LhikanHau Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Wow... It's been such a long time I've been here, in the time before time, when Bionicle was about to end... I probably know and remember very little of you, and vice-versa. To introduce myself, I'm a now-teenaged fan from Indonesia (hello to anyone from here too!), with a dream of a relived Bionicle... and a sonic rts fangame (please contact me if you're interested in the concept!). I grew up in the 2004/2006 era, but I stuck around on the website more than I owned all the toys, so I got really, really intrigued with the 2001-2003's mysterious setting. Even as a little kid, obsessed with robots, I knew Bionicle was something more than simple robots... They had souls, and feelings, and biological parts which makes them not robots at all... And then I started to get into the plot through the books, and after that I really got obsessed with it. When they canceled it, I made a vow to never touch Legos again... And here we are, back again to tell another legend. To make this thread worthy of something, I'm posting things from my also-revived (alt) Lego account, RustyKanohi (so if you've heard of that name on the LMB, that's me) An old, Rusty Kanohi's opinion of the reboot Now, the new Bionicle has a lot of promise, but it could also be a huge disappointment, so these are my hopes for the revitalized series. First off, I'll talk about why the first series was so great, at least in my opinion (that I hope you guys share too...) Some of the absolute best things about Bionicle was its plot and worldbuilding. It has such a unique universe that doesn't have most setting conventions such as sci-fi or swords n' sorcery fantasy, but it's own fantastic world of elemental powers. The plot of the original Bionicle series was it's crowning jewel. It was epic, extremely-fleshed out in backstory, and most importantly, it took itself seriously as a plot, without too much comic relief but also by being actually mature, without the need to shoehorn features like excessive violence and language. What I fear is that the new Bionicle will follow the direction of Hero Factory and Chima, which the story and personalities are highly simplified, especially the former. I do see the trailer attempts to take itself seriously, though personally I'm not too fond of the cartoony look, but that matters little. The official webpage, however, doesn't seem to describe well-fleshed out personalities, but there's only so much text you can squeeze into one page, and that'll be rectified through the books. The world-building in the games and books is some of the best I know, not just in its uniqueness, especially for Mata and Metru Nui. The landscapes are absolutely epic and beautiful, populated with people and Rahi, all interacting with each other like in human society, but fantastic enough that it's not human society. Well, I'm running out of space in this post, so that's much I have to say. Discuss your opinions and hopes. Bionicle 2015 Thoughts: A Marketing Perspective I've made another review that discussed my opinions on the Bionicle setting, here's my opinion on the marketing aspect of the new Bionicle series. As seen here, LEGO will have to target two demographics for the new series: the older "veteran" fans, and young "initiate" fans. The veteran fans want something more akin to the original Bionicle, in plot and model shapes, while initiate fans are only interested in the toys, for now. Right now while it's still in preview, the only vocal demographic are the veterans, and as we can see they are already massive and vocal. One of the reasons Bionicle ultimately fell was because its plot became more and more convoluted and relied too much on previous knowledge of the story, and many times the deep story is too boring or convoluted for some who just enjoy the toys, or just think the trailers and movies look awesome. Long-running story arcs with backstories is excellent for storytelling, and is proven successful for stories such as comics and tv series, but there's a key detail that keeps them engaging for newcomers: The series are refreshed and each new story is a unique branch of the main plot. The original Bionicle plot was a thrilling plot but it's more of a very long, single story, which will confuse anyone who doesn't know the entire plot and gets more confusing to newcomers as the series goes on. If the new Bionicle will be made too light-hearted and cartoonish, I can predict that there would be a massive uproar and loss of support by the veteran fans, myself included, resulting for a quick demise of the series. However, the while the plot is still fresh and malleable, it should be made easy to get into but still taking itself seriously. My advice for the series is to get a comic book writer for the new creative team, and preferrably one with experience in fantasy plots, because (I assume, at least) they have experience with long-running story arcs. My opinion on the generic names (e.g. Mask Makers, Guardians, Skull Spiders) is... meh. I mean for one thing, it's not going to confuse new fans with the strange, undescriptive names. However, Bionicle loses its "mysterious and exotic" appeal, which will be a sore loss for the franchise that was created for that exact sort of appeal. (For LEGO: ) An excellent compromise is to mix the exotic names and generic titles (e.g. Gukko Bird, Fikou Spider, Kanohi Mask), which easily describes what sort of "thing" it is, but also retains the exotic appeal (which was the reason many of us, especially myself, got interested in Bionicle), which is just a win-win situation. While the new plot is malleable and still in production, this would be a golden opportunity to regain the trust of the old fanbase while at the same time attracting new fans. Some good things to add exotic names on would be the Skull X Spiders and X Protectors, however these specific examples I presume are finalized and can't be changed. However, future sets and characters can still be changed, so use this opportunity while it lasts, LEGO! I do hope LEGO is reading this... I have seen the past.... It was merely in the eyes of yesterday... And it was GLORIOUS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnderscoreChronix Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I remember seeing you at MakutaFest a while ago. Welcome back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Windrider- Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Welcome back! There's a topic over in General Discussion where you can re-introduce yourself. As for Bionicle 2015, I encourage you to repost your thoughts in the official topic we have going. Since we have an official thread, I'm going to close this one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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