OFFICIAL Bionicle 2015 Topic

[believe victims]

I'd honestly much rather prefer a soft reboot, with only minimal references to the previous story. In the case of the Mask of Creation, you can just say something like "Once worn by a mighty builder and ruler...". The same goes for most of the returning characters. I'd probably be okay with the story serials being dropped and this new main story being set years after all of it was resolved as long as there isn't a complete disconnect between this Bionicle and the old. It might sour my enjoyment of this new brand if I'm constantly comparing it to the original, and knowing that 14 years of my life wasn't being acknowledged. 

 

Rebooting a line doesn't erase what came before. Transformers has rebooted time and time again and yet the G1 cartoon continues to exist. It doesn't continue, but it exists.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

 

But to infer that there is no way to keep both the previous line's lore intact while trying to "start fresh" in a sense is silly. It can be done, and people want it to be that way (if you look beyond BZP) if you see the social media sites.

 

 

Starting fresh with a story as convoluted as Bionicle takes far too much effort to be worth more than just straight up rebooting it. If they use the Toa Mata, Tahu's Golden Armor won't be the only thing begging questions. If they're still five Nuva and one Mata, that will confuse newer fans, but if they're all Mata, that will confuse older fans. Therefore, older fans, who, statistically, are mostly outside the target audience anyway, are more likely to be cut as far as interests go, and therefore, you lose all point of a time-skip/continuation anyway.

 

There is no reason for a continuation/time skip besides to please older fans, and if that comes at the cost of driving potential new fans away, LEGO will not do it, plain and simple.

 

When it comes to doing a soft-reboot, you have to ask what is relevant and what isn't. One solution to this is just dropping the idea of Mata and Nuva altogether.

 

Again, if older fans want to know why, there can be an explanation somewhere else where it doesn't intervene with the main plot. We know LEGO has approached the fans of the expanded universe before with BionicleStory.com.

 

-NotS

[Toa TAK]

 

But to infer that there is no way to keep both the previous line's lore intact while trying to "start fresh" in a sense is silly. It can be done, and people want it to be that way (if you look beyond BZP) if you see the social media sites.

 

 

Starting fresh with a story as convoluted as Bionicle takes far too much effort to be worth more than just straight up rebooting it. If they use the Toa Mata, Tahu's Golden Armor won't be the only thing begging questions. If they're still five Nuva and one Mata, that will confuse newer fans, but if they're all Mata, that will confuse older fans. Therefore, older fans, who, statistically, are mostly outside the target audience anyway, are more likely to be cut as far as interests go, and therefore, you lose all point of a time-skip/continuation anyway.

 

There is no reason for a continuation/time skip besides to please older fans, and if that comes at the cost of driving potential new fans away, LEGO will not do it, plain and simple.

 

Who says that he still has to have his golden armor, though? Who says that there can't be some simple handwaving done to bring back the other Nuva to the forefront again? Or that they can't simply explain (again, somewhere else and out of the way) that they're all in this new form after being Nuva?

 

Yes, a reboot is the easy way to go and will probably work, but I don't see it driving away potential fans if they neglect those problems in the new story that doesn't have to reference the old one. They can still exist together, I really believe that.

 

TAK

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Also, LEGO is clearly trying to cater to the fans of the older series. That's why they invited BZPower to Comic-Con, and revealed the franchise early via social media. I'm sure all 7000 fans of the Facebook page right now are people who grew up with Bionicle.

 

So I'm sure they know exactly how vocal the fanbase is about having a continuation. This isn't just about attracting a new audience, and if there's a way to appeal to both I'm sure they'll take it. 

 

-NotS 

Edited September 22, 2014 by Nidhiki of the Shadows

[Makaru]

Inferring every older fan of Bionicle wanting this to be a full-on continuation is remarkably disingenuous by far. I think we can all agree on that. I would go so far as to say I would be surprised if it was even a majority.

 

Lego wants to maximize on the older fanbase, for sure. But their main focus should, obviously, be on the hundreds of thousands of potential Bionicle fans that do not exist yet.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Makaru

[Blastcage]

Since I was the first to mention the small upcoming Friday reveal, do I get like a news credit or something? 

 

Anywho, I'm all for a reboot, much prefer it. Original story got too messy at times. Reboot gives them the opportunity to keep it from getting too convoluted. 

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

From what I have seen, there have been a huge amount of comments begging for a continuation. I'm not saying all older fans want it, but the ones who do are extremely vocal about it. 

 

-NotS

[Toa Of Virtues]

"We cannot reveal too much information before NYCC – well…maybe just a small thing, but you’ll have to wait for Friday!"

 

Taken from the Bionicle facebook page.

 

EDIT: Ninjad

Edited September 22, 2014 by TuragaOfVirtues

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

"We cannot reveal too much information before NYCC – well…maybe just a small thing, but you’ll have to wait for Friday!"

 

Taken from the Bionicle facebook page.

I still wonder what it could be...

 

Since I was the first to mention the small upcoming Friday reveal, do I get like a news credit or something? 

Actually, you only get news credit if you send it in to news@bzpower.com. Lettin ya know for next time!

 

-NotS

[Irrie]

 

"We cannot reveal too much information before NYCC – well…maybe just a small thing, but you’ll have to wait for Friday!"

 

Taken from the Bionicle facebook page.

I still wonder what it could be...

 

Obviously it's the announcement of the reboot of Throwbots. 

 

Anyway, I'm sure that it's going to be the in-depth descriptions of the individual sets. If I was a Lego manager-boss-dude-person, that's what I would do.

[masterchirox580]

Something interesting I noticed over at the LMBs:

 

https://community.lego.com/t5/LEGO-General/Chat-with-Greg-Farshtey/td-p/6605180/page/469

 

He says "I am only only familiar with first half year story for 2015", summer wave confirmed?

[Turaga Jack]

"We cannot reveal too much information before NYCC – well…maybe just a small thing, but you’ll have to wait for Friday!"

 

Taken from the Bionicle facebook page.

 

EDIT: Ninjad

Another friday reveal! What if this is LEGO's marketing plan, they'll reveal something every Friday!

[Irrie]

 

"We cannot reveal too much information before NYCC – well…maybe just a small thing, but you’ll have to wait for Friday!"

 

Taken from the Bionicle facebook page.

 

EDIT: Ninjad

Another friday reveal! What if this is LEGO's marketing plan, they'll reveal something every Friday!

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. 

[Makuta Miras]

It's a Seeeeecret Friday Update! (And yes, that was a shameless Minecraft reference . )

[Chro]

Something interesting I noticed over at the LMBs:

 

https://community.lego.com/t5/LEGO-General/Chat-with-Greg-Farshtey/td-p/6605180/page/469

 

He says "I am only only familiar with first half year story for 2015", summer wave confirmed?

Did you expect Bionicle to be brought back for one wave only?

[Turaga Jack]

 

Something interesting I noticed over at the LMBs:

 

https://community.lego.com/t5/LEGO-General/Chat-with-Greg-Farshtey/td-p/6605180/page/469

 

He says "I am only only familiar with first half year story for 2015", summer wave confirmed?

Did you expect Bionicle to be brought back for one wave only?

 

Well, though it was fairly certain we never could have been 100% sure, so it's good to have a confirmation.

[Aanchir]

From what I have seen, there have been a huge amount of comments begging for a continuation. I'm not saying all older fans want it, but the ones who do are extremely vocal about it. 

 

-NotS

The ones who do are also extremely picky about it.

 

Some are worried about a reboot not living up to the original. Well, that's a very valid concern, but there's no guarantee that a continuation would live up to the original in their eyes, either. After all, some people have already found stupid reasons to assume the new story will be "too kiddish" based on it using words like magic or having a slightly thicker logo. If they're this picky about the new BIONICLE being exactly like the old BIONICLE in every way, they're going to be disappointed no matter WHAT happens, because the BIONICLE storyline was constantly changing and there's no reason that would stop during the four years it was gone.

 

Some are demanding (yes, demanding!) closure regarding every single one of the flailing loose ends that the old BIONICLE storyline left behind. So there's no reason to assume that these fans would be any happier with a time skip that left hundreds of unanswered questions than they would be with a reboot.

 

Some, of course, are opposed to a reboot on principle. And in that case, even a "soft reboot" might be seen as a betrayal.

 

Here's the biggest difference between fans of the old BIONICLE and new fans. Fans of the old BIONICLE have had four years to reinforce their ideas of how BIONICLE should continue. Many have very particular expectations they want it to meet, and those expectations are often at odds with each other. Trying to appeal to an audience that can't even agree what it was about the old storyline that made it so great is a fool's errand.

 

Is it really worth the LEGO Group's time and effort to try to please an audience that has already proven itself picky, demanding, and difficult to please? An audience that has had four years to decide what they want from BIONICLE and is willing to turn their backs on the brand if it fails to meet those rigid expectations?

 

One more thing: I'm sure that many Transformers fans were probably just as vocal about not wanting a reboot back before that franchise was rebooted for the first time. But Hasbro rebooted the franchise anyway, doing its best to make sure the reboot maintained what people loved about the franchise in the first place. A lot of fans moved on willingly, accepting the necessity of a reboot. Some fans remained stuck in their ways, but the franchise not only survived but thrived without them. Pandering to the loudest voices in the room is not by any means a foolproof way of making the best decisions for a franchise.

[toa kopaka4372]

 

 

but as long as the old canon isn't wiped from history by this new canon, I'm okay with this development. 

Don't worry, it won't be. Someone asked Greg about this a few weeks back on the LMB, and his answer basically amounted to "the old story all still happened, it would just exist in a different continuity to the one the reboot takes place in."

 

I think I'm ok with anything at this point, even if I would still prefer a time-skip continuation. If the hard reboot is as good as classic BIONICLE, though, then fine. It's still BIONICLE, and now I can introduce friends to it who never got to experience it the first time around. It'll be new for me too, since I wasn't a fan during the original BIONICLE's first year.

[Adventurer]

I think it might also be worth pointing out in terms of fans wanting a continuation - that I've seen a decent amount of fans online who have said they're excited for the new line but were unimpressed with the state of the last few years of the story in general and would rather that be left behind. There's going to be people unhappy no matter what TLC decides to do - it's just a matter I think of picking the best option for the quality of the line and its success. Personally I like the "soft reboot" idea (I use quotation marks because everyone seems to have a different definition of all these terms ) where its a new start of some sort but doesn't entirely disregard everything that has happened. There's a large number of ways that could be achieved and it seems to be a nice compromise for old fans of both types as well as giving the creators the freedom they need to do what they want with the new line.

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

I don't care if it is a reboot or not- just as long as I get Bionicle sets back!

[Banana Gunz]

To be perfectly honest I used to not like Bionicle at all, in fact I hated it until I started to understand and get into it towards the end. Know why? Because when I got the comics from 2007 in the Lego Magazine I opened them up and I was dreadfully confused. I didn't understand what was going on, who the heroes were, and anything in between. Eventually around 2009 I started doing some research and slowly got more and more into Bionicle until here I am today, a fully fledged Bionicle fan. But Bionicle was not inviting for me at all in the way I was first exposed to it (2007 wasn't the first time I saw it, but it was the first time I identified the name with it and got a closer look at it), and I only got to experience its beauty much later. Imagine how a new fan might feel if exposed to that. I wouldn't be surprised at all they turned away from it. To the people screaming about how much it has to be a continuation, think about how new fans will feel. I'm sure a continuation can be done well, especially if given the proper care, but it's not worth it in my eyes. Just wanted to throw out my own personal perspective on the matter.

 

I only ask for two things with a return of Bionicle: HewkiixMacku, and ussal crabs.   

Edited September 22, 2014 by Banana Gunz

[Irrie]

I only ask for two things with a return of Bionicle: HewkiixMacku, and ussal crabs.   

Even if Lego doesn't, you can trust the community to take care of it. 

[Uzumakikunai]

Hype train has no brakes. Looking forward to the resurrection of one of my favourite stories

[Fry]

LEGO Seecret Friday Updates, I'm digging that idea...

[Willess12]

Secret Friday updates.  I like the idea, but if LeGo did that every Friday, they'd soon run out of things to say.  And fans would start asking for Lego-sanctioned Bionicle-Minecraft cross-overs.  Come to think of it, if the leaked images are anything to go by (not going into detail 'cause we aren't supposed to), LeGo already did.

 

And yes, it is proper to write Lego like that.  No one does, though.

 

Edit: Oooor maybe it isn't.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Willess12

[Lyichir]

Secret Friday updates.  I like the idea, but if LeGo did that every Friday, they'd soon run out of things to say.  And fans would start asking for Lego-sanctioned Bionicle-Minecraft cross-overs.  Come to think of it, if the leaked images are anything to go by (not going into detail 'cause we aren't supposed to), LeGo already did.

 

And yes, it is proper to write Lego like that.  No one does, though.

It's... actually not proper to write Lego that way. You're right that no one does that—not even Lego themselves. It should be Lego, or LEGO, or maybe The Lego Group (when referring to them as an organization specifically), but there's absolutely no precedent for the CamelCase you're advocating.

 

Anyway, regular Friday updates wouldn't have to spoil everything. There are what, fourteen, fifteen weeks left in the year? There might very well be more sets than that in store, especially considering the possibility that there are promotional or store-exclusive sets that haven't even been leaked. And considering they don't have to reveal a full set each week, and probably have other story-based material like concept art or videos to share as well, I could see them revealing a little bit more each week and still having plenty of material to spare come next year.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Lyichir

[Willess12]

 

Anyway, regular Friday updates wouldn't have to spoil everything. There are what, fourteen, fifteen weeks left in the year? There might very well be more sets than that in store, especially considering the possibility that there are promotional or store-exclusive sets that haven't even been leaked. And considering they don't have to reveal a full set each week, and probably have other story-based material like concept art or videos to share as well, I could see them revealing a little bit more each week and still having plenty of material to spare come next year.

 

I wasn't just referring to the idea of Friday updates for this year; I was saying if Lego did thay every Friday from now on.  Yes, they could feasibly do a Friday update every Friday for the rest of the year.  I think that'd be cool.

 

And I know I read somewhere it was proper to write Lego as LeGo.  Evidently, I was wrong, so I'll stop writing it that way.  I like to be different, but not plain wrong.

[25K Now!]

They could probably pull off Friday reveals as long as they reveal one little thing per Friday.

[Bfahome]

Re: old famd only wanting a continuation:

 

As someone who's closely followed BIONICLE since 2091, I hope they make it a reboot. That will allow them to basically start on Mata Nui all over again and hopefully capture some of the mysticism of the beginning.

 

Obviously as someone looking back I have to realize that a lot of the wonder I got from it was because I was much younger and had much more limited resources at hand, so a lot of that was simply from lack of knowledge. My first glimpse of a Bohrok was on the store shelf, and I didn't own any until well after that. Now we have a whole community dedicated to seeking, discussing, and archiving anything we can, so returning to that point is impossible (I think I made a blog entry joking about this in 08-09).

 

But if they can return to something like they had in 2001 - "robotic" villagers on a tropical island trying to resist a plague-like shadow - I think they may be able to write another chronicle that's just as engaging as the first without having to carry over much.

[fishers64]

As someone who's closely followed BIONICLE since 2091, I hope they make it a reboot. 

Totally agreed! Bionicle has been around for 100 years, people, and that story is way too long. It's a hugely convoluted work that desperately needs to be rebooted to give the younger generation a flying chance of understanding what it even is. 

 

[TBK]

Knowing fanbases in general, can LEGO really make a "right" decision here?

 

 

 

I'm vying for a soft reboot myself.

[Tea-rex]

Umh, yeah, I meant Bota Magna.

But seeing as it is a reboot, you have to wonder - how much of the continuation is being canned of it takes place in a slightly altered timeline?

[25K Now!]

A lot of stuff is probably going to be disregarded. It's likely going to be a fresh, new world to explore.

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

What if they released one pixel of the main villain every day until 1, January 2015?

 

I think it is highly unlikely, but I'd be okay with it as long as we got some other material.

[25K Now!]

What if they released one pixel of the main villain every day until 1, January 2015?

 

I think it is highly unlikely, but I'd be okay with it as long as we got some other material.

I doubt 100 pixels is enough.

[ToaDraco]

I personally REALLY hope it will be a continuation. At the very least I just want what has come before to still be part of the canon with the new story being far in the future. As long as what occurred before is a part of the same universe and canon, I don't care it is only referenced for little easter eggs for the old fans or something, that would be fine, just don't throw it out. I know it's not like a reboot would erase the old Bionicle or anything, it will just put a damper on both new and old stories for me personally. 

[25K Now!]

Alas, while I would like to see the serials finished off, it's really likely it's going to be a reboot.

[Toa Of Virtues]

 

 

What if they released one pixel of the main villain every day until 1, January 2015?

 

I think it is highly unlikely, but I'd be okay with it as long as we got some other material.

I doubt 100 pixels is enough.

They did do somthing similar with the piraka when they were coming out.

[25K Now!]

I was a kid with little Internet knowledge back then, so I can't really remember.

[Turaga Jack]

To be perfectly honest I used to not like Bionicle at all, in fact I hated it until I started to understand and get into it towards the end. Know why? Because when I got the comics from 2007 in the Lego Magazine I opened them up and I was dreadfully confused. I didn't understand what was going on, who the heroes were, and anything in between. Eventually around 2009 I started doing some research and slowly got more and more into Bionicle until here I am today, a fully fledged Bionicle fan. But Bionicle was not inviting for me at all in the way I was first exposed to it (2007 wasn't the first time I saw it, but it was the first time I identified the name with it and got a closer look at it), and I only got to experience its beauty much later. Imagine how a new fan might feel if exposed to that. I wouldn't be surprised at all they turned away from it. To the people screaming about how much it has to be a continuation, think about how new fans will feel. I'm sure a continuation can be done well, especially if given the proper care, but it's not worth it in my eyes. Just wanted to throw out my own personal perspective on the matter.

 

I only ask for two things with a return of Bionicle: HewkiixMacku, and ussal crabs.   

This is also my story, I remember reading Matoro's Death.