Complexity of Story and Age

[fishers64]

Vote away!

 

This poll is a test for the assertion that preferences for complex story affect one's viewpoint on Bionicle, and we tend to prefer more complex stories as we get older. This, consequently, pulls the wool over our eyes so we can't judge what the Lego group should do because they are catering to kids, after all. 

 

This obviously affects Bionicle, because some of us are old enough to be out of Lego's 8-14 target audience. The reverse of that is nostalgia, which the last question attempts to measure, but that probably would be better served by another poll. 

 

And yes, I know this blurs the lines between Bionicle Discussion and S&T and Lego Discussion. Move if need be (I'm settling on here for now). 

Edited August 23, 2014 by fishers64

[Aanchir]

Generally, I enjoy both simple stories and complex stories. Usually whether I enjoy a story depends more on how well a story is written and how many of my interests it appeals to than on how complex it is.

 

I voted that a story that is TOO simple would not appeal to me, but it's hard to exactly tap into what that means. LEGO City, for the most part, is about as simple as it gets... but at that point, even if it does arguably still have a story (firemen put out fires, policemen stop crooks, etc), the story is no longer the chief source of its appeal anyway. Newspaper comics also generally have simple stories, but they are still amusing In hindsight, maybe I wouldn't have voted for this if I had thought about it a bit harder. I won't become as invested in LEGO City or in newspaper comics as I would in a more story-driven franchise, but I wouldn't have to be deeply invested in them in order to enjoy them on a simpler level.

 

As for a story that's TOO complex, I can say with certainty that it would bother me. The more complex a story is, the more cognitive and emotional investment it demands in order to truly enjoy it, and there is a point at which you're not getting as much out of it as you put into it. Of course, as I mentioned above, it sort of depends on how many of my interests it appeals to and how well the story is told. A really convoluted nonfiction account of a historical event would not interest me as much as an equally convoluted fantasy story, unless perhaps if it happened to be an event that were particularly relevant to me for some reason, or if it were told in a particularly compelling or humorous way. In other words, what is or isn't "too complex" for me depends on the nature of the story.

 

I think when I was in the LEGO Group's target audience, I enjoyed stories of roughly the same complexity as I do now. I enjoyed moderately complex stories like BIONICLE, The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, but I also enjoyed simpler fare like Calvin & Hobbes comics, the Pokémon cartoon, Mario games, and LEGO themes like Knights' Kingdom II (which had some chapter books, but was generally still simple enough that the year's story could be told in roughly one dialogue-free mini-comic).

 

And I feel the BIONICLE storyline had up and down years, or at least up and down stories. I enjoyed the 2006 storyline, but it did not excite me to the same extent that the 2004, 2005, or 2007 storylines had. And 2003 had BIONICLE: Mask of Light (which I still love) but also C.A. Hapka's chapter books which I didn't particularly care for, the Rahkshi comics which never impressed me as much as the Bohrok comics from 2002, and the Bohrok-Kal saga which I felt forced and tacked-on (new Bohrok with random new powers, with greater intelligence but still no interesting or distinct personalities, fighting Toa Nuva who used their transformation as an excuse to forget every lesson they had ever learned about teamwork).

[randomreviewerbros]

Your comments never fail to impress Aanchir I really enjoy reading them 

But back to this I prefer something between complex and simple so its not to boring but keeps me intrigued enough to enjoy it, I really liked the BIONICLE storyline because it was just entertaining that you would have to wait 5 or 6 months to find out the next part when the new sets would come out, it was just really great

[bonesiii]

First question:

 

I generally prefer a mix of both; can enjoy both kinds of story

If a story is TOO COMPLEX, it bothers me.

 

I was tempted to pick:

 

Story complexity is one of the most important things to me when deciding what to read or watch

 

But didn't because this makes it sound like it's often one of the top things that make me decide. I can't remember really doing that. There are some series I've delayed following because I know they're complex, but only out of time management. I still hope to follow them later when I run out of other stuff to follow. I voted the "too complex" one because of my original reaction to Tolkien as a kid (more in a sec).

 

Second question:

 

When you were in Lego's target audience of 8-14 years old, do you think...

 

...that you would have preferred a SIMPLER story than you do now?

 

Because when I was a kid I thought I didn't like the more complex of Tolkien's works. I liked the Hobbit and managed to get through two of the LotR books but ended up stopping midway through the third, and didn't try again until years later (when the movies came out). At that point a lot had changed in my life and it obviously affected my tastes, as I found it easy to get through and then I read the Silmarillion too no problem (few works are as complex as that one). So I assume this would probably be an accurate overall indicator. But I don't recall it ever really being a problem with anything else, until some of Bionicle's later story, some of which still confuses even me. (That was part of why I wanted to attempt a retelling -- so I, too, could review at a pace necessary to get it, as much as I could.)

 

And third:

 

Bionicle had up years and down years; quality changed with each year differently.

 

Pretty self-explanatory. Some aspects of it got better, some got worse (often in tradeoffs). In some ways it appealed to its target audience better, others worse.

[FallenCor]

Aanchir basically took the words right out of my mouth, ha ha. I will say, however, that I tend to lean more towards the second option of the third question. Aside from little things here and there, Bionicle's overall quality remained relatively consistent throughout its entire run, at least in my opinion. I don't recall ever being particularly displeased with any of its storylines or toy series. But, then again, I'm the type who tends to be fairly chill about everything, so Lego would have had to pull some pretty ludicrous moves to make me dislike any arc as a whole.

[Kaxix]

I usually prefer a good balance between a complex and a simple story. But if it were Bionicle, I'd still try to follow though.

My taste has remained almost the same.

The story had both good and bad moments in all the sagas. However, I wasn't a big fan of the last three years, to be honest.

[toa kopaka4372]

I can enjoy both kinds of stories, but I do tend to enjoy complex stories more.

 

Not much has changed since the days when I was in the target audience's range. I loved complex stories then, I still do now. The difference is that I tend to appreciate characterization  and character development more now (which fortunately BIONICLE offered in spades). 

 

I actually think the story got better over time, in that 2004 onwards was superior in many ways to the first three years. However, I don't really think that the Ignition saga was vastly better than the Metru Nui arc, for example- the quality in them all is rather consistent, with slight variations from year to year.

[Pomegranate]

I'm a fan of complex stories, with a lot of loose plot threads that branch out and eventually all come back together over the course of several years, with a million characters and details to keep track of. It's more engaging for me and whenever something comes back around, I get really excited. I enjoy having to spend years keeping up with a story as it unfolds, or if I've missed it, sit through hundreds of episodes on Netflix and have it all unfold in front of me. I like having to go through multiple sources and types of media to get the full story. That's just me. I also enjoy simple stories, with clear beginning, middle, and end, with a small group of characters without a million variables to take into account. Bionicle was a mix of both, because all the complicated stuff was really just additional information that you didn't really need and often in side stories int he form of serials in later years, and you didn't need to red 'em to get the main good chunk of the story. It was pretty simple in the early years, too, and didn't start to branch out and get complex until 2005, with the introduction of TSO and the OoMN in Time Trap and the little things thrown around during the Visorak arc, like Krakha and Tahtorak introducing species that aren't native to where the story was taking place.

I don't think the complexity was a problem, and it was how it was handled and the quality of writing and kinds of stories present that really mattered, and those had their high and low points over the years. Generally, I think it's safe to say that with 2004 onwards it was the even numbered years that were best and the odd numbered years that lacked the same energy or had the most faults, at least to me, anyways. 

[Fry]

2001 story was best in my opinion. Sorry, I'm a Bionicle purist. 

Edited August 24, 2014 by PrismWind

[Toa Smoke Monster]

1. It does bother me if a story is too simple or too cpmplex, but overall I enjoy both kinds of stories. 

 

2. I enjoyed complex stories as much then as I do now. 

 

3. I personally thought that Bionicle's storyline roughly maintained the some quality over its ten year run. I never thought that it had any 'down' years.

[MrSciFiGuy]

I love complex stories and Bionicle got more complex by default. In the end, I loved the serials online because they had so many characters spanning different years. It was awesome to see it all come together like that

[25K Now!]

I like some complexity to my stories, but I feel if it takes several different serials to deal with numerous plot threads, it may be overly complex for a line like BIONICLE. Not to say I didn't enjoy them, but it was quite confusing to follow.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

I prefer epic, complex stories (which is why At World's End is my favorite PotC movie), but the types of stories I love most are the ones that can be read in a complex sort of way, or a simple way, depending on your level of interest.

 

For example: Lord of the Rings. You can watch the movies and get the general story, but you can also watch the extended editions and learn more about the characters and the world they live in, even if it isn't totally relevant to the story.

 

Another example is Star Wars. You can learn about the universe the "simple way" and just see the movies, but there's also a plethora of material that adds to the story - comics, novels, TV shows, etc.

 

I think Bionicle did this sort of well. The comics and movies were the "simple" story, while the books and serials were there for fans who wanted a more complex and involved story with more plotlines, more characters, more explanations for events.

[That Matoran with a Vahi]

I can pretty much enjoy either. I mean, for one example in my case, I can enjoy the simplicity of MLP and the incredible complexity of Homestuck on equal levels. It's not a deciding factor for me, essentially; I'm more likely to judge a story by how much I can invest in the characters than in degree of complexity or lack thereof.

 

The other two questions, I can't say much that wouldn't just echo Bonesiii above. When I was younger, simpler stories held more appeal to me; I just didn't gain the patience to invest in something more complex until I'd aged a bit. And yeah; at the time and in hindsight both, I thought Bionicle had its up and down years even when in its prime. Personal preference there though, I guess.

[Fyreball]

As a writer, I myself have often thought about Bionicle in my forethought when thinking about story arcs in general. The up and down years, which I believe it had, sadly, muddled this. I think the "Ignition" or Karda Nui years, were the climax of an epic story, that started with the Mata Nui arc. I honestly think that the emergency ending was what muddled it up a lot.

 

Stories mature. They live and breathe through their readers. Tolkien didn't write LOTR the same way he wrote The Hobbit. He knew audiences grew. JK Rowling's Harry Potter series constantly evolved, book to book.

 

And so did Bionicle....for a while. But the ups and downs weren't just in story quality, they were in consistency as well. Some years (In my opinion, Mahi and Mistika) were really, really, odd balls which contributed little to the stories, and almost nothing their predecessors couldn't have.

 

One thing I loved was the deeper aspects of the lore could only be explored if you WANTED to explore them, via additional source materials and such. Let's not forget, Bionicle was originally just another toy, in a mega-company. The fact that it had ANY depth is amazing, especially THIS much.