Jump to content

Alan Swinnerton, Founding Father of BIONICLE, Tells All


SPIRIT

Recommended Posts

http://alastairswinnerton.com/2015/09/07/bionicle-my-actual-part-in-its-origins/

 

Very interesting stuff.  Here's the TL;DR:

  • The four "founding fathers" of BIONICLE were Bob Thompson, Martin Riber Andersen, Alan Swinnerton, and Christian Faber
  • Alan came up with the Maori naming scheme of 2001
  • He created Tahu, Gali, Lewa, and Onua (who were the 4 original Toa)
  • BIONICLE means "Bio Chronicle", although it was almost called Evoids (Evolving Droids)
  • Kopaka was originally spelled Kopacka? (or Alan forgot the spelling)
  • Alan was the brains behind Mata Nui being a giant robot
  • It was his idea to have a 7th Toa
  • Upvote 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will we ever find out what Martin did? Alan contributed a lot to this story, Bob was the official founder of the theme and Christian did all the concept art, but this Martin dude is more unknown than Trey Smith.

If you like Pingu & want to support a good project, click here. Also, I've rejoined the BZPRPG & I have a new profile for a new game. Click here to see it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alan was the brains behind Mata Nui being a giant robot

This isn't entirely accurate, Faber was the one that originally came up with the giant robot - it was a thing before they even brought Alan on to the team. But he did, apparently, come up with the robot's origin and why it was where it was.

 

This is super super super awesome and I can't thank Alan enough for writing this up. I had a feeling that him and Bob were the driving forces behind the story at first, and he seems to be corroborating this. It's no wonder that there was such a noticeable stylistic shift by the time they had both left, in 2006.

 

I tell you what, if I get to read the original story bible some day, I will never ask for anything ever again. There's so much in there that might never see the light of day.

Edited by Pereki
  • Upvote 6

believe victims. its actually not that hard, and youd look kind of bad if you were to, say, side with an abuser because theyre your friend

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Alan was the brains behind Mata Nui being a giant robot

This isn't entirely accurate, Faber was the one that originally came up with the giant robot - it was a thing before they even brought Alan on to the team. But he did, apparently, come up with the robot's origin and why it was where it was.

 

This is super super super awesome and I can't thank Alan enough for writing this up. I had a feeling that him and Bob were the driving forces behind the story at first, and he seems to be corroborating this. It's not wonder that there was such a noticeable stylistic shift by the time they had both left, in 2006.

 

I tell you what, if I get to read the original story bible some day, I will never ask for anything ever again. There's so much in there that might never see the light of day.

 

 

Couldn't agree more with this.

 

Very interesting read, it's always nice to learn more about how Bionicle came to being.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty glad Bionicle wasn't called Evoids, honestly. It's a type of name I'd find boring and be uninterested in rather quickly. It just seems a bit cliche.

 

Anyway, it's nice knowing all of this special information. I also think it was a great decision to use Maori names, even though it came at a price later on.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Evoids wouldn't have made any sense in the context of 2001. I don't think changing of masks counts as evolution. 

 

I think it was more of a roundabout way of saying "biological". After all, all living creatures go through evolution.

 

Granted, it's kind of a weird way to go about it. I'm glad for the name they settled on in the end.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand why his credits kept being removed. Who was so diligently removing it from the Wikis?

Steam Name: Toa Hahli Mahri. Xbox Live Gamertag: Makuta. Minecraft Username: ThePoohster.

Wants: 2003 Jaller (from Jaller and Gukko), Exo-Toa, Turaga Nuju, Turaga Vakama, Shadow Kraata, Axonn, Brutaka, Vezon & Fenrakk, Nocturn, ORANGE FIKOU.

I got rid of my picture, are you happy?

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand why his credits kept being removed. Who was so diligently removing it from the Wikis?

Wikipedia has a rule against original research, meaning you can't just add things based on your own personal experience that other people can't verify. There has to be some published source people can refer to for the same information. It's possible this is why Alastair's edits kept being reverted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I don't understand why his credits kept being removed. Who was so diligently removing it from the Wikis?

Wikipedia has a rule against original research, meaning you can't just add things based on your own personal experience that other people can't verify. There has to be some published source people can refer to for the same information. It's possible this is why Alastair's edits kept being reverted.

 

But... he's literally a primary source. Experts aren't allowed to write about themselves?

 

Like, Miley Cyrus wouldn't be able to write about herself on the Wikipedia page? Who knows her best?

 

That's weird. 

Steam Name: Toa Hahli Mahri. Xbox Live Gamertag: Makuta. Minecraft Username: ThePoohster.

Wants: 2003 Jaller (from Jaller and Gukko), Exo-Toa, Turaga Nuju, Turaga Vakama, Shadow Kraata, Axonn, Brutaka, Vezon & Fenrakk, Nocturn, ORANGE FIKOU.

I got rid of my picture, are you happy?

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

I don't understand why his credits kept being removed. Who was so diligently removing it from the Wikis?

Wikipedia has a rule against original research, meaning you can't just add things based on your own personal experience that other people can't verify. There has to be some published source people can refer to for the same information. It's possible this is why Alastair's edits kept being reverted.

 

But... he's literally a primary source. Experts aren't allowed to write about themselves?

 

Like, Miley Cyrus wouldn't be able to write about herself on the Wikipedia page? Who knows her best?

 

That's weird. 

 

 

Presumably they could, in either of those cases, if it were from a published source. But if they allowed any person to write anything about themselves that didn't contradict the known facts, then that would just open the door to self-aggrandizing and other forms of deception.

 

For instance, a musician could write on their own page that they got their start when they sent a recording to Miley Cyrus for feedback and she wrote back saying "this is, without a doubt, the best song ever recorded". If original research were permitted, then that kind of anecdote would go completely unchallenged unless Miley herself went on the record stating "yeah, that never happened". Likewise, if a person edited Miley Cyrus's page to say they had been in a romantic relationship with her, it, too, would go unchallenged in lieu of statements or evidence to the contrary.

 

That's not even getting into what it would mean for subjects of controversy, like basically any major politician or conspiracy theory under the sun. People could freely claim "insider knowledge" of anything they pleased — "I've seen the signed documents where President so-and-so authorized such-and-such a massacre" or "I was there in the studio when the moon landings were faked and the government paid me thousands of dollars to keep quiet". Or even the stupid "My uncle works at Nintendo" stories that became the source of so many schoolyard urban legends. Allowing original research without any kind of verifiable documentation would inevitably create all kinds of "he said, she said" scenarios like those. It'd be a nightmare.

Edited by Aanchir
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really cool to have this insight. I always love hearing details of how this amazing adventure all came together


audio_narration_project_banner_wide.jpg

 

Bionicle: ANP aims to create narrated versions of all the Bionicle books, with voice actors for each character, and music taken from various media to enhance the story. Check here if you're interested in voicing a character, and here for the chapters that've already been released!

Formerly: Tahu Nuva 3.0

Looking for a Bionicle Beanie. Black one with the symbol on it. Contact me if you are willing to sell

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...