicle's return would be a post-apocolyptic Spherus Magna where a group of maybe a mix of Glatorian/Toa etc is on a quest to find the Ignika and revive Mata Nui and save them from the tyrannical rule of a new race.

[Lewa Krom]

It might be a problem because you got to appeal to the audience of today. It is because you need to sell it to both old and new audiences. In the business world it is all about profit. Lego might have to work hard on getting the attention of new audiences out there aside from pleasing us old fans if they want to benefit.

 

Lehvorak

 

The audience of today probably hasn't changed much in tastes from the audience of 2010. Just sayin'. And Bionicle was able to appeal to the audiences of 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 as well.

 

Personally, I would expect them to continue with Spherus Magna given that Greg is still being allowed to build onto that world. Regardless, I don't care as it is almost certain IMO that Greg would be writing it.

 

Let's Keep Bionicle Alive,

 

Lewa Krom

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

It might be a problem because you got to appeal to the audience of today. It is because you need to sell it to both old and new audiences. In the business world it is all about profit. Lego might have to work hard on getting the attention of new audiences out there aside from pleasing us old fans if they want to benefit.
 
Lehvorak

 
The audience of today probably hasn't changed much in tastes from the audience of 2010. Just sayin'. And Bionicle was able to appeal to the audiences of 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 as well.
 
Personally, I would expect them to continue with Spherus Magna given that Greg is still being allowed to build onto that world. Regardless, I don't care as it is almost certain IMO that Greg would be writing it.
 
Let's Keep Bionicle Alive,
 
Lewa Krom
 

The audience of today hasn't changed much since 2010, but by 2010 BIONICLE was no longer successful enough to have any kind of staying power. If it were, then it would have stayed. As it is, it had enough appeal to make a small wave of low-budget sets profitable, which isn't saying that much for it. So yes, BIONICLE would have to be revamped somewhat to appeal to the kids of whenever it comes back.

Also I've seen a lot of people arguing that people either do or don't want BIONICLE to come back. Let's not forget those like myself who are more or less ambivalent. I guarantee that there is a large population of BIONICLE fans who would probably love if it came back, but currently have no overwhelming desire to see it come back. For me, BIONICLE ended when the main saga wrapped up in 2010. And while it could definitely come back when the time is right and the creators have a story that they believe will work for it, and while I'd almost certainly buy it if this were to happen, I'm more or less content letting it rest in peace until/unless such circumstances arise. In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying Hero Factory and Ninjago.

[Sir Kohran]

The well-known quote about Star Trek has been mentioned, and I see it in several signatures, but is Star Trek - or television in general - really an appropriate example?

 

Think about it - with a dormant TV show, there's still huge numbers of repeats that can be shown which keeps up awareness, in addition to releasing edition after edition of DVDs and memorabilia. This maintains fans' interest and even attracts new ones to the franchise, without actually bringing it back by releasing anything new. Look at shows like The X Files, Monty Python, or the Fresh Prince of Bel Air - nothing new has been done with them for many years, and it's unlikely anything ever will, but most of the public would still recognise them, because their presence has been maintained in the public conscience.

 

That's not the case with Bionicle, because no such effort has been made to maintain any sort of presence for it. There isn't a trace of it left in the offline world - nothing on TV, nothing in the shops. The few thousand members on here and the odd adult who simply remember the line are too few in number to convince Lego there's an audience to make a return worthwhile. If Bionicle is brought back, it'll have to create a completely new fanbase.

Edited by Sir Kohran, Jan 27 2013 - 04:55 PM.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

The well-known quote about Star Trek has been mentioned, and I see it in several signatures, but is Star Trek - or television in general - really an appropriate example?

 

No, it is not. In addition to what you said, Star Trek has an adult fanbase. The entertainment of the story came first and foremost before special effects (which is why the Star Wars prequels are trash).

 

Now lets look at BIONICLE: the 'fanbase' is a bunch of kids who lost interest in the line in 2010, and the toy sales are always the most important part of the line as opposed to the story itself.

Edited by TheSkeletonMan939, Jan 27 2013 - 07:10 PM.

[X-Ray]

I think there are a couple options for Lego here.

 

1. Continue with present story, having maybe Velika as the main antagonist, replacing Teridax. Spherus Magna is so huge, you can come up with anything. You can make a new species, new armies, new things. It's a WHOLE planet and there are tons of locations you can explore with new characters.

 

2. Do something on Spherus Magna, but with new characters and continue with classic ones through serials. It can be set on Spherus Magna, but with entirely new people elsewhere on the planet. Possibly this could be Bota Magna Agori, with maybe Lewa being a returning classic character.

 

3. Go to Core War era. They could do a thing in the past with the Great Beings, Glatorian, and lots of plot devices in the past. There's a lot of ground to cover in the past and could be very intriguing. 

 

4. Explore the universe. Mata Nui visited countless inhabited planets. You could visit one and establish it as in the Bionicle universe, and use serials to keep up with classic characters. An interesting thought is a group of people who have developed a spiritual belief based on Mata Nui from when he visited them.

 

5. Alternate universe. Keep with the prime ones through serials, but essentially reboot the Bionicle story. You could have the point of divergence be when GBs designed interior islands, and designed a much different internal society in Mata Nui to keep the locations fresh. This would be an interesting new look at the Bionicle story.

 

Those are what I think Bionicle's options are.

 

I agree with you, Lord Nektann. Any of these five options seem quite viable to me, but as much as I am fond of the idea of five options, not to mention the actual number five, I find only three to be of my personal liking. To me, the three best of these five scenarios, in order of my liking, are 1, 2, and 4.

 

No. 1 gives us what Mr. Curius52 has suggested might happen, and what the older fans might like- more of the same. I for one think that it has the most promise, for as you said, there is a whole planet to explore, with ample story opportunities. In the interest of establishing a new fan base, it would be simple matter to say, "One year ago, a giant robot containing hundreds of biomechanical beings crash landed on Spherus Magna, and gave rise to a great new society. But now..." They could also always go for the "In the time before time" spiel again, but that's another topic.

 

With option No. 2, we have a chance to begin the story anew, with a setting not unlike that of Mata Nui back in 2001. Perhaps with this new story, tabs could be kept on the original characters with the serials, as some have suggested. However, as much as there is such a promising story here, it will have to collide with the main story eventually, what with Lewa's presence and all.

 

No. 4, I believe, is what I see as a last ditch effort, the most desirable of the remaining three options. On the one hand, starting over from scratch while being loosely connected to the original continuity may not be an entirely bad idea. Your suggestion that some sort of religion may have sprang up following one of Mata Nui's landings, however, may not fly with Lego. Granted, while much Bionicle media has portrayed Mata Nui in a very spiritual way, (specifically, I refer to the films), a full on religion may be a bit much.

 

Your other two options (No. 3 and No. 5), to speak frankly, are likely the last things that Lego would want to do. Going to the past would put the already convoluted story into more hot water, and going to an alternate universe would be worse in that it would please few while having the same problems as No. 3 (I for one actually find the various alternate universes to be interesting phenomena, and opine that some kind of exploration of them in the context of option No. 1 might be in order).

 

All in all, I like No. 1 the best, consider No. 2 to have some potential, and view No. 4 as interesting, but not ideal for the sake of older fans. Perhaps it could work, if only tabs could be kept on the old story. At any rate, reconciling the two would require nothing less than science fiction, which Greg Farshtey seems to be loathe to do, in spite of some comparisons to Star Trek. However, I do note that the Bionicle 5 treatment he published on his blog did incorporate elements of that genre, but to a lesser degree.

 

X-Ray

[Kraahlix]

I know that I'm new here, but from what I have already seen, the collective goal of BZPower is to bring back Bionicle. My question is, what do do think the storyline would be if the product line were to be resumed?

- Curius

 

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaano. While a lot of us might like it back. this is not the goal. the goal here is to discuss a toyline that was (and still is) a part of our lives.

 

And personally, I think that, for the time being, I'ts best to stay the way it currently is. I cannot imagine where you got that idea.

 

He's new. Maybe hasn't looked around as much as you have.

 

I'm well aware of that. But nowhere does it say that that is our mission. And, from what I've seen only a few members partitioning for that nowadays. So I can't see where that idea came from.

I'm just pointing out that it's good to think about what kind of tone our new members are greeted with. Something obviously gave him the idea, so it's nothing to worry about.

[aaninja64]

I would love to see a reboot featuring a mission that requires a team to return to the MU, to go retrieve some important MacGuffin. Preferably the Chronicler's Company, Toa-fied. And since the life-support systems are down, they would have to go in wearing some type of hazmat armor. But once they arrive, they find mutants & scavengers roaming the destroyed islands.

 

...excuse me while I go write a fanfic.

[Autobot Grimlock]

I would love to see a reboot featuring a mission that requires a team to return to the MU, to go retrieve some important MacGuffin. Preferably the Chronicler's Company, Toa-fied. And since the life-support systems are down, they would have to go in wearing some type of hazmat armor. But once they arrive, they find mutants & scavengers roaming the destroyed islands.

 

...excuse me while I go write a fanfic.

 

Actually I like this Idea,and only the Main Villain could be A Visorak/Matoran Fusion that hated Matoran,Toa,Turaga,ect. 

[Vakama-san]

If Bionicle WERE to return...I think they'd either (1) reboot the series, or (2) start where it left off. In the case of the former, I think they'd probably simplify the story a bit for the younger kids. However, if they start off at Spherus Magna, the would probably simplify the story a bit as well, but leave a good enough connection to the rest of the story for the returning fans.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if they started at the beginning again, as it would allow them to fix discrepancies and make the ending less...rushed. And it would be a great excuse to rerelease the old characters again!(unless they mess up and make the sets really poor, but I highly doubt that would be the case)

However, I would love it if they started where they left off, because I don't want to wait 8-9 years for something new to happen.

Edited by Vakama-san, Feb 06 2013 - 02:07 PM.

[Content with Life]

The adventures of a Toa team in the time period of thousands of years prior to Metru Nui and their heroic crusade of justice against evil warlords and monsters.

[Strack]

if the bionicle story line was brought back, I would be a happy man. but if they do bring it back, I mean, they have loads of possible main villains, Tuma, Velika (maybe) the Skakdi fusion, the like. though what would be epic would be someone finds some sort of stone, and it relates the stuff BEFORE Bara Magna. who are the great beings, really? what was made before Spherus Magna? what was their motive? questions like this could be answered in that sort of story line.

[Chro]

though what would be epic would be someone finds some sort of stone, 

MacGuffin alert

MacGuffin alert

 

Yeah, that's what it would probably come down to, for better or for worse.

[Ghabulous Ghoti]

I'd rather they just finish the story as it was left off without sets or LEGO to restrict it in any way. Finish the current serials, tie up loose ends, then end the story.

[darkslizer]

Honestly, I want it to be about the Alternate Universes and several beings traveling to them. Also, I think one or two of the lesser Makuta should have actually survived, giving some more main enemies. But, being more realistic, it's probably going to be about Spherus Magna and problems going on there. I don't really want that to happen, though. LE sigh.

[Kooler186]

We should learn more about the  Alternate dimensions, stories of other characters (ex: Lesovikk's self exile)