Could the story work without the whole Universe in the robot gimmick?

[Pupwa21]

We all know that Mata Nui is the face of the robot, Mata Nui, Voya Nui being in the Southern Continent, of the robot and Metru Nui being the brain of the robot. My question to you is can the whole Story work if it didn't have many of its locations in the robot? Mata Nui could stay the same, Metru Nui could be Mata Nui before some great event that makes it into Mata Nui we know and Voya Nui could simply be a faraway island from Mata Nui.

[fishers64]

Uh, no. 

 

Because then Mata Nui would have to transform itself back into Metru Nui in 2006 (EP?) and the whole 2007-2008 plot would have not worked very well at all.

 

Granted, if you ignore the serials/expanded universe, you could rule out some places like Odina, Daxia, and the continents, but Destral and Karda Nui would have to exist, and it makes more sense for Voya Nui to be connected to Karda somehow. You could have a bunch of thieves steal it and put it there, but given the amount of guardians and security measures placed around it, not a likely scenario. And it sort of makes sense for Metru Nui to be underground given that all the interesting things on Mata Nui are underground. 

Edited July 16, 2014 by fishers64

[bonesiii]

Well, a story could work without it -- stories work without giant robots all the time. But this story? ... Actually, yes and no. I mean, it worked for eight years before we knew about it, right? It just would be hard to fit with the end as we know it.

 

Although I'm confused by what you're asking; the title makes it sound like you're saying without the robot, but the post seems more ambiguous (the "many" in the second sentence makes it sound like some locations would still be in it?). Either way, an alternate version of a story is always possible, but it probably wouldn't be as coherent. Especially because "what is Mata Nui?" was the Big Question, and it was answered so simply by that reveal. Something else would probably be way more convoluted. But you're welcome to try in fanfics. (Hey, it was what I planned for my own main fanfics before 2008, so sure, I'll have to say it could work lol.)

 

BTW, I wouldn't really classify the giant as a gimmick, as it was the central idea behind Bionicle, but that may be semantics.

Edited July 16, 2014 by bonesiii

[Sumiki]

The later years would have been even more of a mess without it, so I'd be tempted to say no.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

The later years would have been even more of a mess without it, so I'd be tempted to say no.

Alternately, just ignore the mess of the later years (post-2008) altogether. With that qualification, I'd answer this topic's question with a resounding yes.

 

~B~

Edited July 16, 2014 by Ballom

[Tuuli]

Then it wouldn't be much of a "biological chronicle" because the beings aren't studying the biology of the spirit robot which is pretty essential to the whole thing

[Aanchir]

Yes, the story could work that way. However, since Mata Nui's identity was the foundation the entire theme was built on from the beginning, it would be utterly pointless to change it. At that point, you're basically creating an entirely new story, so why even call it BIONICLE? Why not call it "Voodoo Heads", since that's basically what BIONICLE was going to be back before the Mata Nui robot was conceived as its "big story engine"?

 

For more insight into how the idea of "giant robot Mata Nui" gave rise to the entire BIONICLE mythos, see here. The entire story — the Toa's arrival, their destiny, their battle — was inspired by Christian Faber's brain tumor treatments. You COULD make Mata Nui a literal spirit, but you would not be telling the same story, because for all intents and purposes there WAS no Mata Nui in the BIONICLE story before his physical embodiment was envisioned.

[SarracenianKaijin]

If it weren't called something utterly sterile and bankrupt as "robot", it would help a bit.

Edited July 17, 2014 by SarracenianKaijin

[Quisoves Potoo]

If it weren't called something utterly sterile and bankrupt as "robot", it would help a bit.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

It seems to me that Mata Nui's name is rather irrelevant to the concept of Mata Nui. He could be called a "Roomba" and he would remain the same. Does the triteness of the name "Big Bang" detract from our ability to marvel at the event itself?

[fishers64]

I would argue that we are more likely to assign trite and dull names to amazing and fantastic things, and tend to embellish boring things with interesting names to avoid boredom. This includes names.

 

Thereby, calling Mata Nui a giant robot is alluding to his fantastic nature, but calling him Mata Nui covers over the boring moniker with another fantastic name.

[boston100]

I wished that instead of everybody being in the mata nui robot they were all on the planet above it and when makuta hijacked it it just stood up and started smashing things. The fact that they lived inside it was kind of weird. That being said a lot of things wouldnt have made sence then.

[Zidonaro]

How would Spherus Magna be restored if there wasn't a robot ? It was his purpose from the very beginning.

 

It would change the story as a whole.

[Vartemp]

I remember being confused about this ever since I heard Metru Nui was "below" the island of Mata Nui. The introduction of Voya Nui somewhat helped me understand, but I stil found it odd how Metru Nui was "underground". When we finally learned at the end of 2008 of the robot, it all made sense to me.

 

To answer your question, I don't think the story would work, because before we learned of the robot, the location of these places weren't really well-described.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Vartemp